A Study of the Letter of James
James 1:26-27
September 18, 2013
Read Scripture:James 1:26-27 [show scripture]
26If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself. 27Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Now James starts off with a premise… ‘So you say you are a Christian…’ James tells us in v26, ‘if you believe (think) you are a Christian… a God seeker… one who worships God (in Christ)… one who has professed Christ as Messiah BUT you cannot control your tongue…
The word ‘religious’ used by James here in this verse is the Greek word Thrace-koss which means to fear God or to worship God!
This word carries an underlying message of fear and trembling before a superior force… knowing one’s place before this superior force…
So if you are saying that you are in fear and awe of God and that you worship Him as Lord, knowing His place and your place before Him… with the proper fear of the Lord in your life… IF that is your claim, but you cannot control your tongue…
James tells us that these people are only fooling themselves! Their actions reveal their heart and they are NOT going to ‘fool’ anyone with what they proclaim if their tongue betrays their profession!
James uses the same illustration in v22-23 about being doers of the word and not hearers only…
In v26-27 James is taking another angle on the same issue… James is illuminating the fact that you cannot simply SAY you are a believer, your life must reflect your belief… your life must reflect your convictions!
If you SAY you are a believer but your tongue is not under control… then James says that you are fooling yourself!
But James tells us that profession of faith without controlling one’s tongue not only deceives US, but it is also useless to God in His kingdom.
In v26 James tells us …then his religion is useless…
The Greek term used here by James is actually the adjective Mah-Tay-oss which describes a belief that has no substance to it, a belief without a founding truth, it carries forth NO purpose…
James is saying that if you describe your faith by using mere words… it is useless… meaningless… without purpose! You faith cannot be based on your profession alone.
If our profession of faith is without actions that reflect that profession of faith, then our profession or our ‘religion’ is without substance, without truth… carries NO purpose to even exist!
In other words what James is telling us here is that if our action as a professing believer in Christ does NOT reflect what we say/profess; then what we are professing is empty, void and worthless!
What is your ‘religion’ like? How does it look to the world? Is your ‘religion’ filled with Christ so much so that people see it and are drawn to Him?
OR does the world see you as merely going thru the motions of religion? Does the world see your words or actions as empty and without purpose!
James warns us from portraying a ‘false’ faith in this chapter when he tells us that professing belief without a life filled with actions that reflects that professed belief is also a dead end life… it is a worthless, empty life that has NO purpose for the kingdom!
But James does not leave it at that, but he goes on to give us an example of what living out our faith should look like… Let’s look at v27
27Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Now the word James uses here for ‘religion’ is the Feminine noun version ‘thrace-kiah’ which is from the word form he uses back in v26 for ‘religious’.
This word ‘thrace-kiah’ describes what our profession should be… it means worship revealed externally, thru ceremony or ‘physical actions’.
This word is often associated with ritual (that can become empty) but I believe that here James is using it as positive expression of a person’s faith in Christ. I reflects a faith that is not only VERBALIZED, but it is a professed faith that is put into action to glorify God!
So in other words, James is telling us that PURE worship of God… Undefiled worship of the God we so gladly profess should look a certain way… it cannot be judgmental or prejudice… it cannot be focus on trouble and sorrow… it cannot be filled with doubt… it cannot be focused on self and selfish desires…
James tells us that pure and undefiled religion is…
Pure = kath-ah-ross – this is not speaking of a physical purity in the sense of physical cleanliness… this is in reference to our spiritual cleanliness…
In other words, our lives being free of corrupt actions/behaviors… It dovetails with Paul’s teaching of taking off the old nature and putting on the new nature in Christ!
Undefiled = ah-mee-an-thoss which means free from deformity or debauchery, or there is no impairment of our spiritual clarity! Spiritually we must be WHOLE… and that can happen only thru Christ making us whole… we are made who thru Him and IN Him.
Our lives must reflect the ‘wholeness’ Christ has brought to us… it must reflect a ‘holistic’ faith that embodies Christ in word AND deed, not just through words…
So what James is telling us is that if we are going to project ‘true’ religion to the world… it has to be pure and undefiled! If we are going to reflect a ‘religion’ that is pleasing to God, it must be pure and undefiled!
We must be living a pure life… a life that seeks in ALL things to shed itself of the old nature and put on the new nature (this is a constant battle for all believers) This is a life that seeks to live out the ‘wholeness’ Christ has brought to us… that our lives reflect the ‘wholeness’ with which Christ has blessed upon us…
Then James gives us an example of this ‘wholeness’ being reflected through our lives… he says, to show pure and undefiled religion you should:
“…look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world…”
Orphans = orph-an-oss which in the 1st century meant one lacking a ‘father’ … this is the physical definition. However this can also be seen as lacking of one to lead, guide and direct… one who is abandoned by the one who should be leading them.
Spiritually speaking we can apply this to being a mentor to those who need spiritual leadership. This does not only apply to pastors or minister, but to ALL believers!
When there is a need for mentoring… for leading… for guidance of one who has no one to guide them… it is incumbent upon the church… the believers to step up and be that ‘father’ figure… be that leader/mentor who will help them to find their way!
Widows = ‘hay-rah meaning a woman who has lost her husband, typically to death, but we know that there are many ways a woman can lose her husband.
We have several in our fellowship who have lost their husbands to death, but also others who have lost their husbands to other things, such as disease or infidelity…
The term ‘hay-rah comes from the root word ‘hahs-mah which represents an open chasm or gorge… a vast gulf! Thus giving us the picture that those who are widows have lost a vast amount of their lives and there is a gulf that we must span to help them… a gulf that in the 1st century they could NOT span!
Today there are many ‘widows’ who feel alone and separated because of their situation… they NEED us to be there for them!
James is calling believers to be there for those in need… the orphan who has no one to lead or guide them AND the widow who feels alone and separated from the world…
Pure and undefiled ‘religion’ is meeting their needs… it is stepping up and mentoring one who needs guidance… it is stepping up and letting a widow know they are NOT alone, through your actions, not just thru your words!
But James does not stop there… this is because these 2 examples of ‘religion’ can lead us to place where we feel special or deserving of our place… it can lead us to prideful thoughts and a haughty spirit… which is sinful! James concludes his example by saying:
to keep oneself unstained by the world…”
Unstained = ahs-pee-loss meaning without spot… unblemished. Now in Christ we are blameless and without spot before God, but here the focus is on our day to day actions and attitudes. James is calling for us to LIVE out in the physical realm what Christ has provided for us in the spiritual realm!
For us to remain ‘spotless’ is for us to constantly attend to our life and how it is lived and what our live portrays to the world around us…
So as believers, becoming spotless is NOT something we can achieve, but in Christ we are made spotless! Now we are called to live OUT that spotless sort of life… NOT that it keeps us blameless before God because in Christ we are secure… BUT that it brings forth a witness of the goodness of Christ to a world that is lost and separated from God.
James tells us that we live out a life seeking to portray Christ and what He has done for us by reaching out to those who are NOT able to help themselves… to those in need of guidance and leading… to those who feel alone and separated from the world…
When we look at the orphan and the widow, what we really see is US before we come to Christ. We are lost without a shepherd to lead or guide us… we don’t know the way and get lost trying to do it on our own!
We are alone and searching for significance and belonging, there is a chasm that separates us from the God of our creation and we cannot reach Him…
BUT He took the initiative and HE reached down crossing that chasm of sin and separation to take hold of us, to lead us, to guide us, to rescue us from our own bad decisions!
James paints a picture here that to reflect TRUE Christianity, we must reflect the TRUE Christ! We must seek to live our lives and act out faith as God has acted toward us!
What about you and your religion today? What does it look like? My prayer is that you are living out the Christ you profess… Let’s pray!
