Introduction: Every college has it’s own way of going about registering students for the classes they need to take.  I would imagine that the process is a little easier today with computers being put to use than when Ruth and I were in college in the late 1970’s.  We both attended Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, TN.  Two times a year we went through a process that would totally wear you out.  The classes, times, and professors teaching those classes were posted and everyone had to come up with a schedule that included the classes they needed at the times they wanted with the professors they just had to have.  I was no different.  The registration line opened up around 8:00 AM but until they put an end to it, students would camp out all night at the building where this took place.  It was first come first served so if you just had to have that schedule you put together you stayed up all night.  When they put a stop to it, it didn’t end the practice.  I recall seeing fellows running off into the night like cockroaches when security came around to break up any lines that formed, and then the line would simply reform again.  My senior year was the only time in my four years there that I got a good night’s sleep the night before registration - they let us go to the front of the line automatically so we could get the classes we need so we could graduate.

 

This AM we have all come to a class called Religion 101.  The instructor is named God and the Teacher’s Assistant is one named James.  This is a class that many Christians usually want to avoid because all to often their grade for the class is a big fat “F”.  This is the class you have drawn this AM so let’s make the best of it and learn what God wants us to learn and apply from His Word.

 

James 1:26,27 is the conclusion to chapter one and James’ thoughts here but they also prepare us for what is to come in chapter two and following.  James answers the question, “What does it mean to be religious from God’s perspective?” by defining first what it is not, and then second, defining what it is.  Let take a look at each one.

 

I. What True Religion Is Not--James 1:26

 

A. The Thinking Process Of This False Religious Way

 

1. James makes it clear that he is referring to someone who thinks they are religious, but in fact are nowhere near God’s standard.  This person has convinced themselves that they are a good religious person before God because they have faithfully kept some ritual of religion. As James says later in the verse, they are a person “who deceiveth his own heart.” This type of thinking can be seen in one who goes to church every week, which is a good thing, but have equated that action as making them right before God and acceptable before God.  This type of thinking can be seen when a person follows a particular process of worship at a church and assumes that because they have gone through the process or steps of worship they are religious. 

 

2. The Word of God says much about such a deceived and dead process of religion. 

Ÿ         Matthew 6:1-4 says, Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Ÿ         Hosea 6:6 says, For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Ÿ         Psalm 51:16,17 says, For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

 

Application: None of us here today would want to admit that this describes the way we think we should worship and obey God.  We don’t like to be marked as a person who has deceived them self.  We don’t like to think that we have messed up, but it is time that we set aside our pride and really look at what we are doing individually in our walk with God.  We are going to be looking at a very exact illustration of what marks this person as not being a religious person in a few minutes, but the don’t let this one example serve as the only measuring stick to determine whether you have deceived yourself or not in regard to being a religious person.  Such a deceived way is clearly evident to those who know the Lord and are walking with the Lord, but the self-deceived person will always miss this blind spot in their life if they are unwilling to look into the mirror of God’s Word and see what it shows them.  Look long and hard into the mirror!

 

 

B. An Example of this False Religious Way

1. Stick your tongue out to see if it is a religious or irreligious tongue! You might be asking, "What in the world does our tongue have to do with being religious?" Well James wants us to know it is not so much the muscle in our mouth as it is our speech. True religion in the heart controls every part of life and body, even the tongue/speech.

 

2. James refers to the piece of equipment used by those who ride horses - the bridle - to explain what needs to be done with the out-of-control tongue.  He will come back to this word-picture again in chapter 3

 

3. Jesus said in Matthew 12:33-37,  Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

 

4. Jesus gives us a working practical principle to apply to our lives. "The tongue will inevitably reveal what is on the inside."

 

5. Ephesians 4:25,29 say, Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

 

James is not referring to those who sometimes fall into this sin, but rather those who are habitually sinning with the tongue.

 

Illustration: Once while John Wesley was preaching, he noticed a lady in the audience who was known for her critical attitude. All through the service she sat and stared at his new tie. When the meeting ended, she came up to him and said very sharply, "Mr. Wesley, the strings on your bow tie are much too long. It's an offense to me!" He asked if any of the ladies present happened to have a pair of scissors in their purse. When the scissors were handed to him, he gave them to his critic and asked her to trim the streamers to her liking. After she clipped them off near the collar, he said, "Are you sure they're all right now?" "Yes, that's much better." "Then let me have those scissors a moment," said Wesley. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I also gave you a bit of correction. I must tell you, madam, that your tongue is an offense to me - it's too long! Please stick it out . . . I'd like to take some off."

 

Application: How bridled is your tongue?  We can’t hid behind rituals and habits of religion and still believe we are religious in God’s sight when our tongue is out-of-control.  Everyone around us will know that we are deceiving ourselves in continuing to believe we are right with God.

 

II. WHAT TRUE RELIGION IS--James 1:27

 

Notice what James says about religion. He says God is looking for a pure and undefiled religion. These Greek words imply a religion that is free from corruption, free from any worldly filth, free from spiritual impurity, free from disfiguring accommodations, and free from human manipulation.   These two words, pure and undefiled, were used extensively in God’s Law to describe the type of sacrifices He demanded.  That is the ceremonial law, but here God wants believers to understand the moral sense of what is behind the type of religion that God looks favorably upon.  It is not found in keeping certain rules and regulations; rather, it is found in how we serve others and how we personally keep ourselves free of sin in our life.

 

A. True Religion Is Compassionate - “To visit the fatherless and widows in their distress...”

1. You can’t read too far into scripture before you find that God has a special place in His heart for the orphans and widows who are in need. 

Ÿ         Exodus 22:22 says, Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

Ÿ         Deuteronomy 27:19 says, Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Ÿ         Luke 7:12-15 tells us, Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

Ÿ         1 Timothy 5:3-16 tells us that deserving and truly needy widows were put on a list to receive material benefit from the church.

 

2. What does James tells us we should be doing for folks in this condition?

We are to visit them in their distress.  That means we are willing to go and literally help meet the physical need that they have at the moment.    To visit doesn’t mean to just go and see them; it means to go and do something tangible about the need.  This is what God is telling us marks those with a true and undefiled religion.  What happens today?  Far too often we say that the local government and it’s agencies will take care of such people.  Now I believe first and foremost, each local church ought to be concerned for their own first and then reach out to others who need help.  We need to take to heart what John writes in 1 John 3:16-18 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

 

3. Notice that James says “in their affliction.”  When James wrote this epistle, persecution of believers was real and rampant in the Roman Empire.  Many children lost their parents; many a wife or husband lost their spouse.  Especially for the children and for the wife or mother, this was a serious time of need and their local church of brothers and sisters in Christ would probably have been the only resource that many would have had to fall upon.  Their needs were real and right now and had to be met. 

 

4. There may not be children being orphaned in our town and state because of persecution; there may not be women made widows because their husband was put to death for being a Christian, but the needs are still there - for some more than others.  Some widows may not have the same level of affliction that another widow may have.  That is when God’s people ought to step in an help or be willing to help if it will be accepted.

 

5. Caring for the needy is an outward reflection of an inward reality. Those who truly have the love of God in their heart seek to express that through their acts of compassion. God doesn’t want outward ritualsm which are meaningless. He wants outward expressions of love and concern which point to a God-filled heart of love. The truly religious are compassionate, that is the outward side of the coin. Next is the inward.

 

B. True Religion is Pure-- “...to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

1. Recently, the fellows I work for driving bus washed my bus before I used it for the afternoon run.  Their work of cleaning the bus lasted about an hour because one portion of my route takes me down this dirt road that always falls apart during the spring breakup (like some of the roads you drive on).  Now it would have been senseless for my boss to tell me to not allow any dirt to get on the outside of my bus when I had to drive through that mess.  By the time I got back there was mud splattered on the windshield, lights and on the front and sides of the bus.

 

2. What James is teaching us here is different though.  Yes, we do live in a world of moral filth and mud.  Yes, we are surrounded by all this, but the command still stands - remain unspotted from the world!  Don’t let the filth and standards of this world system and way of life stain your Christian life and testimony. 

 

3. Though we are surrounded by the wickedness of this world, we have to consciously make an effort to get ourselves dirtied by it.  The mud puddle is right over there but you have to walk over to it and step in  it in order to become dirtied by it.  Remember who James put it in 1:14-15 “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” 

 

4. Maybe you have seen one of those infomercials that show a fellow waxing up the hood of a really nice car with a product that is suppose to protect the paint job on the car.  Then he dumps some lighter fluid on the hood and lights it.  Then he throws mud and grease all over it.  He zaps it with a laser beam for awhile.  And finally, he pours a corrosive acid on the hood.  Everyone in the audience feels sure this crazy guy has just ruined the paint job on this nice car, but no.  He takes a hose and sprays all the junk off and it looks like nothing has even touched it.

 

5. A Christians we need to polish our life with that kind of spiritual wax!  If we do not put that protective coat on, then we will be spotted by the things of the world we come in contact with.  Things like the acid rain of TV; the lighter fluid of immorality; the mud of political correctness even when it is Biblically wrong; the fire of sexual promiscuity; etc, etc. and etc.

 

6. So how do we protect ourselves? Look over at your Bible. There are your directions. Now look at your hands; there is your applicator. Concentrating on doing the Word of God, rather than passively adapting to the world, is the product we need to order more of right now. And guess what? God is standing by, so order by midnight tonight. Don’t delay. God is ready to help you. The Holy Spirit is ready to be your protector.

 

Paul says, in Ephesians 6:13-17: Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

 

And in Romans 13:12-14 he encourages us to: The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

 

How is the world trying to pollute you? James lays it straight out for us. Do the Word. Don’t just talk about it, but really do the Word by seeing to the needs of those in distress, and by protecting yourself from the pollution of the world—by being pure. After all, what James has been saying is what God is looking for in you. It’s what he expects of you. It is the final exam.

 

So how do you score? If you were to be graded right now in each of these areas, what grade would you receive? Words? Hands? Heart? Grade yourself and then think back to say 5 or 10 years ago. What were your grades like back then? Are you learning, or are you really letting your grades slide? And finally, where will you be on graduation day, when Christ returns, or on the day you die, whichever comes first, what will your grades look like then? If you wanted to improve your grades in school, what did you do? You listen better in class; you took better notes; you worked harder; studied more; concentrated on school rather than free time. Hey, same thing here. Listen more to other Christians. Take notes on your Bible reading and the sermons. Work harder at seeking God’s will. Study God’s Word more and more. And finally, concentrate more on doing God’s Word. In doing so, you will find yourself a proven and tested “A” student in Religion 101.