Spiritual Maturity:Book Of James Series Part 1:Faith Refined

Introduction

As we study the Epistle of James we will see a letter written from a pastoral perspective with several themes including wisdom,faith,trials,pride and humility to name a few but i believe the overarching them of this epistle is Spiritual Maturity! I believe that in the book of James we see a call for Christian's to grow in their faith and become more mature spiritually. What we also see is James,instructing these early followers of Jesus about what the faith of a spiritually mature Christian should look like and accomplish. If we are growing in our faith, our faith should be exhibiting this through our works and good fruit bore by those works. Jesus intended for our faith to be visible and working so that everyone would see a difference in our actions and behaviors that in which would glorify God the father (reference Matthew 5:16; Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven) . Later in this message we will come to find out through proper exegesis that this epistle is written to a specific congregation with specific problems but that should not stops us from taking these teachings presented by James and applying them to our own walks with the LORD and our own Congregations. Just like all of scripture we should use this book like a mirror in which we examine ourselves, asking at times hard questions such as,"is my walk with God bearing fruit?", "am I witnessing to the lost?" ,"Am I praying for the sick?, "am I taking care of the widows and orphans?"checking on them to make sure their needs are met?" Am I volunteering and assisting the poor, elderly and homeless?, "Is my faith producing works?" if so are the Good God glorifying works?, and finally" Am I doing the things Jesus would have done?" These are all important but difficult questions to ask ourselves, however we should not make the mistake in our study to conclude that our salvation is based on works rather than by our faith alone in Jesus Christ. What James argues is,that our faith should be working and continuing to bring honor and glory to God and While no works can be done to earn our salvation, our salvation should produce works!

Talking points(conversational)

- physical age does not equal spiritual maturity

- spiritual maturity is supernatural (it comes from God)

- spiritual maturity comes from testing and is revealed in testing

- spiritual immaturity of the modern church

- spiritual maturity will show in stronger faith and works that bear good fruit

- spiritual maturity is not about how much Greek and Hebrew you know or how many bible verses you have memorized (Although this is important)

Chapter 1 Author,Setting and Audience: Verse 1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ Based on various writings by early church fathers we believe it was written in 48AD, 15 years after Jesus was crucified. The four James es, So who wrote it? 1.The Apostle James (son to Zebedee brother of the Apostle John) known as James the great, In 41AD was martyred for his faith by Herod Agrippa 2.The Apostle James son of Alphaeus(known as James the lesser) not much is known about him and most of it is speculative 3.James, the father of the Apostle Thaddeus (or Judas NOT Iscariot) Not much is mentioned or known about him, but he would have been much older at the time of writing of the epistle of James 4.James the "brother" of Jesus brother of Jesus, wrote the book of James We can come to the conclusion that James Brother of Jesus is the most likely author based on; his authority in the early church, his writing,teaching and speaking style paralleled between the Epistle of James and his oversite at the counsel of Jerusalem in the book of Acts chapter 15 as well as the various manuscripts and literary works by early church fathers who would have known James during the time he was alive. Who was James in Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History Book II 23(3rd century) he quotes Hegesippus' account of James from the fifth book of Commentaries on the Acts of the Church(dated 110-180AD): 1. But after Paul, in consequence of his appeal to Casar, had been sent to Rome by Festus, the Jews, being frustrated in their hope of entrapping him by the snares which they had laid for him, turned against James, the brother of the Lord, to whom the episcopal seat at Jerusalem had been entrusted by the apostles. The following daring measures were undertaken by them against him. 2. Leading him into their midst they demanded of him that he should renounce faith in Christ in the presence of all the people. But, contrary to the opinion of all, with a clear voice, and with greater boldness than they had anticipated, he spoke out before the whole multitude and confessed that our Saviour and Lord Jesus is the Son of God. But they were unable to bear longer the testimony of the man who, on account of the excellence of ascetic virtue and of piety which he exhibited in his life, was esteemed by all as the most just of men, and consequently they slew him. Opportunity for this deed of violence was furnished by the prevailing anarchy, which was caused by the fact that Festus had died just at this time in Judea, and that the province was thus without a governor and head.3. The manner of James' death has been already indicated by the above-quoted words of Clement, who records that he was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple, and was beaten to death with a club. But Hegesippus, who lived immediately after the apostles, gives the most accurate account in the fifth book of his Memoirs. He writes as follows: 4. James, the brother of the Lord, succeeded to the government of the Church in conjunction with the apostles. He has been called the Just by all from the time of our Saviour to the present day; for there were many that bore the name of James. 5. He was holy from his mother's womb; and he drank no wine nor strong drink, nor did he eat flesh. No razor came upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, and he did not use the bath. 6. He alone was permitted to enter into the holy place; for he wore not woolen but linen garments. And he was in the habit of entering alone into the temple, and was frequently found upon his knees begging forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and asking forgiveness for the people. - Was made the bishop of as seen in Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History Book II - Was the half brother of Jesus: Matthew 13:54-55 54 He came to [a]His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these [b]miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? - Occasionally accompanied Jesus on ministry trips: John 2:11-12 11 This beginning of His [a]signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. 12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days. - Did not initially believe in Jesus: John 7:1-10 7 After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. 3 Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret [a]when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him. 6 So Jesus *said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. 8 Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.” 9 Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee. 10 But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret ‭‭Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV 10 But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret “Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”” ‬‬ - Became a believer after a visitation from Jesus: 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 3 For I delivered to you [a]as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to [b]James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as [c]to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. Acts 1:12-14 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the [j]mount called [k]Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a [l]Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and [m]James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, [n]James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the [o]son of [p]James. 14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

- Was a highly respected leader in the early church and would go on to lead the church in Jerusalem: he is also mentioned Galatians 1:18-19 and Galatians 2:9 - Was significantly influenced by the old testament law,prophets and wisdom literature we see this throughout his epistle in his quotation of the Septuagint as well references to various people in the Old Testament. We also see in contrast with The Pauline Epistles which usually start with doctrine then end with application, instead James goes straight to the application, which draws close similarities to Old Testament books such as Proverbs,Job and Ecclesiastes. - Displays an incredible dependence upon the teachings of Jesus we see this in most of his epistle when in some sections he parallels Jesus's teachings or out right quotes them. From that we can than infer that the audience he is writing to would have had a very good grasp of Jesus's teachings showing them to have enough maturity in those teachings to not need further coaching from James on interpretation. This further strengthens the idea that this was a seasoned and established body of believers.

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ Bond-Servant, In the Greek is Doulos James knew his rightful place Exodus 21:5-6 5 But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to [d]God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently we see the slave then become a willing bond servant. this terminology is used throughout the Epistles by Paul and others signifying their humble service to God. The apostles including James were humble servants. referring to oneself as a servant to LORD is actually common within the old testament as well all of the following referred to themselves in this same way

- Moses - Caleb - David - and many others Talking points(conversational)

- Are we ready to serve? to become Slaves to the LORD?

- Are our hearts in the right place in our service and ministry?

- celebrity pastors, rockstar pastors

We are called to serve humbly

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ We can identify in this line of scripture that his audience is likely Jewish believers based on his to reference to the recipients as the twelve tribes, which is a common reference to the people of Israel. As well as his references throughout this epistle to Jewish institutions and beliefs. In James 2:2 we see that these Christians also met in a synagogue with elders 5:14. He also in later chapters makes mention of Abraham, Rahab, and Elijah. all of these would be names and references only understood by the Jewish people at the time. He then mentions the fact that they are dispersed abroad. This would in fact references what began to happen to the early Jewish believers after the stoning of Stephen. In the aftermath of Stephen's death many followers of Jesus fled Jerusalem and continued to spread out over the coming years, sharing the Gospel everywhere they went but being persecuted worse as the years went on. The Greek word to describe this is Diaspora or scattering of a people from their native lands. This actually began to occur for the Jewish people in 722 BC when The Assyrians took captive the ten northern tribes of Israel. 150 years later the Babylonians took over putting all 12 tribes under Babylonian rule. This allowed over time the Jewish people to spread across every city in the known Mediterranean world. Where in leu of access to the temple they created synagogues continuing the practice of their faith. Trials and suffering:Verses 2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭ Consider it all joy? We should not be surprised by James's advice here. as Paul echos the same teaching in Romans 5:1-5 when he says; 5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and [b]we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but [c]we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us James is not suggesting here that our suffering is good nor is he telling us what many well intentioned people will say to us when we experience pain and suffering such as; "just hang in there" or "just stay positive" we are also not instructed to detach as some stoic philosophers may advise on the contrary, we are told to PRESS IN! in Romans 8:28 Paul tells us 28 And we know that [a]God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. In saying all this we need to understand as believers, Things may not always be good, but God ALWAYS IS! “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” The word we need to focus on in this section is WHEN! James doesn’t state IF you face trials he specifically says WHEN. In the context of this epistle we know he is not speaking directly to us, but how can we apply this not only in our personal lives but as a body of believers?In these verses he is trying to encourage the congregations he is writing to that through trials and hardships, you learn and grow. You gain wisdom and patience, both of which are signs of a mature Christian. This leads us to our overarching theme of spiritual growth and maturity!

We as Christians should grow and become strengthened through the challenges we face. We should face trails with patience and wisdom and as we gain more of those traits we can use what we have gained to face what comes next and so forth and so on. James is trying to reiterate what a mature Christian should know and that is, that the trials and challenges will not stop even as we grow in our faith and our maturity as Christians but how we react, respond and handle ourselves in the face of that adversity should change as we gain maturity.

Not often will you see a pastor or evangelist tell a new believer about the trials they WILL face! The doctrine that we as Christian’s will be rich, never get sick and never face hardship is born simply from man made theology. Does God want us to get sick? Of course not! Does God want us to be in poverty? Absolutely not! But in his word God does lay out for us the tools to live a healthy prosperous good life. At the same time he knows like any good father if he handed us everything on a silver platter with no work and no struggle on our part we would miss out on the Wisdom gained through hard times and we would become spoiled,ungrateful and entitled.

Have you ever seen a child in a grocery store screaming at his mother or father, demanding they give him what he wants? What kind of person do you think that child will grow up to be if the parents simply comply and gave the child whatever he or she wanted every time? We have to come to the realization that God is our PERFECT father and he knows what to give, how much to give and when to give it in accordance with his will.

All of these things are in the context of trials and suffering.

Why do we go through trials? To Glorify God in how we handle them as believers! the way react to the things we face should be glorifying to God. Trials should be transformational educational The Need For God's Wisdom,Faith Simplified: ‬‬Verses 5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬ Talking Points

Keep it Simple!

Know that God is in control and pray with faith that shows as much!

Ask God for wisdom

this wisdom being spoken of in this section is in regards to the wisdom to have an understanding of the end purpose in the context of the trials you are going through. to see Gods Purpose in it and understand that everything happens for a reason and the reason and end result of the particular trial or trials you are going through.

Double-mindedness or Double-Souled

The term "double-minded" originates from the Greek word "Dipsuchos," meaning "a person with two minds or souls," and appears exclusively in the book of James in the New Testament. There are many ways we can be double minded. one of those ways is not trusting in God to come through for us in our prayers or not holding fast to what the Lord has spoken to us. We can also show ourselves to be double minded when we preach and instruct to behave a certain way but live opposite of our teaching. I relation to the theme of maturity we should be living out our faith and practicing what we preach! people are watching us especially unbelievers looking to see if we are living up to all that we speak and preach.

Elijah and the Prophets of BAAL

1 Kings 18:1–21 NASB 95

Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth.” So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly; for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.) Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to kill some of the cattle.” So they divided the land between them to survey it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself. Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is this you, Elijah my master?” He said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’ ” He said, “What sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you. And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here.” ’ “It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know; so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. Has it not been told to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water? And now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here” ’; he will then kill me.” Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.” So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, you troubler of Israel?” He said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals. Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.

The deeper concept here is that there is no neutrality with God!

Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Revelation 3:15–16 ““ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

The things of this world will pass away,The Fleeting nature of this life: Verses 9-11 “But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭11 NASB we see similar comparisons made to the fleetingness of life throughout the Old Testament including in the psalms. also notice how reminiscent this section is of Solomon's writings in Ecclesiastes Talking Points

- Humility

- the things of this world are fleeting

- money and things will come and go

- put your hope in the things of Gods kingdom not of mans God does not tempt us,Trials VS Temptations: Verses 12-18 “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬-‭18‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬ One important thing we need to keep in mind in these verses is the difference between a trial and a temptation. We see in verse 13 that God does not tempt us with evil however, he does allow us to go through trials for the reasons we see in verses 3 and 4. That being said while we or going through a trial we have a tendency to fall into temptation. Instead of listening to Gods voice throughout our trial we instead begin to focus on the negative things rather than taking joy in the trial and looking past it to what comes after. We have a choice. We can follow Gods word and voice while we are enduring things or allow the enemy and our flesh to direct us and dictate the outcome of said trials. Leading us down the path of temptation into sin. We see Peter expand upon this concept further in ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭9‬ in ‭that trails can lead to proof of our faith by how we handle them. “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭9‬ ‭NASB1995 Why did God allow the Israelites to wonder in the wilderness as seen in exodus through Joshua? He made a covenant with them and just as easily could have translated them to the promised land in the blink of an eye.so why allow them to go through all of that hardship? He allowed them to go through those trails to build faith in him(a test which they failed miserably) and to show his might and power through his people’s deliverance that it would bring him honor and glory throughout the world The Israelites in the wilderness(bad example under Trials)

Exodus 16:1–8 “They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the…”

- were being tested

- They allowed their trails to cause them to sin

- grumbled rather than taking joy in what was to come essentially judging God and his plan, this can also apply to leadership within a church body. grumbling is rebellion it is showing that you do not have faith or respect in the authority above you.

- God knew they needed to have faith to walk in his promises and accomplish what was to required of them to enter and conquer the promised land

Job,David, The Prophets(Good examples under trials)

- worshiped God

- remained faithful and trusted in Gods plan

- Cried out and sought God rather then running from him when we look at these examples we can see how we ourselves should handle the hardships we face and also how we should not.

Talking Points

We have a choice how we handle ourselves in trials

Maturity in our Faith and walk with the LORD will and SHOULD yield different response to trials

Trials can become temptation which leads to sin

The Word tells us God does not lead us to temptation but instead the lusts we conceive in our own hearts turn us to temptation and sin

When we grumble we judge, it is also a bad witness

The Israelites throughout their entire time in the wilderness complained and grumbled , it is this behavior in fact that caused God to allow them to wonder for 40 years and all of that generation not to enter the promised land. you see when we grumble and complain during trails we are questioning God and his leadership.

Qualities Needed in Trails: Verses 19-20

19 [a]This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

In Relation to our Overarching theme of Spiritual Maturity, and within that context James explains that a mature christian SHOULD KNOW and DISPLAY the traits of patience, good temperament and kindness even while the midst of hardship, we should be quick to listen slow to speak and anger.

Talking points

- watch your temper

- watch your mouth

- our anger does not please God

Our Faith in Action:Verses 21-27 21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all [v]that remains of wickedness, in [w]humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his [x]natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, [y]he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but [z]an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in [aa]what he does. 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not [ab]bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27 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 [ac]by the world

as Christians we should be a people set apart, we should look talk and act different especially under pressure. we will be known by our fruit and good works bringing honor and glory to The Father

Talking Points

- we should meditate on the word

- we should be putting the teachings of Jesus into action

- our lives and actions should reflect Gods word and lead others to Christ

- Our tongues should not speak evil and our mouths should be clean

- we need to live out our faith which will lead to good works