James 1.26-27
“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.”
Here is a quick summary of this section of the book of James. The authenticity of a person’s faith in Christ is revealed four ways:
- Speech
- Self-awareness
- Service
- Separation
The first way that authentic faith is revealed is in our speech. True faith results in a controlled tongue. Scripture gives an extensive list of “sins of the tongue” (e.g., gossip, slander, backbiting, complaining, cursing, blaspheming, lying, boasting, flattery, etc.).
As I wrote yesterday, controlling the tongue is not just an issue of avoiding harmful talk, but also a matter of speaking the right words (blessing, encouraging, edifying) with a right heart.
The second way that authentic faith reveals itself is self-awareness and the avoidance of self-deception. People with authentic faith hear the word and then do the work to apply the word to their lives.
Though application is never perfect, they are honest about where they struggle and need to grow and get better. They are honest with themselves, and they are honest with God. No games. No excuses. Just real work to get better every day.
The third evidence of authentic faith is serving people who are hurting. James 1.27 says that “to visit orphans and widows in their trouble” is a trait of “pure and undefiled religion.” It makes sense to group orphans and widows together because they constitute two social classes most vulnerable to exploitation and therefore most needing our help.
The fourth evidence of authentic faith is separation from the world. James 1.27 describes it as “keep oneself unstained from the world.” The word he uses for “world” is the Greek kosmos. It is not a reference to the physical created world; rather, it refers to the distorted values and practices of a society that has rejected God.
The authentic Christian stays away from the destructive patterns of behavior in the world. John stated it quite clearly in his first epistle: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2.15-17)
The things of the world are often attractive, and it is tempting to absorb the world’s value system and accommodate to its standards. But true faith is vigilant and disciplined about staying separate from the world. And this is no trivial thing. James speaks again to this topic later in chapter 4. “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” he writes.
Jesus did not come to take us out of the world. Rather, He came into the world to set us apart and then send us back into the world as agents and ambassadors of His kingdom. What a great description of the Christian life! We are set apart from the world by Christ’s redeeming and transforming work in order to be sent back into the world as agents of Christ’s redeeming and transforming work.
More tomorrow …
