If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 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)
Introduction
As we close out the first chapter of James, we recall the instruction we have received. James has told us the importance of hearing the Word, and then the importance of doing the Word. And he now follows this up with a test for what this true religion of doing the Word is to look like.
In this discussion the word used in English is “religion.” In our modern times it has become the hip thing to decry religion as bad; and all too common is the phrase, “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship.” The problem is that the Bible itself, before us today, uses the word “religion” – there is bad or worthless religion described, and then there is good or pure and undefiled religion described. And one of the problems with saying “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship,” is that it so personalizes Christianity to one’s own personal experience so as to truncate an important part of the Biblical religion of Christianity. Religion is certainly a personal experience of knowing the One True God, but biblically it is also a proper outward way of life in obedience to the One True God that we know, in such a way that it benefits others. So we need not hesitate to use the word “religion” to our Christianity, which it is. Indeed it is the one true religion.
In this passage we see that true religion includes the proper use of these three things: One’s Tongue, One’s Heart, and One’s Actions. First, One’s Tongue.
The Tongue
So James tells us that it is possible to think oneself religious but not actually be religious at all. This shows us that religion is not just what man thinks himself to be, but there is a definition or standard to defining what true religion is. James says, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” So the first test of true religion that James gives is the test of the tongue. If one cannot bridle his tongue, what good is his religion? As Matthew Henry says, “There is no strength nor power in that religion which will not enable a man to bridle his tongue.”
Too often we underestimate the importance of bridling the tongue, and we think too little of the words we say. We think that most words are little things, that our mutterings are nothing and are of no consequence. But Jesus said in Matthew 12, that we will be judged by every careless word we utter. And if we think our careless words are of no effect because maybe no one of importance hears the words we mutter, we ought to remember the wisdom of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 10:20, “Even in your thoughts do not curse the King, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.”
All of our little words matter for they are all a test to the veracity of our religion. They are all a test as to what is in the heart, for out of the heart, the mouth speaks. It does not matter who hears or does not hear, or how little we think our mutterings to be, for the bridling of the tongue is not just for the good of others, but it is a test as to what is in our hearts.
James has been giving us little bits of imagery throughout this first chapter to describe different things to us, and here the imagery is the idea of bridling your tongue like you would bridle a horse or other such beast. The idea is that if you are not able to bridle the tongue, then it will run wild like an unbridled animal. The tongue is something that is to be tamed and controlled – told to stop, or slow down, or go this way, or that way.
One of the things implied here is the fact that we are responsible to control our tongues. How often do you come up with excuses for your loose tongue, such as “I can’t help it,” “I can’t control it,” or, “It’s just my personality; it’s just the way I am?” These are not valid excuses for saying things we ought not say or speaking in ways which we ought not to speak.
Out of all the different tests of faith and out of all the different areas for which we need to practice self-control, controlling the tongue may be the most telling of all because of the tongue’s aptitude to run wild if not bridled. You can be the type of person who has every other area put together and in order, and it all can be ruined with an unbridled tongue. You can dress nice with modesty, have an ordered home that is productive and run efficiently, you can faithfully attend church and be known for your commitment to worship, have great children, and a good marriage, but yet, if the tongue is not bridled, it spoils the whole picture, it is distasteful and unfitting, to yet be a gossip, for example.
This is of course not a random exhortation from James, for he has already been speaking of the tongue, and will do so again in this letter. But bridling the tongue is an outworking of his instruction on hearing the word, where James exhorts us, “let every person be slow to speak…” Slowness to speak is an example of a bridled tongue, for when we are quick to speak, it is often the reaction of an unbridled tongue, spouting off things that will be regretted.
In terms of the entirety of the theme of chapter 1, so often it is in times of trial and testing when we are most tempted to lash out with words. In times of testing when suffering or injustice or persecution happens, it may be when we are most tempted to be unbridled with our tongue and justify it. We think our words are so small compared to what has been done to us or the situation we find ourselves in, and so we justify sin. But there is no injustice, or trial, or wrong done which ever justifies an unbridling of the tongue, because it is not just about the other person, but it is a test of our faith. You are tested, tried, squeezed – what will come out? Gracious speech, judicious words, or vile nastiness? Pure religion or defiled religion?
Now, the other thing that is implied with the idea of bridling the tongue, is that there is a proper use of our words and tongue. The tongue is not inherently sinful, obviously. We are not to bridle sins afterall. Sins are to be mortified, put to death, not bridled or managed. Therefore to bridle the tongue means to refrain from using the tongue for sin, and instead use it for good. Not only do we not want to lie, we want to be honest. Not only do we not want to curse, we want to bless. Not only do we not want to gossip, we want to build one another up. Not only are we to refrain from crude joking, but we want to add sweetness to our speech. So when you are tested, when you are tried, what comes out? Cursing, or blessing the name of the Lord? Lying, or honesty? Crudeness, or sweetness? Grumbling and complaining, or rejoicing and thankfulness? Lashing out with sharp cutting words to others, or encouragement and exhortation? When the flesh wants to veer off one way into gossip, or cursing, or self-boasting, the bridle of the tongue is to pull back, and direct, “No, go this way, be quiet; here is a helpful word…”
How dangerous and deadly the tongue can be – oh that we would bridle it by the Word and Spirit of God. How many sins and controversies would we be kept from if we would only bridle the tongue? May our constant prayer be that of the Psalmist in Psalm 141:3, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!”
The Heart
The second element of true religion is the heart. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. The tongue and the heart are tethered together. James tells us that if someone thinks he is religious, but does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart, and thus his religion is worthless. Again, James returns to the warning against self deception, just as he said in verse 22, “…be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” So if we do not obey the Word, we deceive ourselves, and part of proper obedience is bridling the tongue. So James does not want us to be deceived – even if we do all the right outward things, a life full of religious action, but yet our tongues are unbridled and uncontrolled – we may yet be deceiving ourselves, indeed deceiving our hearts.
Again, the danger of deceiving your heart, is that definitional to such self-deception, you don’t realize you are deceiving your heart. We know that the heart itself is deceptive, as Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the “heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can understand it?” How can this be? How can one deceive his own heart? Thomas Manton gives us one example, saying, “A liar, by repeating his lies, begins to believe them.”
This is a dangerous place to be in, yet this warning from James is a mercy, for he gives us a test in which we could come to realize we have been deceiving our hearts, and can be deceived no longer – Look at your tongue. What is one way to know the condition of your heart? Examine your tongue. If you do, and realize that it is unbridled, it is a mercy that may deliver you from self-deception should you turn and repent and bridle your tongue. When we are squeezed and tested, our tongues reveal what is in our hearts. So don’t think so much about when things are well, but when you are under trial and testing, when you are angry, do you find your tongue to run loosely with cursing, ungodly criticisms of everyone else, complaining, or such things? Well, there it is shown to you that you have a heart problem. There is some sin and old man flesh there that needs to die. But if you excuse and justify your tongue you are continuing down a dangerous path of self-deception, deceiving your own heart.
Actions
The third element of true religion is our actions. Or we could say our tongue, our hearts, and our hands. After giving us an example of worthless religion, James gives us an example of true religion. “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 is concerned with what pure and undefiled religion is before God, not what is good religion before man; for man does not always look at the right things. Man likes to look at what is considered more noble or mighty deeds for evaluating a man, but God looks at how a man is in regard to the lowest of society, the most weak and helpless. How does a man act toward those who can offer no benefit, to those who cannot benefit his earthly status? This is where true religion is tested. What does Jesus describe in the gospel of Matthew? That on that day many will stand before God and say “Lord, Lord, when did we see you hungry or naked?” Or the other side, which essentially says, “Lord, Lord, did we not do mighty works in your name?” But Jesus says, “What you did to the least of these, you did to me.” This is pure and undefiled religion before God the Father.
Consider the specific context of the persecuted tribes in the dispersion. They were persecuted by the Jews, and in such a context, that is going to create more orphans and widows within the body of the church, when men are dragged away to prison or death. So this era and context of the church, had a more acute need than maybe we have in our context today, nevertheless orphans and widows always remain with us to varying degrees, and remains a test of true religion. And James says, this is pure religion, you are being tested, you are facing various trials, but even in the midst of those, do you care for those who may have a more difficult trial?
True religion requires us to respond a certain way in adverse circumstances, and it requires us to help others in adverse circumstances. And it’s purposeful that in this mention of caring for orphans and widows, James refers to God, as God the Father. Such orphans and widows, God is a Father to, and He does not leave them without care. His normal means of caring for them is through the true religion of the body of Christ.
We see that this is a concern all throughout the Bible. God is concerned with the protection and provision of orphans and widows. He is a Father to the fatherless, a God who cares for the weak and helpless. Psalm 68:5, “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.” The laws of Israel contained various stipulations for the protections of such ones. Think of Boaz and Ruth, a widow, being blessed by the gleaning laws, and ultimately be redeemed by the Kinsman Redeemer – a beautiful picture of the gospel. In the vision of Isaiah, chapter 1, one of the reasons judgment comes against the unfaithful city is because their princes did “not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them.” God’s instructions for caring for such ones continues in the New Testament church. It’s the issue of the widows being neglected in Acts 6 that is resolved, Paul gives instructions on what qualifies a widow to be taken care of, and James tells us this is a test of pure and undefiled religion before God the Father.
And in all of this that we are to do, we are to keep oneself unstained from the world. We are not to partake in the world’s sins as we go about our lives and practicing pure and undefiled religion. Pure and undefiled religion is not just a ceremony, it is a consistent way of life. It is lived out every day. It is saying “no” to sin and bearing the fruits of the spirit. This religion is good, and we must have it, and not deceive ourselves.
Christ
And these things we see perfectly accomplished in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was and is the pure and undefiled one. He ministered to the poor and needy, He visited and made well the sick, He ate with tax collectors and sinners, and challenged the Scribes and Pharisees, He spoke not one unbridled word, even under the greatest trial and testing anyone has ever or will ever face, He kept not his face from spitting and disgrace, yet as a sheep before its shearers is silent, he was silent before His accusers, and in all of it remained unstained from the world, reviling not in return, that He might bear our sins in His body on the cross; that He might bear our stains, and stain them with His purifying blood of atonement and forgiveness.
And not too long ago, you may recall we looked at a particular passage in the gospel of Luke where Jesus cared for orphans and widows in their affliction. Jesus went to the funeral of the widow of Nain, visiting her in her affliction, and raised her only son to life, caring and providing for her, as a sign of His care for such ones, and as a sign of the resurrection power where all of His children are eternally cared for with everlasting life where there is no more stain of sin or sorrow. And it is a sign of the gospel. For before God we are all destitute and afflicted sinners and orphans, with nothing to offer, no cent of righteousness to our name, and yet Jesus comes to such ones, raises them to life, and makes them sons of God, adopted as His children, as sons, to receive the undeserved inheritance of eternal life and all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And when the church practices this true and undefiled religion, she continues to show forth this good news of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
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