Introduction
A. I heard about a man who came into church late one Sunday.
1. He asked someone in the back of the auditorium, “Is the sermon done yet?”
2. The person wisely answered, “The sermon has been preached, but it has yet to be done.”
3. Wow! You talk about truthful and insightful!
4. The sermon isn’t done when it is preached, but when it is practiced. Amen!
B. At the beginning of this series I said that there is no more practical book in the Bible than James.
1. These verses today are some of the most direct and practical in this little letter.
2. But in addition to their practicality, there is also an edge to these verses.
3. James doesn’t just say, “This is the way you should live.”
4. With an air of confrontation, he says, “If you are not living this way…then your religion is…and it’s hard for me to even say it…he says it is worthless.”
5. Don’t you think that is strong language?
6. Twice in this section he warns us against self-deception.
7. Satan would be very happy if we profess our faith, but don’t actually practice it.
8. God is not happy about that one bit.
C. Speaking for God, James says, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” (vs. 26)
1. I personally think that James could have substituted any number of things for “a tight rein on the tongue” in that verse and would have been just as truthful.
2. He could have said, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his greed, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”
3. Other substitutions could be lust, hatred, or hostility, just to name a few.
4. The point is: True religion makes a difference.
5. True religion is heart felt and life changing.
6. William Barclay, the great commentator wrote, “James does well to remind us that that which is heard in the holy place must be lived in the market place – or there is no point in hearing at all.”
D. So, with that in mind, how does James define religion that makes a difference?
1. What does God accept as pure and faultless religion?
2. What does it look like?
I. What Religion That Makes a Difference Looks Like
A. When I try to summarize these verses, I can see James saying that religion that makes a difference is characterized by three things: Godly language, godly love and godly lifestyle.
1. Let’s briefly examine each of them.
B. First of all, Real Religion is Characterized by GODLY LANGUAGE.
1. James will have a lot to say about godly language when we get to chapter 3, and we will really concentrate on that subject when we get there, but for now let’s notice what he says about it in chapter 1.
2. In verse 19, James wrote: “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry…”
3. Then in verse 26, he added: “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”
4. Hardly any test of one’s religion could be more practical and revealing as than this one.
5. Are we able to listen? Do we know when to hold our tongue? Can we control our temper, which usually reveals itself through our tongue?
6. See, being known for a sharp tongue and a fiery temper will not make any of us an effective influence for Christ and his church.
7. Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
8. If we are going to have a religion that makes a difference in our lives and in the lives of others, then it must be characterized by GODLY LANGUAGE.
C. Second, Real Religion is Characterized by GODLY LOVE.
1. In verse 27, James wrote: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…”
2. One of the first things we note about authentic religion is that it is relationship oriented.
3. As opposed to seeing Christianity as a plan or a system, Scripture reveals that everything can be boiled down to two great commandments: Love God and Love your Neighbor.
4. False approaches to religion attempt to pile up good works and try to win acceptance; true religion accepts God’s gracious love and passes it on to others.
5. Godly love is far more than a love that says, “You love me, so I love you.”
6. Godly love is a love for those who are downtrodden and in distress. A love for those who are weak and vulnerable.
7. In NT times, the widows and orphans were certainly among the most vulnerable and needy, and they are recipients of divine concern.
8. Ps. 68:5 declares that God is “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows…”
9. If we are going to have a religion that makes a difference, then we must have hearts that break and beat for the things that burden the heart of God.
10. As long as there are widows and orphans in the world; as long as there are homeless and poor people; as long as there are victims of abuse, crime and illness; then we Christians are called to do something about it.
11. Why? Because God cares. God cares and therefore, we should care. Amen!
12. In the second chapter of James, he will challenge us about putting our faith into action.
13. He asks the question: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?’ ” (2:15-16)
14. Real religion is characterized by GODLY LOVE – a love that looks out for the needs of others.
C. Third, Real religion is Characterized by A GODLY LIFESTYLE.
1. What James is challenging us with at this point is holiness and purity.
2. In verse 21, he commanded, “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent…”
3. And in verse 27, he concluded, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this…to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
4. We deceive ourselves and harm our witness when we claim to be a Christian and continue to live in worldly ways.
5. We are certainly surrounded by moral filth and prevalent evil. We are easily polluted by the things of the world.
6. What we must not do is give up our attempts to resist being defiled.
7. Yes, it is all around us. Yes, everybody else is doing it. Yes, it is hard to resist it.
8. But with God’s help we can and must live a godly lifestyle.
9. We must strive for godly sexual ethics, godly business ethics, and godly social ethics.
10. Far from us must be things like cheating, lying, gambling, drunkenness, promiscuity, defiling entertainment and selfishness.
D. Does any of this sound easy? By no means.
1. Real religion is hard. It requires our constant attention and our very best effort.
2. More than that, it requires God’s assistance. It requires supernatural wisdom and power.
3. The good news is that James not only tells us what we must be, he gives us some insight into how we can be successful.
II. How To Have A Religion That Makes a Difference.
A. James gives us three steps that enable us to develop a religion that makes a difference.
B. First, James says that we must REGULARLY LISTEN to the WORD.
1. In verse 19, James wrote, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.”
2. The old saying is true, “God gave us two ears and one tongue, so we should do twice as much listening as speaking.”
3. Certainly we must learn to listen to others, but more importantly we must learn to listen to God.
4. Notice in verses 22 and following, James talks about listening to the Word.
5. We must open ourselves up to hearing God’s voice.
6. His voice is heard in Scripture. His voice is heard in the godly counsel and teaching of God’s people. And his voice is heard in the soft words and prompting of the Holy Spirit.
7. Therefore, the wise and dedicated servant of God will do all he or she can to listen to God.
8. That certainly includes, reading and studying His Word, listening in worship and Bible study, and seeking godly counsel.
9. We will not be successful in having a religion that makes a difference, without having a listening heart and mind.
10. But, just hearing won’t cut it. We must do more than hear.
C. Second, James says that we must HUMBLY ACCEPT the WORD.
1. In verse 21, James wrote, “and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”
2. Notice that James says that the Word is planted in us.
3. James is saying that our heart is like a garden, and the Word is like a seed.
4. I’m sure you remember Jesus’ parable of the Sower.
5. In that parable Jesus warned us about having a heart that is hard, rocky or weedy.
6. Once we hear the word, we must accept it. That means we must receive it and believe it.
7. But additionally, we need to keep our soil free from hardness and weeds, so that the Word can take root and grow without hindrance.
8. Many times the Word teaches us things that are against our thoughts and will, but we must trust God and work to accept God’s Word and God’s Will.
9. Even though these first two steps are important in having a religion that makes a difference, they are incomplete without the final step.
D. Finally, James says that we must IMMEDIATELY OBEY the WORD.
1. Hearing the Word and Accepting the Word are useless without Obeying the Word.
2. James humorously illustrates his point with the mirror illustration.
3. How many of you spent some time looking at a mirror this morning? Hopefully none of them broke as we did so! Amen.
4. Why do we look at ourselves in the mirror? Certainly not to practice making funny faces.
5. We want to look our best. We want our hair to look its best. We want our beards trimmed. Ladies, we don’t want our make-up to look like Bozo the clown. Right?
6. So, when we look in the mirror and see that there is some work to be done, we don’t just forget about it and walk away. We get to work on what needs attention, right?
7. And such is the case with the Word of God. It is a mirror that reveals where our lives need work.
8. It does us no good to look intently into God’s mirror, see what needs to be addressed, and then walk away and do nothing about it.
9. But James gives us this wonderful promise. Look at verse 25, “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.”
10. God’s perfect Word leads to freedom, obeying it leads to blessing.
11. Religion that is all about listening, but never gets around to doing is worthless, and if we think otherwise we are just deceiving ourselves. That’s what James is trying to tell us.
Conclusion:
A. As we wrap up this lesson, let me tell you a story about a man named Erik Weihenmayer.
1. At the age of 33, Erik Weihenmayer is a phenomenal athlete. He loves to skydive, snow ski and climb mountains.
2. He is one of the youngest to climb the seven highest peaks in the world.
3. On May 25, 2001 he reached the summit of Mt. Everest, a peak that 90% of those who begin to climb never finish, and one that has taken the lives of 165 people since 1953.
4. What makes Eric’s accomplishments even more amazing is the fact that he is blind.
5. He suffers from a degenerative eye disease that completely took his eyesight at age 13.
6. All of his mountain climbs have been without the benefit of his eyesight.
7. How, you might ask is it possible for a blind person to climb the highest peaks in the world?
8. If you ask him, he will tell you that he has learned to listen well.
9. He listens to a bell tied to the back of the climber in front of him.
10. He listens to his climbing partners who holler information like: “Death fall two feet to your right!”
11. He listens to the sound of his pick jabbing the ice, so he knows whether his footing will be secure or not.
12. For Erik Weihenmayer, being a good listener is a matter of life and death.
13. But for Erik it is not only important that he listens, he also must accept and obey what he hears.
B. And such is the case for us as well.
1. We must learn to listen to the Word, we must humbly accept it and immediately obey it.
2. And if our religion is going to be acceptable to God and really make a difference, then it must be characterized by godly language, godly love and a godly lifestyle.
C. I’m certain that someone who is listening to this message, right now, needs to not only hear God’s Word, but act on it.
a. For those who need to receive God’s salvation for the very first time, I urge you to put your trust in Jesus and be united with Christ in baptism (Gal. 3:27).
b. For others hearing this lesson, perhaps God is saying that you need to quit just listening and start acting on what you know the Word is calling for you to do.
c. I urge all of us to quietly listen to what God is telling us to do, and then to prayerfully obey His commands.
