I was reminded this week about a really powerful Bible verse from Ephesians. It’s a rebuke that Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus because they were allowing themselves to be distracted by the circumstances they were in, and being misled by false teachers concerning how Christians should act and respond to certain circumstances. He rebuked them like this, “But you did not learn Christ in this way,”.
James says something very similar, especially considering how difficult it is to go through trials of life, and how tempting it might be during those trials to act in a way that is not honoring to Christ. Let’s look at what James has to say together in James 1:19-27.
“You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
James talks about pure and undefiled religion. Paul would call this the way we learn Christ. In other words, how ought a Christian live and act, so that when others examine the life, the words, and the fruit of a Christian’s life, it points to Christ, even in the midst of trials?
James helps us understand what this pure and undefiled, good religion looks like. We should understand two things about what James lists here: first, that this list is not all-inclusive. There are other places throughout the Bible that talk about other outward indicators of a life truly lived for Christ that aren’t mentioned by James. The second thing we should understand is that these indicators are outward signs of inward spiritual health. One can do outward good deeds without a good spiritual life, but for mature Christians, the outward deeds should flow out of what Christ and the Spirit have done in the heart of the believer.
James first talks about our emotions, specifically anger, and that it is contrary, it is opposite to the righteousness of God. Emotions, but particularly anger, when unchecked and not submitted to the Holy Spirit, can lead to disaster in the believer’s life. There are stern warnings about controlling emotions, and specifically controlling anger. Psalm 37:8 says this, “Cease from anger and abandon wrath; Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.” The product of anger and wrath for this Psalmist is evildoing, which is absolutely the opposite of the righteousness that God wants to produce in us.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 tells us this about anger, “Do not be eager in your spirit to be angry, For anger resides in the heart of fools.” Anger resides in the heart of fools! Perhaps because when acted upon, anger is destructive to yourself and to others.
But it’s not just being slow to anger that the Bible talks about. Take Proverbs 16:32 for example, “One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And one who rules his spirit, than one who captures a city.” Anger is talked about here, but we’re told that the one who rules his spirit is better than one who is a great conqueror. And Proverbs 25:28 says that a person who can’t control their own spirit is like a city that has been broken and torn apart. The spirit being spoken about in these verses is a person’s emotions.
It’s important for Christ-followers to learn to submit their emotions to the control of the Holy Spirit. Emotions are given as a gift by God, and they can be useful. They can help motivate us to acts of compassion for our fellow men, or to take a stand when we see injustice. Emotions can be good, but they must be under submission to the Holy Spirit, so we will act wisely and righteously, even when our emotions might lead us to do otherwise.
James also says in 1:19 to be quick to hear, and in verse 21, “in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” One of the marks of Christian maturity is that we are TEACHABLE and HUMBLE. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus taught that only those that become like little children will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This can and does have many different meanings, but one of the things that is truly remarkable about children is that they are always learning.
Think about the fast learning curve children have. From the time they are born, they must constantly be learning new things to be able to survive and thrive in the world they live in. They must learn to crawl, walk, talk, expand their vocabulary, know how to stay safe when crossing the street, and then they start school. Maybe it’s been a while, but next time you get the chance, sit down with a child and ask them what they’ve learned recently that was new. They’ll talk and talk and talk, because they are always learning new things. And generally, they’re pretty excited to learn new things! It helps them understand their world better.
We would be wise to have the same attitude when it comes to Christ. There is so much that we do not know, and He desires to teach us, but we must have teachable hearts. And this goes hand in hand with being humble. Isaiah 57:15 says that the Lord dwells with those who are humble in spirit, He is with those who are humble in heart. So, if we are to truly mature to be like-Christ, we clearly need to allow the Spirit to make us more teachable and to humbly take correction when needed.
Then James says this, “Therefore, ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness,” (21) and that we are “to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (27) Mature Christians are to put aside all the wickedness of the world. Paul says, “in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,” (Ephesians 4:22).
Every part of the New Testament makes it very clear that disciples of Christ can no longer live as they did when they were in the world. The world and its wickedness are also opposite to the righteousness of God. We must put it aside.
This cannot just be an outward change either. In Matthew 23:27, Jesus warned the scribes and the Pharisees who were hypocrites. He said they were like whitewashed tombs, they appeared beautiful on the outside, doing everything a “righteous” person should do, but inside they were spiritually dead. As disciples of Christ, we put aside the wickedness of the world, starting with our hearts and minds.
James also says this about the disciple of Christ, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does.” (22-25)
Those who do not do the word of God that they hear deceive themselves, forgetting who they are and what they have been called to do. Mature Christians are OBEDIENT to God’s Word. They hear and they do what they hear. James puts a huge emphasis on faith working into action. We know that he even goes on to say that faith without deeds is dead, it is useless.
Jesus said, as we read in Matthew 7:21, that those who are obedient to do the will of the Father are those who will enter heaven. In Matthew 12:50 He says that those who are obedient to do the will of the Father are those who are His sisters, brothers, and mother. Jesus placed such a high value on being obedient to the Lord that He never did anything in His own volition, but always did what the Spirit revealed to Him.
James tells us to be slow to speak in verse 19, and in verse 26 he adds, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” In the next chapter of the book of James, James says quite a bit about the importance of controlling one’s tongue.
Proverbs 10:19 adds this, “When there are many words, wrongdoing is unavoidable, But one who restrains his lips is wise.” And Proverbs 13:3 says, “One who guards his mouth protects his life; One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” And Proverbs 21:23 says, “One who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.”
Paul also warned about the power of the negative words we say, and so did Peter! Words can hurt, despite the popular Elementary School saying. So, we are wise to control our tongues.
And finally, James says this about good religion, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress,” (27) The call is to care for others, but especially those who are not cared for by others.
Deuteronomy 26:12 calls for God’s people to leave part of their field’s produce for foreigners, widows, and orphans, those who do not have a means of providing food for themselves.
Isaiah 1:17 says, “Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor, Obtain justice for the orphan, Plead for the widow’s case.” And Acts 20:35 says this too, “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this way you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
This is good religion. A mature faith that stands the trials of this life, and not only survives through those things, but thrives and points the way to Christ in all we do and say.
1. James talks about emotions, but particularly anger. Why do you think anger might be singled out as an emotion that can be especially damaging to a Christian’s witness? (Consider Psalm 37:8; Proverbs 14:17; 16:32; 19:11; Ecclesiastes 7:9; and Matthew 5:22)
2. What do these verses have to say about the nature of “true” or “good” religion: Deuteronomy 10:12; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Micah 6:8; Mark 12:33; Romans 13:10?