James 1:26-27
~17 min read
💭 Consider this: Are you in the practice of questioning your motives? What gives you confidence that your service is not simply a “form of godliness” without an inner transformation?
TRANSCRIPT
Our text for this morning is taken from James 1:26-27. In the preceding verses, James had powerfully driven home the point that the true believer was someone who was begotten with the Word of Truth. He was made spiritually alive, he was regenerated, he was born again, and he became a child of God. And as a child of God, he had an intimate relationship with the Word of God which had begotten him. There would be this genuine thirst and hunger for God's Word. He'll be eager and willing to receive God's Word, he would be slow to speak, quick to hear, and slow to wrath. He'll be eager and willing to respond to God's Word, he would be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only, because if he was a hearer only, he had deceived himself.
Immediately after that, James dives deeply into what it means to be a doer of the Word because he anticipated some of his readers might be thinking, ‘Well, I am a doer of the Word, I’ve always obeyed the Word, I always preach and as well as practice what I preach. Just take a look at all the things I have done. I've done this and I've done that. And based on all the things I've done, am I not a religious person? Am I not a spiritual person?’
So James was speaking to these people that there is the danger of deceiving oneself in being a hearer only and not a doer of the Word. But there is another danger of deceiving oneself with false religious doings. The doings are not bad in themselves. It is the delusion in believing that by doing certain things, by certain practices, it can make one religious. In other words, there is this danger of believing in the external superficial practices but with no inner transformation of the heart. Because if the heart is not transformed, it doesn't matter what a person does. At best, it is just an outward show of spirituality; at worst, it is hypocrisy.
James was not against what a person does, but he was going beyond the physical practices and into the heart, the transformation of the heart. It is not what a person does that makes him spiritual, but it is what he does that comes from a transformed heart that makes him spiritual. This is the point James was trying to make in these two verses, and this is what we want to learn for today's message. The title of our message is ‘Are You Transformed by the Word?’
I. Are You Transformed In Your Speech?
Our first point is: ‘Are You Transformed in Your Speech?’ Let us begin with verse 26, “If any man among you seem to be religious,” — or considers himself to be religious — ”and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.”
Oftentimes we understand the word "religious" as someone who has a strong belief, someone who is godly or holy. But here, the original Greek word for "religious" is very interesting. It is used in the negative connotation, not in a positive sense. It is used to refer to the external religious rituals, routines, and ceremonies; someone who only observes those things externally.
This was how the Apostle Paul described himself to King Agrippa in Acts 26:4-5. Allow me to read for you. Paul said, "My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee." In other words, Paul was saying to King Agrippa, ‘The Jews knew me from the beginning, from day one, how I have lived my life since I was a youth, how I have lived as a Pharisee, observing the rules and regulations of the strictest religion.’ In those days, the strictest group of so-called religious people were the Pharisees, but it was just an external observation of religious practices with no inner transformation. So here, this word "religious" is used in a negative sense to refer to the external observation of religious practices.
The opposite of the word "religious" is the word oftentimes translated as "godliness." Perhaps the best way to explain these two words, "religious" and "godliness," is found in 2 Timothy 3:5. If you have your Bibles, maybe you can turn with me to this verse. 2 Timothy 3:5, Paul says, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." Godliness is good because it comes from a transformed heart, but there are some people who only show an outward manifestation of godliness but inwardly they do not have the transforming power. What do you call that? Religious and external observation of religious practices. Paul says from such people, turn away.
Today, there are some people who believe that if they attend church regularly, if they carry their Bibles wherever they go, if they are familiar with all the hymns, if they participate in all the fellowship group meetings, if they are active in their services, if they give of their tithes and offerings on a weekly basis, they are considered religious. Well, all these spiritual activities are good, but they have no spiritual value apart from true saving faith. And this true saving faith comes from a supernatural transformation in the heart that will make all these spiritual activities meaningful and valuable. Otherwise, they mean absolutely nothing. The person who is not inwardly transformed and just going through the motion, just externally observing those spiritual things, sooner or later, he will expose himself with his speech. He “bridleth not his tongue” (James 1:26).
The word "bridleth" means to control, to restrain, or to keep in check. The reason why he's not able to control his tongue is because there's no inner transforming power within him. When a professing believer engages himself in unwholesome, sinful, and filthy languages, he exposes his heart which is corrupted.
Remember our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 15:17-19, ‘Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth goes into the belly and it is cast out as waste? But whatever things proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and that defiles the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.’ In other words, what you speak comes from your heart.
Jesus said in Matthew 12:34-37, "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."
The believer whose heart is transformed, it is like a good treasure and out of it will come forth good things, referring to the things he says—words of love, comfort, encouragement, edification; words to build up, not to destroy; words to heal, not to hurt. But the unbeliever or the professing believer whose heart is not transformed, it is like an evil treasure, and out of it will come forth evil things—words filled with hatred, anger, strife, lies, blasphemy, gossip, slander; words that are critical and judgmental; words that will cause division.
Some experts say about one-third of the average man's life is spent on talking, and it has been estimated that the average person will speak about 18,000 words in a day, which is enough to fill up a regular-sized book. So, in a year, he will accumulate a small library. Of course, some people speak more than that. Do you realise that in the multitude of our words, God will hold us accountable? Jesus said we have to give an account for every careless word we speak. The true believer knows that, so he will take control, restrain, and keep in check, through the working of the Holy Spirit, what he ought to speak and what he ought not to speak.
Dear friend, if our tongues are not transformed by God, it shows that our hearts are not transformed by Him as well. Our tongues and our hearts are connected, synchronised. A person may profess to be a believer, that he loves God, that he's godly, that his heart is right with God, but if he's not able to control his heart, it shows that his heart is not controlled by God. Such a person, James says, he “deceiveth his own heart” (verse 26). This man's religion, his outward show of spirituality, is vain, which means empty and worthless. Whatever he may profess to say or profess to believe in is vain, empty, and worthless.
It does not mean that we will never fall into the sin of saying something unwholesome or our speech is always perfect. No man is. Or the moment we say something wrong, we are deceiving ourselves. Here James was speaking of a person who cannot control his tongue habitually. There is this consistent pattern. It is impossible because if God has transformed his heart, he will also transform his tongue as well.
Oftentimes, we hear people say, ‘Well, I'm just someone who speaks my mind.’ It is good to speak your mind as in speaking truthfully and outrightly, but it is not good to speak and then expose your heart that is not transformed by God. When that happens, there is nothing to hold back the tongue, nothing to control and restrain the tongue, and that would be disastrous and detrimental. Someone once said to John Wesley, ‘My talent is to speak my mind.’ And Wesley replied, ‘Well, that is one talent that God wouldn't care a bit if you buried it.’
The true test of a man's religion, the true test of a man's spirituality — for that matter, the true test of a man's saving faith is not in his ability to speak; it is in his ability to control his tongue. Dear friend, are you someone who is transformed in your speech, in that you are able to control your tongue? Remember, if God has transformed your heart, He will also transform your speech as well.
II. Are You Transformed In Your Love?
Our second point is: ‘Are You Transformed in Your Love?’ Let us move on to the first part of verse 27, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction".
The word "pure" speaks of cleanliness, and the word "undefiled" speaks of something that is free from contamination. James was speaking about true spirituality. It is pure and clean; it is free from corruption and contamination. He was not speaking about what the world or the believer himself perceive as true spirituality but what God Himself perceives as true spirituality. That was why he said, "before God and the Father."
Do you think God does not know whether we are truly spiritual or not, whether we are pure and undefiled or not? We may tick all the boxes, we may answer all the questions, we may appear to be spiritual, but inwardly, our hearts are filled with impurity, corruption, contamination, hidden agendas, and personal motivations. Who can ever know? God knows.
Christians ought to love one another as our Lord Jesus said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34-35). And one of the ways which we ought to show love for one another is to help those who are in need. So, in a sense, James was saying, ‘Let me tell you what is pure and undefiled love. It is this: “visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction”’ (James 1:27).
The original Greek word for "fatherless" is from where we get the English word ‘orphans’, and the original Greek word for "visit" is from where we get the English word ‘episcopal’, which means an overseer, sometimes translated as a bishop.
A bishop is someone who watches over the flock, caring for their spiritual well-being, to help, strengthen and care for them. So, to visit means much more than just dropping by for a chat or picking up the phone and calling someone. In the same way, the bishop watches over the flock spiritually, you watch over the orphans and widows physically, caring and helping them in every possible way you can. That is the idea. You help the orphans and widows not for men to see and applaud you for your kindness, but you do that before God because He loves every one of His children. He shows special concern for the orphans and widows. The psalmist David said, ‘God is a father to the orphans and a judge to the widows’ (Psalm 68:5). As a Father, He will provide for their needs, and oftentimes He uses His people as instruments to provide for them.
Allow me to give you one good example. In Deuteronomy chapter 24, God commanded His people that, ‘When you harvest your fields and you forget to take the grains, do not go back and take them; leave them for the orphans and widows. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyards, do not go back a second time; leave them for the orphans and widows.’ That was the reason why the widow Ruth was able to glean the grains left behind in the field belonging to Boaz.
Do you know that when you visit orphans and widows in your midst, you are doing it unto God? Jesus said, "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me:" — He used the same word "visit" — "I was in prison, and ye came unto me". In other words, ‘You watched out for Me, you cared for Me, and you helped Me.’ Then the believers asked him, ‘When did we do all that to You? When did we give You meat, give You drink, took You in, clothed You, or visited You?" Then Jesus said unto them, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:35-40).
There are several spiritual lessons we can learn from James using the example of showing love to the orphans and widows. Obviously, they were the people with the greatest needs in the early church. There was no one for them to turn to; they had no close relatives, there was no job for them. Therefore, it was obvious that they were in desperate need, they were in their affliction.
So, the first lesson we can learn is that if we cannot see those who have great needs like the orphans and widows, how can we see those whose needs are less obvious? Sometimes there are needy people around us, standing right before us, and yet we cannot see. If we cannot see that which is obvious, how can we see that which is not obvious?
The second lesson we can learn is that God wants His people to be His instruments to provide for others. Again, sometimes we hear people who share their prayer items about facing difficult times, they are in great distress, and we are able to help, we have the means to help, and yet we say to them, ‘I will pray for you, dear sister, dear brother, I will pray for you.’ We should stop praying, as in stop asking God to send people to help them; rather, we ourselves should rise up as His instruments to provide the need.
Most importantly, the third lesson we can learn is that the orphans and widows are those people who are not capable to return what you have rendered onto them. They are not able to give back anything to you. Some people do help others, but they only help those people whom they expect to return their acts of generosity. They invite those people to their homes, expecting that they would invite them to their homes in return. They give gifts to those people, expecting to receive gifts from them in return. They visit those who are sick, expecting that they would visit them when they are sick. God does not want us to do that.
He wants us to love without expecting to be loved, to help without expecting to be helped, to give without expecting to receive. That is what pure and undefiled love is. That is the religion of the Bible. That is what it means to be a Christian.
A word of encouragement to all those who laboured in the elderly home at Monash Gardens. Most of the elderly are widows and widowers. When you visit them, when you care and help them, you are doing it unto the Lord, and there's nothing you can expect to receive from them. To all those who have given cheerfully to the mission works in Myanmar, there is nothing you can expect to receive from them, but you are doing what you are doing not expecting to receive anything but out of a pure and undefiled love. And God knows; He will reward and bless your labours of love.
III. Are You Transformed In Your Morality?
Our final point is: ‘Are You Transformed in Your Morality?’ Look at the second part of verse 27, "and to keep himself unspotted from the world." To “keep” is a continuous action. To be “unspotted” is to be unstained, unpolluted, or unblemished. The word "world" (cosmos) can mean several things; it can mean this physical Earth, it can mean humanity in general, it can mean the unbelieving world, or it can mean this evil world system depending on the context.
Most certainly here, it is a reference to the evil world system. Jesus said, ‘You are in the world, but you are not of the world’ (John 17:14-16). As long as you and I are alive, we are living in this world where Satan is the prince of the power of the air. His influence is so pervasive, but we do not belong to it because we belong to God. The things of God and the things of the world, the love of God and the love of the world, they are total opposites. The Apostle John said in 1 John 2:15-16, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." They are total opposites.
The world wants to entice us; the world wants to make us embrace its values, its morals, its philosophies, its entertainment, its pleasures. The world wants us to build our securities in the things it offers us. As believers, we must constantly resist it. In your workplaces, there are things you must constantly resist. It could be company dinners, functions, dinner and dance, or ungodly conversation. In your schools, there are things you must constantly resist. It could be ungodly activities or worldly friends. There are places we must constantly avoid; there are habits we must constantly fight against. Why? Because we do not want to be polluted; we do not want to be stained by the things of this world. We are living in the world, but we are not of the world.
Once, there was a pastor who had a friend, and he was a surgeon. One day, the friend visited him, noticed the pastor looked very tired, and he felt that the pastor needed a rest. So, he bought some tickets to a play and he said to the pastor, ‘Take [them], you need to rest and relax, go and watch the play.’ The pastor looked at the tickets and he realised that the play was a comedy filled with worldly jokes and ungodly gestures. Therefore, he said to his friend, ‘I cannot take this, I cannot go.’ The friend asked, ‘Why not? You are tired and you need some entertainment.’
Then the pastor said, ‘Yes, I'm tired and I do need to rest. You see, the reason why I cannot go is because of this: You are a doctor, a surgeon; when you are in the operation theater, you scrub your hands meticulously until you are clean. You will not dare to operate with dirty hands, right? Well, I'm a child of God, washed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and I'm also a servant of God, and I worship and serve Him and I deal with precious human souls. I would not dare to do my work with a dirty life.’ How true.
How can the believer who has been washed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ worship Him, serve Him, sing praises to Him, evangelise to others about Him with a dirty life, living a life that is polluted by the world? God forbids. Here, James was not speaking about sinless perfection; no man is. Only Jesus Christ, who is 100% God, 100% man, is perfect. But as a believer washed by His blood, we are justified, and every day of our lives, we are being sanctified. We are endeavouring to keep ourselves unpolluted by the world.
Dear friend, do you see this constant pattern in your life, constantly trying to live a sanctified life through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God? Or do you see yourself simply following the pattern of the world? As the world beckons you, you just follow. If that is the case, something is terribly wrong. Are you transformed by the Word, or is it just an outward show of spirituality?
If you are truly saved, then there will be this genuine heart transformation. You must be transformed in your speech, you must be transformed in your love, and you must be transformed in your morality. Again, not that you are perfect, but you are being sanctified, and you are growing in your sanctification, and you see this radical change in the way you speak, in the way you respond to the needs of others you love, and in the way you live in purity. That is the life of a true believer. Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for Thy Word. Indeed, Thy Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Thy Word is powerful, not just to teach us doctrines but also to convict our hearts. Thou hast taught us this morning what it means to be transformed in our hearts. We profess to be believers, and as believers, we are justified by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. And every day of our lives, we are being sanctified, and we ought to be transformed in our speech. Our tongues and our hearts are connected; they are synchronised. If Thou hast transformed our hearts, Thou will also transform our speech as well. So help us to examine ourselves. Is there a radical change in the way we speak, or is it still the same?
If there is this transformation in our hearts, then we must also be transformed in our love, in the way we respond to those who are in need, as we seek to obey our Lord's command to love one another as He has loved us. And how we ought to show this love to those who are in great need, to the orphans and widows, to the people around us. And there must be this transformation of our morality, in the way we live in purity. How can we, washed by the precious blood of Christ, be worshipping Him, serving Him, rendering our voices to praise Him as we profess to be doing, and evangelising, telling others about Him, when we are living dirty lives, a life that is polluted by the world? God forbids.
The things of the world and the things of Thee, the love of the world and the love for Thee, they are total opposites. Jesus said, ‘Ye cannot love God and mammon.’ We love Thee. So Thou hast reminded us what it means to be transformed in our hearts, even in these two verses. We thank Thee, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF JAMESFacing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]James 1:1-4
Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]James 1:1-4
The Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialThe Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialJames 1:5-8
Trial Is No Respecter Of PersonsTrial Is No Respecter Of PersonsJames 1:9-12
How To Deal With TemptationHow To Deal With TemptationJames 1:13-15
Remember Who God Is And Who We AreRemember Who God Is And Who We AreJames 1:16-18
Be Receptive To The Word Of GodBe Receptive To The Word Of GodJames 1:19-21
Doers of the WordDoers of the WordJames 1:21-25
Be Responsive To The Word Of GodBe Responsive To The Word Of GodJames 1:22-25
Are You Transformed By The Word?Are You Transformed By The Word?James 1:26-27
The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]James 2:1-4
The Sin of PartialityThe Sin of PartialityJames 2:1-13
The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]James 2:5-13
Show Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You MineShow Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You MineJames 2:14-20
Faith In ActionFaith In ActionJames 2:21-26
A Warning To Want-To-Be TeacherA Warning To Want-To-Be TeacherJames 3:1-2
Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)James 3:1-13
The Power Of The TongueThe Power Of The TongueJames 3:3-6
The Taming Of The TongueThe Taming Of The TongueJames 3:7-12
The Danger Of False WisdomThe Danger Of False WisdomJames 3:13-16
The Blessing Of Heavenly WisdomThe Blessing Of Heavenly WisdomJames 3:17-18
Dealing With Conflict In The ChurchDealing With Conflict In The ChurchJames 4:1-6
What Constitutes True SalvationWhat Constitutes True SalvationJames 4:7-10
Speak No EvilSpeak No EvilJames 4:11-12
How to Be PatientHow to Be PatientJames 5:7-11
In Times of AfflictionIn Times of AfflictionJames 5:13-18
