James 1:26
26 “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
After speaking about trials, seeking wisdom, money, temptations and obeying the word of God, James now turns his attention to what it means to be religious or in other words, a person who considers himself a true believer, living out his faith in every possible way. He says that if anyone considers himself religious, then there’s one very strong evidence of that – it’s the way one communicates. He will be able to control the use of his tongue. He uses the word, ‘bridle,’ as that was something that everybody would have been familiar with, since horses were used much back in the day, and a horse was controlled by a bridle that was connected to the bit in its mouth. In other words, James was saying that just as a bridle was used to control the direction a horse moved, so also if a person who considers himself religious, is unable to control the way he speaks, then he is deceiving none other than himself. James says that such a person’s profession of faith is useless or futile. It doesn’t benefit anyone.
James 1:27
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
James then goes on to explain what pure and undefiled religion really is. The first thing he seems to mention, is that the only One who can truly judge pure and undefiled religion is God Himself. He says that what God considers pure and undefiled religion, is when someone visits or takes care of the needs of those who have no parents (orphans) and those who have no husbands (widows). The Lord is our Heavenly Father and all through the Bible He refers to His people as His children.
Since we, The Church have now been adopted into His family, He is our Heavenly Father, and we are God’s children. (James already mentioned in James 1:18, the fact that God brought us forth by His own will through the word of truth). If God cares for those of us who have earthly fathers, how much more will He care for those who don’t have earthly fathers. God cares much for them, and wants us to care for them as well. Only a fatherless child knows the ill-effects of not having a father bringing him up. There’s so much a child misses when they have no father in their lives – a sense of confidence, security, direction, stability, and much more. So if we are truly living out our faith, then we need to be taking care of those children who have been deprived of this basic human need.
The other group of people James says we need to be mindful of, and caring about are the women who lost their husbands (widows). Back in the day (and even today, in several cultures across the globe), the husband was the sole breadwinner of the family, so if he had passed away, then the family had no means of sustenance, and were at the mercy of other people’s kindness. Further, if a woman lost her husband, she lost, not just the most important person in her life, in fact, she lost a very significant part of her life. She would be ill-treated by society (as is the case in many a culture even today). So a widow’s suffering was more than a mere lack of sustenance – it was social, emotional and physical suffering that she went through. In certain cultures it would even seem like a curse from God, which would mean that she even went through spiritual suffering – all because she lost her husband.
So what James seems to be saying is that if one considers himself to be living out his faith to the letter, then he needs to be able to control the way he communicates, must take care of the needs of the most deprived people in society – orphans and widows. Our faith cannot be limited to merely sitting with God’s word, praying and attending church – it needs to be seen in action, as we, in love, take care of the needs of those around us. In fact, during these days of the pandemic, there are a lot more needs that have opened up like never before, and these are opportunities for us to demonstrate the love we profess.
The third thing James says would be an evidence of a person who lives out his faith, is in the way he lives his life in comparison with that of the world around. He says that such a person should keep himself unspotted from the world. By this he means that such a person would not seek to please himself with the pleasures of this world; he would not hold to the values and morals that the world around subscribes to, he would not seek the things the world seeks after – fame, power, money, fulfilment of lusts, etc. Such a person’s life would be free from a craving for any of those things. Once again James seems to be saying that a truly spiritual man is not one who lives a solitary life, but is both concerned for people, and at the same time, living out the kind of life that Jesus taught us to live – holy, pleasing to God, and righteous in every way.
James 2:1-4
“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?”
James then goes on to address another issue that was prevalent in the early church, and we can certainly learn a lot from, in our present day churches as well. It was the issue of partiality. Believers were respecting the rich and looking down or neglecting the poor. James begins by telling them to not show partiality while professing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he also refers to as the Lord of glory. We should never forget that the Lord of glory was willing to come down to our sinful earth, just to save us from our sins. After coming to faith in such a Lord, we have no reason whatsoever to look down on anyone who is less fortunate than us financially.
James goes on to give an example of how we should not behave toward the poor. If a rich person, wearing gold and costly clothing walked into church, and at the same time a poor person, dressed in dirty clothes walked in, and we gave special attention and a front-row seat to the rich man, and if on the other hand we showed no respect to the poor man, and had him sit in an obscure place or on the floor, then we would be demonstrating partiality. We should not discriminate amongst ourselves in any way – not even on the basis of one’s financial standing. James calls such discrimination a judgment with evil thoughts. It’s an evil thought to look up to one person and look down on another, when the Lord Jesus died to save both of them, irrespective of their financial standing. If we were to do that, then we are giving importance to money more than to God, because God does not priorities money over people. Jesus said, 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (wealth/money).” (Matthew 6:24) If God doesn’t priorities money over people, we have no right to do so either. If we do, James says, our thoughts are evil.
James 2:5-7
5 “Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?”
James goes on to ask a rhetorical question that we need to ask ourselves even today, because it’s relevant in the Church even today. He says, in essence that God has chosen the poor in this world, to be rich in faith in God, and to be heirs of the Kingdom, which He promised to those who love Him. That’s a loaded statement.
The first thing he seems to be saying is that the poor (though they may not have much money) have great faith in God. That’s evident in the world today, as it was back then. It’s the poor who respond better and quicker to the Gospel, and who grow in their faith and relationship with the Lord much more than the rich do. It doesn’t mean that the rich don’t respond, but it’s mostly the poor who respond better and quicker. It’s perhaps because they don’t have money to distract them from trusting in the Lord. When one’s faith and trust is in money, they can’t trust God. But if there’s little or no money to trust in, then it’s easier to put your trust in God.
The second thing that James says is that it’s the poor who will be heirs of the Kingdom of God. They may not have property, inheritance or wealth here on earth, but they have been promised riches that this world could never provide, and could never take away either. Is that not an amazing thought that the poor who are side-lined here on earth, not looked at the second time on the street, if they have faith in Jesus, are going to inherit eternal riches from the greatest giver of good gifts - from God Himself?
The third thing he says is that the Kingdom will be given to those who love God, not just to those who come to believe in God. Our faith calls for far more than an intellectual assent to a set of beliefs or doctrines – it calls for a relationship with God that stems from a deep love for Him with one’s whole heart, soul, mind and strength. This love will be evident in the way we live our lives – the things we value, the people we value, our priorities, our choices, etc.
He then goes on to say that by discriminating against the poor person, one is dishonoring them. Dishonoring the poor, and only honoring the rich has become so commonplace today that it’s not even seen as sinful anymore.
He then reminds them that it’s actually the rich who oppress the people and take them to court. Back in the day, (as in many countries even today), it’s the rich who oppress the poor, and never the other way round. Also, the poor could not afford to go to court against anyone (as is the case today), as he wouldn’t have had the means to do that, so it was only the rich who would take people to court, demanding justice or compensation or whatever it was they took people to court for. At the end of the day, they would take people to court to gain something from them, so that they increased what they already had, at the expense of the poor who already had hardly anything.
The second thing he reminds his readers is the fact that the rich are the ones who blaspheme the name of Jesus. If it was bad then, it’s even worse today – the name of Jesus is used as a by-word so freely, and it’s even considered a cool thing to do so. Once again, it’s more the rich who do that, than the poor. So in essence he’s asking his readers if they realize that the ones that they are showing special favor, and attention to, are the ones who oppress them, take from them and even reproach God’s name. The question we should be asking ourselves is, should we be honoring people who dishonor the poor, and dishonor God as well?
James 2:8-13
8“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
James then goes on to say that one will do well if they live by the ‘royal law,’ which the Scripture refers to – love your neighbor as yourself. The 10 Commandments can be divided into two – the first four commandments concern our relationship with, or love for God, and the remaining six concern our relationship with, or love for people. Therefore the Ten Commandments can be summed up into, what I refer to as, ‘the twin’ commandments’ – “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” These two are inseparable. You can’t love God without loving your neighbor and you can’t really love your neighbor without living God. Since James is referring to our relationship with people, he is referring to the commandments pertaining to our relationship with people. He seems to be saying that if we love our neighbor as we love ourselves, then we will not show partiality to the rich, and discriminate against the poor. He says that if we do show partiality to the rich, and discriminate against the poor, then we are committing sin, and are transgressing God’s laws, which are based on love.
He seems to say that if we claim to love our neighbor as ourselves, and if we are found guilty of showing partiality to the rich, and discriminating against the poor, we are actually breaking all the other laws as well. He goes on to explain. The One who gave the 7th commandment (against committing adultery), also gave the 6th commandment (against murder). So if we uphold the 7th and break the 6th, we are sinning against God anyway, and are guilty of breaking all, because God did not give us a choice to uphold some and break some – He expected us to uphold all or be considered sinners.
Now we know that the law that came through Moses could not save us, because no one could keep the entire law, but we are saved through faith in Jesus, who Himself upheld the law on our behalf, and eventually paid the price for our sin of breaking the law. We are now governed by ‘the law of love, as it were or ‘the law of liberty.’ This law is not restrictive, as much as it is constructive and liberating, and enables us to be all that God intended for us to be. And now we have His Holy Spirit living inside of us, empowering and leading us on in His ways of love.
He goes on to tell the believers to speak and behave as people who will be judged by the law of liberty. On the Day of Judgment when Jesus returns, we will all have to give an account, not only for the bad things we did and said but also for the good things we didn’t say and do, when we had the opportunity to do so.
In verse 4 James speaks to a person who shows partiality. He says, “Have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” He refers to such partiality as passing judgment on people. So if one judged and discriminated people based on their wealth or financial standing, that person would be committing sin, and secondly, that person would be breaking the law of liberty, which demands that we love all people equally, irrespective of their financial standing.
He goes on to say that a person who judges another based on the criteria of wealth, is being merciless, and will be judged the same way by the Lord when He returns. It’s so easy to find fault with and judge someone who has little or nothing when he is in the wrong, as compared to with the wealthy man, with whom we are usually so lenient. But James says that if we don’t show mercy, we will not be shown mercy on the Day of Judgment, and if we allow mercy to triumph over our judgment then we will receive mercy on the Day of Judgment.
For the Audio Version of this Study on YouTube, click here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp5c7epOfg0&list=PLK5k2WsZdYlczQSZmDUu9Uy9elVKk4bts&index=9&t=1s
For the Audio Version of this Study on Spotify, click here - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6NwtgBDHRoG2xxeKbJswVL?si=e9d47102dba94889
