JAMES 1:24-27 REAL CHRISTIANITY CAN BE SEEN PART 2

James 1:24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

V-24 Hearer and not a doer, You are like a man who after looking in mirror soon forgets what he looked like

"He glanced at himself and off he has gone and straightway forgot  what sort of a man he was". The tenses present a vivid and lifelike picture of the careless listener to preaching (Christ's wayside hearer).

Compare Luke 12:24, 27; Heb. 3:1. So that the contrast is not between a hasty look and a careful contemplation (ver. 25, looketh). It is not mere careless hearing of the word, which James rebukes, but the neglect to carry into practice what is heard. One may be an attentive and critical hearer of the word, yet not a doer.^[1]

Lu 6:47 "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:

You need to apply what you heard to your life,

If God convicts you of something, you need to do it.

Ro 7:9 "I was alive without the law; that is, I took all to be right with me, and thought myself not only clean, but, compared with the generality of the world, beautiful too; but when the commandment came, when the glass of the law was set before me, then sin revived, and I died--then I saw my spots and deformities, and discovered that amiss in myself which before I was not aware of; and such was the power of the law, and of sin, that I then perceived myself in a state of death and condemnation."

2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

V25 Blessed is the man – Psalm 1

One who looks into(intense examination)

 The perfect law of liberty and continues in it...

Joh 13:16 "Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

The Gospel is a law of liberty it frees us from sin and frees us to do the will of God

The saved man delights to do the will of God

John 8:36 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

The ceremonial sacrifices a yoke of bondage

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

The Bible is "perfect" because it is inerrant. It contains no factual errors or misrepresentations. It perfectly reveals the will of God for man. It will not allow for any distortions of reality. It will not allow us to fool ourselves into thinking that we are better than we are.

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7).

Liberty and license are different. Biblical liberty is the freedom to live within the principles of God. License gives free rein to the flesh.

"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!" (Galatians 5:13-15).

• Is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work

It is one thing to have an extensive knowledge of the Bible but it is another to expansively apply it to experience.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24).

• Will be blessed in what he does

I believe it Refers back to verse 12 blessed is the man who overcomes

Matthew 5:3-12 The Beatitudes

3. Be Pure v26-27

V26 If you think you're religious, shows that it refers to the external observances of public worship, such as church attendance, almsgiving, prayer, fasting (Mt 6:1-18). It is the Pharisaic element in Christian worship

A religious person here is a pious person, someone who is devoted to or worships God. He perceives himself as a godly person.

But do not bridle your tongue Ps 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.

Ps 39:1 To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David  I said, "I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me."

When we detract from others in order to make ourselves seem superior, we enter into the vanity of religion.

"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3).

"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36).

1Pe 3:10

Jas 3:12

you deceive only your heart, In verse 17 be not deceived, here deceive not yourself

He plays a trick on himself.

(Jeremiah 17:9) "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; who can know it?"

v27. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this... James now shows a genuine Christianity that is "pure" and "undefiled" instead of the formal religion of the previous verse.

Undefiled (ἀμίαντος). See 1 Pet. 1:4. The two adjectives, pure and undefiled, present the positive and negative sides of purity.^[1]

1. To visit orphans and widows in their trouble
2. To visit (ἐπισκέπτεσθαι). See on Matt. 25:36. James strikes a downright blow here at ministry by proxy, or by mere gifts of money. Pure and undefiled religion demands personal contact with the world’s sorrow: to visit the afflicted, and to visit them in their affliction. ^[1]

The idea is to oversee orphans and widows in their trouble, "Take responsibility for them."

Helping everyone any way you can is what is meant, not just widows and orphans, although they most of the time are the most needy

Isa 1:16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.

Isa 58:6 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Joh 14:18 "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

Taking care of orphans and widows (conduct) is a duty that lies close to the heart of God (cf. Exod. 22:22-24; Deut. 10:18; Jer. 5:28; Ezek. 22:7; Zech. 7:10). Yet many who professed to love Him neglected it (Ps. 68:5; Eccles. 4:1; Mark 12:40)

1. To keep oneself unspotted from the world

"to keep on keeping oneself un-specked from the world" (a world, kosmos, full of dirt and slime that dirties the best of men).

We need to stay away from things we know are wrong but the world says is okay.

1. Stay away from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Deut:8:3 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

We are given Spiritual Strength and Power by trusting in Jesus Christ and feasting on His Word

We need to read, study, and memorize the Word

The Word will give you

1. Deliverance from sin

2. Victory over Satan
3. Spiritual prosperity
4. Personal Guidance
5. Help for Others

 

"To summarize, vv. 22-27 insist that a person's religion must consist of more than superficial acts. It is not enough to listen to the statement of spiritual truth (vv. 22-25), nor is it sufficient to engage in formal religious activity (v. 26). The person whose religious experience is genuine will put

spiritual truth into practice, and his life will be marked by love for others and holiness before God."85

 If you died today, do you know for sure you would go to heaven?

If God asked you why should I let you in My heaven what would you say

Can you say that you know your faith is real?

What are you trusting in to get you to heaven?

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Acts 3:19  "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,