Pure Hearing & Doing

Review/Preview The Text

If you have a copy of God’s Word, you can make your way to James 1. Today will be part 3 of our break-off series in James, and we’ll be covering verses 19-27.

Up to this point in James, we’ve spent time acquainting ourselves with this letter contextually, and we’ve also walked through the first 18 verses of chapter 1. Likely just over a decade following Christ’s ascension…James (the half brother of Jesus) was writing from Jerusalem to a large number of scattered believers—primarily to a large number of scattered Jewish believers—who had fled from Jerusalem because of Christian persecution that had broken out. And now, amid their suffering in the Dispersion, he’s writing to encourage & equip these believers toward Christian maturity & wholeness.

And throughout chapter 1 so far, we’ve seen James hit on a variety of important truths for wholehearted Christian maturity & devotion to the Lord. Important truths, such as rejoicing in trials that God actually ordains to produce steadfastness in us. Truths, such as faithfully asking the Lord for wisdom where we lack. Such as remaining founded & focused upon Christ and our exalted status in Him, rather than upon our rich or poor circumstances. Such as remembering that blessing & reward comes to those who remain steadfast under trial. Such as remaining sober-minded about sin & temptation, and about the enticing & deadly lure of our own sinful desires. And remembering that the temptations we face? That they DON’T come from God. And that just the opposite comes from God actually! From our unchanging Father comes every good and perfect gift…most chiefly the gift of our new birth…the gift of Him bringing “us forth by His word of truth…as a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”

Beloved: all of these truths are important for us to know, to agree with, and to faithfully embrace in our endeavor to be mature people of God. And today, we’ll continue to consider more important truths that the Lord has for us. So may the Lord gives us ears to hear as we now read and examine our passage for today.

Read The Text

With that said, I invite you to stand for the reading of God’s Word. Our sermon will focus in on verses 19-27, but I’d like to start reading back at verse 16.

James 1:16–27 “16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 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.”

PRAY. Thanks for standing. Please have a seat.

Explain & Apply The Text

In this passage, James is going to continue to show us some important aspects of Christian Maturity & Wholeness. And today, we’ll consider these characteristics under the banner of 3 basic headings.

Putting On God’s Righteousness (v19-21)

Our 1st Heading for this morning is this: Putting On God’s Righteousness. As believers, we’ve already been reminded earlier in this chapter of the “supremely good gift” that the Father of Lights has bestowed upon us. In verse 18, James writes that “of His own will, [our Father has] brought us forth by [His] word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”

Born again by the powerful word of the Gospel. New creatures in Christ. By God’s grace, through faith, this is our new reality & our new identity. And with this new identity comes a new way of living…a new way of life that accords with our redeemed status as new creatures in Christ.

And from the moment that our Father brings us forth by His word of truth, His purpose is to train us up as His redeemed children. To train us up—using trials and all—unto mature steadfastness…so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. And yet, while real growth does takes place in this life, we know that we’ll never perfectly arrive in this life…and that until Christ returns, there remains a daily battle for believers as we strive to increase in Christ-likeness.

As we strive to live according to our redeemed status as new creatures in Christ…we face a battle with this sinful world, with our own sinful flesh, and with the Devil himself. This battle to “live like who we are now in Christ” is real. And so by the power & leading of God’s Spirit within us, we must fight this battle. We must fight to put on God’s righteousness. And how do we this?

Putting Off Unrighteousness

Well one way is by being diligent to put off unrighteousness. Here within the first 3 verses of this section, James gives us both some narrow and some broad examples of the kind of unrighteousness we are to put off as new creatures in Christ.

Let’s first consider Verse 19: Here we can glean some examples by negatively considering the positive commands that James gives. He writes this: “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” Friends: what is our natural—what is our fleshly—tendency as it relates to these commands? Is it not to be slow to hear, and quick to speak, and quick to anger? I think there’s a reason James makes it a point to exhort “every person” toward these good qualities. Because if we’re honest, at times we all struggle with restraining our sinful flesh…we all struggle with self-control as it relates to listening, speaking, and anger.

Speaking of anger specifically…in Verse 20, James briefly expounds on it for a moment. He writes this: “for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” You know, there is such a thing as righteous anger, and there are plenty of things in this world to be righteously angry about. Mass abortion, attacks on biblical marriage & gender, the severe persecution of Christians…just to name a few. God Himself is perfectly righteous in any and all of His anger. And though we’re not perfect by any means, it’s even possible for us as fallen humans to be righteous in our anger. Paul himself warns us to “be angry, but do not sin.” Notice he doesn’t say that it’s sinful to be angry. He just simply warns us not to sin in our anger.

Not sinning in our anger might sound like a simple command to understand, but it’s anything but simple to uphold. Oh how slippery a slope the anger of man is, and oh how deep the anger of man can be found in his heart.

Throughout James’ letter, aside from being influenced by Old Testament wisdom literature (like Proverbs), he often seems to have the direct teachings of Jesus in view. And here, he likely has Christ’s Sermon on the Mount in mind. Consider Matthew 5. In verse 20, Jesus tells the crowd of people that “unless [their] righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, [they] will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” And then from there, he immediately proceeds with these words in verses 21: ““You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”

You see, the Scribes & Pharisees were often deceived into thinking they were righteous in their anger. Think about how they would lash out at others in the name of the Lord, and how they lashed out in anger upon the Lord Jesus himself. Their seemingly “righteous” anger was really no righteousness at all. That’s because their seemingly “righteous standing” was actually not upon the Rock that is Christ and His true righteousness…true righteousness that is received by faith in Him. And so, then, their seemingly “righteous acts”—like that of anger—did not spring forth from Spirit-filled hearts of faith. Rather, it was simply “the anger of man”…springing forth from their sinful flesh & impure hearts…NOT producing the righteousness of God.

Beloved: though our Father has brought us forth as new creatures in Christ…and though He’s regenerated our hearts by the power of His Spirit…we must remain sober-minded about our sinful flesh that still remains. We must beware of the unrighteous remnants of our flesh that still lurk…whether that be a more pagan kind of anger or a more pharisaical kind of anger. May we be sober-minded about our fleshly tendencies, in order that may we be quick to put our sinful flesh to death…that we may be quick to restrain and “put off” unrighteous fits of anger before it begins to take root in our hearts…and before it leads to other sins that have been mentioned, like unrighteous listening and unrighteous speaking.

And may we not only be quick to put off these specific kinds of unrighteousness, but any other form of unrighteousness that does not accord with our new nature and calling. James goes on to add this more all-encompassing command here in the first half of Verse 21: “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness...”

Putting On God’s Implanted Word

So in this battle to live in mature alignment with our calling as new creatures in Christ, we must fight by restraining and putting off what is unrighteous. But that’s not all there is to this battle. All the while we are putting off what is unrighteous, we must also put on what is righteous…we must accept and receive what is good and pure.

In the back half of Verse 21…after exhorting believers to “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness,” James goes on to exhort them to instead “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

What is this “implanted word” that James is referring to? This “implanted word” that is able to save our souls, and that we are to receive with meekness? Well again, I think it’s helpful to remember that James very likely has the direct teachings of Jesus in view. And here, one can’t help but recall Christ’s Parable of the Sower.

You remember the Parable of the Sower, right? The sower went out to sow seed…some seed fell upon the path, other seed fell upon rocky ground, other seed fell among thorns, and finally other seed fell upon good soil.

Well after telling the initial parable to the crowd, Jesus goes on to explain this parable to His disciples. And he begins to explain it this way in Matthew 13: ““Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.”

Did you catch what Jesus says here? What seed does the evil one immediately snatch away? What seed is sown into the man’s heart? The Word. But not just any Word! The Word of the Kingdom!

Beloved: I believe this is the “implanted word” that James has in mind here: the Word of the Kingdom. The Word of Christ and His Kingdom! Now I think from here then, by necessary inference, it’s appropriate for us to more narrowly distinguish this Word of the Kingdom. Strictly speaking, what is the “implanted word which is [strictly] able to save our souls? Well, the Apostle Paul can help us a bit here. He writes this in Ephesians 1: “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” Elsewhere in Romans 1, he writes that “the gospel…is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” And James himself, just prior to these verses, writes in verse 18 that God has brought us forth by “the word of truth”…which I think, like Paul, alludes more specifically to the Word of truth that is the Gospel…the Good News of the Person and Work of Christ our King.

So strictly-speaking, we know from the whole counsel of Scripture that only the word of the Gospel is able to save our souls! But here, I believe that James also has in view the Word of the Kingdom as it pertains to God’s Royal Law. Remember, he’s just been giving various commands in the last couple verses…he’s been exhorting believers to do certain righteous acts rather than declaring good news about what Christ has done. These are words of God’s good commands….words of God’s good and righteous Law. And while the Law in itself cannot save us as believers…now safely in Christ because of the Word of the Gospel, God’s Law absolutely plays a vital role in the salvation of our souls. His royal Law is our binding authority, and it is our perfect guide as Christ carries us to the shores of salvation. And we would be grossly foolish to think that salvation is ours if, all the while, we hard-heartedly disregard the Law of Christ’s Kingdom.

In this section, not only do I think that James has Jesus’ Parable of the Sower in mind, but likely the prophet Jeremiah as well. Consider Jeremiah 31 as it relates to this “implanted word” that we are to meekly receive. Jeremiah 31:33 says this: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Beloved: as members of Christ’s New Covenant Community by faith…as new creatures in Christ: God has brought us forth by His Word of Truth…He has brought us forth by the Word of the Gospel. He has planted the Word of the Gospel in our hearts. This is all His gracious doing. And having done this, He’s also planted the Word of His Law within us & written it on our hearts, as Jeremiah foretold. He’s given us new hearts, with a new and redeemed desire to keep His commands from hearts of faith. This, too, is all God’s gracious doing.

And yet…this gracious initiative of God? This gracious implanting of His Word within us? It necessitates a response from us as new creatures in Christ. Both God’s gracious initiative of implanting His Word AND our response to His Word are necessary aspects of the gospel.

And so then, what must our response be to God’s Word that He has implanted within us? By faith, we must continue to accept it…we must continue to receive it with gratitude and with whole-hearted allegiance to the Gracious Sower of this Seed. And if we’ve truly received God’s Word, then “receiving” God’s Word essentially means “doing” God’s Word. We receive God’s Word by putting it into practice…by actively trusting upon His Gospel promises…and by actively striving to keep His Royal Law by loving Him and loving neighbor…which, as we’ve seen, is evidenced (in part) by “putting off” unrighteous anger, and by “putting on” righteous listening, righteous speaking, and even righteous anger at times.

So beloved: in your battle to live according to your calling as new creatures in Christ…what unrighteousness do you need to “put off” in your life right now? What filthiness & wickedness do you need to put away? Are there certain ways in which you need to “put on” more self-control & more righteous restraint in your life? What are some ways in which you must more meekly…more humbly…more faithfully…and more actively receive the Word that God has graciously sown in your heart?

Perpetually Doing God’s Word (v22-25)

Well as has already been mentioned, God’s Word demands a response. Not only does this apply to unregenerate image-bearers who willingly remain dead in their sins…but how much more should we, as New Creatures, respond to God’s Word? How much more should we, having been brought forth by God’s Word, keep God’s Word?

And this keeping—this doing of God’s Word—is not just a one time deal. It’s not just a “pray the sinner’s prayer once” kind of thing, or a “Sunday only” kind of thing. No…as people of God…as new creatures in Christ…in all aspects of life, we must persevere in meekly-receiving God’s implanted Word. We must be perpetual doers of God’s Word. This is our 2nd Heading for this morning: Perpetually Doing God’s Word.

Here we’re taking a look at Verses 22-25, which says this: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

I’m not sure if this was on James’ mind when he wrote this section or not…but I’m reminded of God’s Newly Redeemed Nation in the Old Testament. Just after God brought forth the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He declared the Good News of His Redeeming Work that He had accomplished…and then, He gave them good, binding Laws to keep. And in Exodus 24, just after giving His Israelites these binding laws through Moses—laws like the 10 Commandments, various ceremonial laws, and various judicial laws—here’s how they responded with one voice: “All the words that the Lord has spoken, we will do.”

With booming sounds of thunder and with trumpet blasts, God’s chosen people had heard, loud and clear, the Word of God. Or did they?

Not too long after they had declared this commitment to doing God’s Word…impatient for Moses’s return from Mount Sinai…God’s People grossly disobeyed God’s Word by making for themselves a golden calf to worship. In Exodus 32, here’s how God described their actions to Moses while still on the mountain: “And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down…for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them.”

You see, this chosen people—this chosen nation of God? They were hearers of God’s Word, but not doers of God’s Word. And because of their hard-heartedness, ultimately this generation did not get to see nor receive the blessing of their promised land in Canaan. Truly hearing God’s Word must lead to doing it. And it is only then—when we are hearers and doers of God’s Word—that we are truly “receiving with meekness the implanted word which is able to save our souls.”

Beloved: may we learn from the grave sin of those Old Covenant Israelites. We as members of the New Covenant People of God have been redeemed out of our slavery to sin & death. God has done this for us. He has brought us forth out of this slavery by His Word of Truth…by the power of Christ, the Incarnate Word Himself. And as James reminds us…having set us free, He’s also implanted within us His “perfect law, the law of liberty.” You see, because we have found refuge in Christ by faith, God’s Law is no longer a condemning sledgehammer over us.

For those still at enmity with Christ and separated from Him, God’s Law is NOT one of Liberty for them. It is a Law of slavery & condemnation because of their unbelief & their un-atoned for sin. But for those of us who have been redeemed in Christ, having been counted with the righteousness of Christ, Who kept the Law for us…we have been set free from the Law’s condemnation, and now we have the privilege—and the Spirit’s power—to freely pursue God’s perfect law….for our good, for the good of those around us, and for the glory of Christ our King.

Like those Old Covenant Israelites, may we be hearers of God’s Word and may we commit ourselves to doing it. But unlike them, may our commitment to do God’s Word not prove to be grossly vein nor empty. As new creatures in Christ, may we perpetually hear and do God’s Word.

Consider Christ, our Greater Moses. Kind of like Moses, Christ our New Covenant Mediator has ascended the mountain. He has ascended Mount Zion, to Jerusalem above. And as the Israelites awaited Moses’s return…we too, await the return of our Mediator. And as we await His return, we will face all sorts of stretching circumstances and difficult trials in this life here below. And so here’s the question: no matter the trials and circumstances…will you and I continue to receive God’s implanted Word with meekness & with humble confidence in the Lord? Will you and I continue to be hearers and doers of His Word? Will you and I persevere in doing and acting upon His perfect Law?

Or will we be like the man & the mirror that James illustrates? The man who looks intently at his face in the mirror, and yet goes away and forgets what he looks like. This is the man…this is the woman…this is the child…who is a “hearer only”, and not a doer of God’s Word. It’s the one who hard-heartedly & perpetually fails to act on what they’ve seen in the mirror of God’s Word. Rather than persevering to perpetually do God’s Word, this is the one who forgets—the one who fails to remember God’s Law.

Beloved: as people of God, may this NOT be true of us. May God’s Word NOT fall upon us as if sown along the path…nor as if sown upon rocky ground…nor as if sown among thorns. May it never be. Instead, may it perpetually be true of us that we receive the Law of God’s Kingdom with good, fertile hearts of faith. As Christ says in His Parable of the Sower, may we be those “who hear the word and understand it,” and may we indeed “bear fruit and yield.”

Saints: when we do this…when we persevere as perpetual hearers and doers of God’s Word, we are blessed in this doing. In this life, God blesses us with goodness and mercy as we put His Word into practice. And ultimately in the life to come …having persevered to the end as doers of His Word…Christ Himself will bless us with final salvation and our promised inheritance with Him.

In Luke 11, He assures us of the blessing of being doers of His Word when He says this: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” God be praised for His Word and for His blessing.

Pure And Undefiled Religion (v26-27)

Well this brings us to our 3rd and Final Heading this morning, which is this: Pure And Undefiled Religion. Here we’ll be taking a look at Verses 26-27, where James writes this: “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.”

What exactly is religion that is pure and undefiled before God our Father? I don’t know if you’ve noticed this yourself…but from my observation, this particular part of Scripture has sadly been abused by certain pockets of the American Church at times. What I’ve observed is that they’ll take an isolated verse—like verse 27 here—and essentially boil the entirety of the Gospel (and the entirety of true Christian worship) down to simply caring for the afflicted and for the oppressed. And what happens when they do this is that the pure Gospel all the sudden becomes more about social justice and the works of man, rather than about Divine justice and the redeeming work of Christ.

What happens with this is that the pure Gospel is polluted into more of a social gospel. And frankly…what always accompanies this pollution of the pure Gospel is a pollution of God’s pure Law…a pollution of what God morally requires of His image-bearers. Since this kind of social gospel is so focused on the works of man, sometimes this pollution comes in the form of relativizing God’s Law…of lowering the bar for what level of obedience God actually requires for justification. Rather than looking to Christ and His perfect Law-Keeping on their behalf, these folks look to their own half-baked social efforts as their badge of honor for good standing before God.

Another more blatant way that a social kind of gospel pollutes God’s Pure Law is what we so-often see with these kinds of movements: not simply just relativizing God’s Law, but blatantly opposing God’s Law… whether that be more “left-leaning” opposition with the denial of clear biblical truths such as abortion, marriage, sexuality, and so on….or whether that be more “right-leaning” opposition to God’s Law, where certain pockets go so far as to propagate certain anti-biblical things, such as legitimate racism.

Beloved: we must not be deceived into thinking that this little section of Scripture here summarizes every jot and tittle of what pure worship of God should involve.

And yet, with that being said…here in Verses 26-28, James does show us a few aspects of what pure & undefiled religion looks like. Here, James is continuing his exhortation to believers about being doers of God’s Word…and here he gives 3 examples of what that looks like.

But before we jump into these 3 examples, we must remember this: when it comes to pure and undefiled religion (as evidenced by being doers of God’s Word)…this goes far beyond a simple external conformity to God’s Law. If external conformity to God’s Law were the gist of pure religion, then in many ways the Scribes and Pharisees would have been given trophies in this category! That’s why crowds of people were left in shock when Christ would say things like this to them: that their righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees! How could they possibly exceed the righteousness of these “professional law-keepers”!?

You see, simple external conformity to God’s Law does not automatically constitute pure and undefiled religion. To use basketball imagery—and in honor of March Madness—Christ often went His hardest in the paint—using His elbows and all—against the Scribes and the Pharisees. You see…more than mere external burnt offerings and sacrifices, the Lord is pleased with the sacrifices of broken hearts and contrite spirits. The Lord is pleased with the doing of His Word that springs forth from hearts that receive His Word with meekness…with humility…with hearts of faith, hope, and love toward Him. This is pure and undefiled religion: faith in Christ, put on display by God’s redeemed children, through faithful obedience…through a faithful & humble striving to love God and love neighbor to the glory of Christ of King.

And here are 3 examples of what this looks like.

Keeping Our Tongues Bridled

First, it’s the bridling of our tongues. James hits on this in verse 26, and here revisits what he already addressed earlier in verse 19, where he exhorted believers to be “quick to hear & slow to speak.”

Again, as we’ve already considered, what’s our natural & fleshly tendency when it comes to our tongues? Rather than being slow to speak…the natural tendency of the old man…of the old woman…of the old child: it’s to be quick and unrestrained with our speech. It’s to blurt out in an unrestrained manner…it’s to gossip…it’s to slander. It’s the self-proclaimed religious person who always seems to be spouting off, whether that be through personal conversation or through unbridled Facebook rants!

Beloved: no matter who we are, unrestrained speech will be a temptation for all of us. But being one who is known to have an unbridled tongue is typically either the mark of unregenerate pagans, or an all-too-present mark of those who grievously lack Christian maturity.

Not that I DON’T still struggle with this now…but I’m grieved when I think back on my younger days as a Christian. By golly, I had some Christian zeal as a younger man…but man, was this zeal untempered in certain ways…including in my speech at times. I cringe to think about re-visiting old Facebook posts, where I’m sure that what I perceived to be as “righteous speech” at the time? It just wreaked of pride and immaturity.

Saints: as we strive to maturely live in accord with our calling as new creatures in Christ, may we increasingly learn to bridle our tongues. As a bridle and bit serves as the instrument to control & guide a horse, may the gracious instrument of God’s Spirit control & guide our speaking. With meekness and with humble faith, may we be doers of God’s Word in this way. May we love God and neighbor in this way.

Caring For The Afflicted

Well aside from keeping our tongues bridled, a second example that James gives believers is that we are to care for the afflicted. He highlights this in Verse 27 by saying that “visiting orphans and widows in their affliction” is a mark of pure and undefiled religion.

Here, we must remember that James is writing with the backdrop of the Old Testament Scriptures and with that ancient context in view. In those days, there was a shortage of money-making opportunities for women, and also a shortage of any kind of social welfare. And so, in particular, widows and orphans were among the most afflicted and helpless in terms of being able to provide for themselves. And so it shouldn’t surprise us that one of the emphasized marks of Israelite obedience was to show care and concern for widows and orphans.

For us…who are the helpless & afflicted in our world today? Who are the helpless & afflicted in our community? What about in our congregation?

Whether it be needy widows or orphans specifically…whether it be needy brothers or sisters in Christ who have fallen on impoverished times…whether it be the disabled, the homeless, or the downtrodden who crosses our path: one test of pure religion, among God’s people, is whether or not we’re willing and ready to show care & concern for these kinds of needy people in our world.

By faith…when we do God’s Word by showing care & concern for the afflicted, this is pure & undefiled religion. And not only that…but when we do this, we are showing the compassionate heart of our Father. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that here in verse 27, James refers to pure & undefiled religion “before God the Father.” For it is God our Father Himself who is Chief in caring for the afflicted and helpless. As the Psalm reminds us, He is a “Father of the fatherless and a protector of widows.”

Beloved: with meek and humble hearts…with a keen remembrance that our Father delivered us from slavery, from helplessness, and from affliction…may we imitate our Father by showing compassion to the afflicted that He puts in our path…and as Paul reminds us, “especially to those who are the household of faith.” May we be doers of God’s Word in this way. May we love God and neighbor in this way.

Keeping Unstained From This World

Well finally, James gives us a 3rd example of what pure & undefiled religion looks like. It’s that we are to keep unstained from this world.

Earlier, James exhorted believers to “put away all filthiness”... and again here in verse 27, he picks back up with this kind of language.

In contrast to the 2 other more particular marks of pure religion that he just mentioned—bridling of the tongue & caring for the afflicted—James here gives a more broad and all-encompassing mark of pure religion.

He’s exhorting believers to keep unstained from this world. This term “world” here? It’s a common way that Scripture goes about characterizing the sinful worldview & the sinful lifestyle of humans that are at enmity with God…of humans that are in separated rebellion against God. And so James here is imploring believers to keep ourselves unstained from this sinful world around us. He’s imploring us to remain holy, pure, and set apart within this sin-cursed world. To maintain the godly worldview and lifestyle that aligns with our new identity.

Remember James’ comforting words back in verse 18? “Of his own will [our Father] brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Beloved: by the grace of God and His powerful Word of Truth, He has brought us forth as new creatures in Christ. In Christ…by the power of His Word & Spirit…our Father has sanctified us. Holy, consecrated, set apart. This is our new & redeemed position. And yet this isn’t only our new position, but this is to be our new practice. Our Father has not only positionally set us apart from this sinful world, but He has set us apart in this sinful world, in order “that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” And as firstfruits of His creatures, living within this sinful world, we are to live in a fruitful and set apart manner…a manner worthy of who we now positionally are in Christ.

Keeping ourselves unstained from this world does NOT mean removing ourselves from this world by way of isolation or seclusion. James has already made this clear by exhorting us to lean in to the afflicted & to the helpless in this world. We are to live on mission within this sinful world…actively striving to love God and neighbor by the way that we faithfully listen…by the way that we faithfully speak…by the way that we faithfully restrain our sinful anger…by the way that we faithfully show care and concern for the afflicted. All the while faithfully striving to keep ourselves unstained from this sinful world in the process.

Beloved: having been brought forth by Christ our King…may we not be like the man who looks intently in the mirror, only to go away not remembering what he looked like. May we not be like the dog that returns to its own vomit. May we not be like the sow that goes right back to wallowing in the mire after washing herself. Far be it from us, brothers and sisters.

By faith…as new creatures in Christ….as those who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ…may we seek to practice the religion that is pure & undefiled before God our Father. May we continue to receive with meekness the implanted Word of Christ and His Kingdom…the Word that is able to save our souls. May we be doers of Christ’s word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves.

In our endeavor to grow as whole and mature Christians, may we strive to increasingly be doers of God’s Word by increasingly imitating the Word Who became flesh for our sake. May we increasingly strive to imitate Christ, the truly Blessed Man. The One who walked not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of scoffers. May we imitate the One who perfectly delighted in God’s Law, and who perfectly meditated on it day and night.

For Christ is the righteous tree…planted by streams of water that yields fruit in its season. In all that He does, He prospers. He truly is the blessed Man. And blessed are we who take refuge in Him. Blessed are we who—from our place of refuge in Christ—persevere in doing His Word.

CLOSING PRAYER

Benediction Text

At this time, please stand to receive the closing benediction. Adapted from Colossians 3:16–17:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”