Ditch all the Works of the Flesh, and Worthless Religion, Go For what God calls Pure Religion -- Yes, Go For A Relationship with Christ. James Draws the Line Here.
"If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless."
James 1:26 esv"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 1:27 esvJames does not condemn religion itself. He exposes the difference between empty religion and living faith.
The contrast is startling.
One religion impresses people but is worthless before God.
The other may seem ordinary to the world, yet it delights the heart of God.
The difference is not found in ceremonies, denominations, clothing, titles, traditions, or religious vocabulary.
The difference is found in a transformed heart.
You know, "first Saturday and then Sunday!"
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Two People May Sit in the Same Church Building
Imagine two people sitting side by side in the same worship service.
Both sing the same hymns.
Both bow their heads during prayer.
Both carry a Bible.
Both know Christian language.
Both may even serve in ministry.
Yet only one truly belongs to Christ.
The other has mastered the appearance of religion while remaining spiritually unchanged.
Jesus warned that this would happen.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven... Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name...?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'" (Matthew 7:21-23)
Notice that Jesus does not say, "I knew you once."
He says, "I never knew you."
The greatest tragedy is not atheism alone.
It is religion without regeneration.
It is church without Christ.
It is morality without the new birth.
It is outward reform without inward redemption.
The Devil Is Satisfied with Anything That Replaces Christ
Scripture teaches that Satan's great objective is to keep people from seeing the glory of Christ.
"The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
He accomplishes that in many ways.
Some people are destroyed through obvious sin.
Others through intellectual pride.
Others through false religion.
Others through self-righteousness.
Others through trusting ceremonies, traditions, good works, or their own morality.
If people are depending on anything other than Jesus Christ alone for acceptance with God, they remain spiritually lost, regardless of how respectable they appear.
The enemy does not care what substitute people embrace, so long as it keeps them from the Savior.
One person may run toward rebellion.
Another may hide behind religion.
Both roads end in the same destination if they never come to Christ.
That is why Jesus declared,
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)
There are not many roads leading to God.
There is one Savior for sinners.
Religion Can Sorta Polish Up the Outside of a Person
Religion can change habits.
It can improve manners.
It can teach discipline.
It can encourage generosity.
It can produce respectable citizens.
But only the Holy Spirit can create a new heart.
Only Christ can forgive sin.
Only the Gospel can reconcile a guilty sinner to a holy God.
Only God's grace can make someone a new creation.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Religion may clean the outside of the cup.
Jesus cleanses the inside.
Religion can restrain certain sins.
Christ breaks sin's dominion.
Religion may alter behavior.
Jesus transforms the heart.
The Battle Begins When Christ Becomes Lord Inside
The kingdom of darkness is never threatened by empty religious activity.
But when a sinner repents and believes the Gospel, heaven rejoices and the kingdom of darkness suffers defeat.
Jesus said,
"There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10)
When God's Word is believed...
When knees begin to bow in sincere prayer...
When hearts surrender to Christ...
When lives begin to obey His Word...
When the Holy Spirit produces repentance...
When believers begin rescuing others with the Gospel...
...the enemy's work is being undone.
Satan cannot steal those whom Christ has redeemed.
He cannot condemn those whom Christ has justified.
He cannot overcome those whom Christ keeps by His power.
That is why he fiercely opposes the spread of the Gospel and seeks to deceive people with counterfeit hope.
James Exposes Empty Religion
Run from it. James gives three simple tests.
First, How Do You Speak?
"If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue... his religion is worthless." (James 1:26)
Our mouths reveal our hearts.
Gossip...
Slander...
Lies...
Profanity...
Cruel words...
Unforgiveness...
Constant criticism...
These expose a heart that desperately needs God's sanctifying grace.
No amount of religious activity can compensate for an uncontrolled tongue.
As Jesus said,
"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34)
Second, Do You Love People Who Cannot Repay You Any?
James immediately points to widows and orphans.
Why?
Because they represented the forgotten, the vulnerable, and the powerless.
God has always defended those the world overlooks.
Throughout Scripture He identifies Himself as
"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows." (Psalm 68:5)
Pure religion notices those whom society ignores.
It serves without demanding recognition.
It gives without expecting repayment.
It reflects the heart of Christ, who
"came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)
Third, Are You Becoming More Like Christ?
James concludes,
"...keep oneself unstained from the world." (James 1:27)
He is not calling believers to isolation from people.
Jesus Himself was called the friend of sinners.
Rather, James calls Christians to remain morally and spiritually distinct from the world's sinful values.
Christians live in the world.
They love people in the world.
They proclaim the Gospel to the world.
But they refuse to let the world's unbelief, immorality, pride, greed, or rebellion shape their lives.
As Romans 12:2 says,
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind."
Grace Produces What Law Never Could
James never teaches salvation by works.
Neither does Paul.
Paul explains how sinners are justified before God.
James explains how justified sinners live before the world.
Paul answers,
"How is a sinner saved?"
James answers,
"What does genuine saving faith look like?"
The two apostles stand shoulder to shoulder.
"He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy..." (Titus 3:5)
"For by grace you have been saved through faith... not a result of works..." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
And immediately afterward,
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works..." (Ephesians 2:10)
Good works do not produce salvation.
Salvation produces good works.
Fruit does not make a tree alive.
A living tree produces fruit.
A Searching Question For You
The question is not merely,
"Am I religious outwardly?"
Nor is it,
"Do I attend a church?"
Nor,
"Have I been baptized?"
Nor,
"Do I know Christian doctrine?"
The greater question is this:
Has Jesus Christ changed me?
Do I love what He loves?
Do I hate what He hates?
Am I growing in holiness?
Am I becoming more compassionate?
Am I trusting Christ alone rather than my own goodness?
Do others increasingly see the character of Jesus in me?
The Gospel does not merely improve people.
It raises spiritually dead sinners to new life.
Religion may decorate the old life.
Jesus gives an entirely new one.
May we never settle for a religion that impresses people while leaving the heart untouched.
Instead, let us seek the Savior who forgives completely, transforms continually, and will one day present His redeemed people "blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy" (Jude 24).
For there is an eternal difference between having religion in your head and having Jesus Christ reigning as Lord in your heart.
