If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. [James 1:26-27]
In this essay, we will examine the final two verses of James 1. Previously, James wrote about how we are to be doers of the Word, rather than just hearers of the Word. In verses 26 and 27, James explains what it looks like to have a religion that is worthless, then he explains what it looks like when a person’s religion is “pure and undefiled”.
Before we examine the passage, I want to touch on something that many people are likely thinking as they read James 1:26-27. There is often a negative connotation associated with the word “religion”, and this connotation must be disregarded. In an increasingly anti-religious world, the word “religion” makes people cringe. People look at religion as being something for crazy people, something that can be blamed for deaths all over the world, the cause of wars, the reason for so much division, and something that we ought to do away with.
There are many religions, but only one religion leads to God. Christianity is the one true religion, and Christianity is the religion that James wrote about. James encourages those who identify as Christians to live a life that glorifies God.
Christianity is the one true religion, and Christianity is the only faith that is pure and undefiled. Bad Christians do not mean that Christianity is bad. Bad Christians means that some Christians are bad.
With that out of the way, let us examine the end of James 1.
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
As James mentioned in verses 19 through 21, we must have self-control. James says more about the tongue, but that is not until chapter 3. The tongue is incredibly powerful because our words are powerful. The tongue has a considerable amount of influence over the way we perceive the world around us, and the way we speak will affect how we behave, which will affect what happens in our lives. We must control our tongues, we must control our speech, and we must speak life.
The tongue is powerful, but we are not. We are not able to bridle our tongues without the help of God. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus tells us that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”, which is incredibly helpful in understanding how we can control our tongues. We know that our tongues speak what is in our hearts, therefore we must have hearts that are set upon the Lord and His will. If a person’s heart is full of hate, his speech will be hateful. If a person’s heart is set on God, he will speak things that are of God.
When we study God’s Word, when we seek Him, and when we desire to know Him more, our hearts will be changed, which will change the way we speak. The secret to controlling the tongue is controlling the heart, and the only way to control the heart is to surrender it to God.
For the third time now, James mentions deception in the context of faith. A person may not bridle his tongue, instead choosing to deceive his heart. In that case, that person’s faith is worthless. What good is faith if it does not impact the way we live?
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Conversely, religion that has worth is accurately summarized as visiting orphans and widows in their affliction, while keeping ourselves pure. Verse 26 gives us two major parts of living as Christians: love, and purity.
Love is the central theme of Paul’s writings. We correct others in love, we teach in love, we encourage in love, we welcome in love, we forgive in love, we sacrifice in love, and we live in love. 1 Corinthians 13 has held a special spot in my heart, and it has helped me understand what it means to love. True love is selfless, unconditional, and unending. True love keeps no record of wrongs, and true love does not rejoice at wrongdoing.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [1 Corinthians 13:7, ESV]
Paul concludes 1 Corinthians 13 by telling us that love is greater than faith or hope.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. [1 Corinthians 13:13, ESV]
When James talks about pure and undefiled religion and visiting orphans and widows in their affliction, he is talking about more than giving to charity. Good deeds are good, but love must abound in all that we do. Love should take root in our hearts, love should season every word that passes from our lips, and love should permeate throughout all that we do.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. [1 John 4:7-8, ESV]
Our faith is founded upon love. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, and it was for the sake of His love that Jesus Christ suffered and died for our sins. We must love because God is love, and anybody who does not love does not know God.
The second thing that James mentions is keeping ourselves unstained from the world. The world is full of sin, and we are all born into that sin. Only by faith in Christ can we be saved from our sin. Having received salvation through Jesus Christ, we must live differently from the way the world expects us to live. Most people live in sin, but we are not to be like most people. We all sin, we all fall short of the glory of God, but we cannot become complacent with sin. Having received the gift of salvation, we must turn from the sinful ways of the world, set our eyes upon Jesus Christ, and pursue His righteousness.
With that, we reach the end of James 1. We learned a lot about how we must think and act, and I pray that those who read this experience a change that is similar to the change that I felt in my life. I have grown so much in my faith as I have meditated on God’s Word, and I pray that you have grown in your faith as well. God bless you all.
