Sermon Tone Analysis

Not all religion is acceptable to God.This thought shocks many religious people who can’t imagine their efforts would not be enough to satisfy God.

In saying it this way, I wish to be entirely ecumenical.

When I speak of “religious” people, I’m including Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Orthodox, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Charismatics, Church of Christ, Brethren, Episcopalians, and members of all the varied and sundry independent and interdenominational churches.I definitely include my own religion on that list.I would definitely add my own religion Did you know you could spend your life being very religious and end up wasting your time?

You deceived yourself, but you didn’t fool God.You might as well have gone fishing.Or bowling.Or biking.That would have done you as much good as all your church attendance, your praying, your giving, your singing, and your fasting.

A few days spent fishing would have been better for you than all those sermons you heard.That thought shocks me since I am a preacher.

But I had better not spend this sermon talking only to you.

I need this message myself.

A friend told me that before he gives a sermon, he always prays, “Lord, help me preach the sermon I need to hear.”

I adopted that as my own prayer because I don’t stand above the congregation or apart from it.

I need to hear the word of the Lord because I am just as likely to deceive myself as anyone else."Help me preach the sermon I need to hear"That’s the exact point James makes in our text.

When he says, “If anyone thinks he is religious” (v.

26), he uses a word that means to imagine.

Self-deception is the easiest and the worst sort of deception.

It’s easy because we all tend to have an inflated opinion of ourselves, and it’s the worst because when you deceive yourself, you don’t realize it.The word “religious” meant to James approximately what it means to us today.

It refers to the outward aspects of the Christian faith, such as church attendance, taking part in public worship, singing, praying, giving, testifying, and in other ways going through the motions of Christianity.We need "Monday-morning faith"How do we know if our religion—even our good, conservative, evangelical, Bible-based religion—is acceptable to God? gives us three signs that prove our religion is real.

It may surprise you that the list doesn’t look “religious” at all.

James says the religion God approves impacts your conversation, your compassion, and your character.

Sometimes we talk about “Monday-morning faith” as opposed to “Sunday-morning religion.”What

happens on Sunday is important.What happens on Monday is even more important.To be clear about it, James isn’t saying Sunday worship doesn’t matter.

Far from it.

He’s about to deal with that in .

But he warns us no amount of outward religiosity can compensate for an unbridled tongue, an uncompassionate heart, and an unholy character.

1.

Real Religion has a tongue that is controlled

“If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself” (v.

26).The word translated “control” comes from a word that means to put a bridle in a horse’s mouth.

That’s why some translations mention the “unbridled” tongue and others talk about keeping a “tight rein” on your tongue.Some people just talk too much Some people just talk too much.

They have too many opinions, and they share them too quickly.

Because they have an answer for everything and they have the “gift” of the clever put-down, they wreak havoc wherever they go.

Years ago a friend told me he instructed his team to “feel free to have no opinion about that.”

That’s a good rule of thumb for all of us.Here are some signs of an unbridled tongue:

Vulgarity, obscenity, indecent language.

Dirty jokes, off-color stories.Pornographic language.Racial or ethnic insults.Humor meant to insult or to put someone down.Angry outbursts, harsh words.Mean-spirited comments.Gossip, rumors, false accusations.Imputing bad motives.Public criticism of your spouse or children.Yelling and screaming.Threats and intimidating comments.Endless criticism.Quick, cutting comments.Cheap shots.Talking too much.Talking without listening.Condemning others.Exaggerating the faults of others.Excusing unkind words by saying, “I was only joking.”

Why is this so important?

says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.”Every

time you open your mouth either life or death comes out.

The Bible speaks of the throat as an “open grave” ().

When there is death on the inside, it will eventually show up in your words.

How do you react under pressure?About how you speak to your spouse and your children?About the offhand comments you make about your friends?About how you react under pressure?A bout the way you respond when you are criticized?If that thought doesn’t terrify you, at least a little bit, then you are a saint far advanced beyond the rest of us, or you are clueless about yourself.David Platt points out that social media increases the temptation of careless speech:

“In a day of text-messaging, email, cell phones, Twitter, blogs, Facebook, etc., we need to be careful.

We’ve created an entire culture that says if you have a thought, then you should immediately share it with the rest of the world.

But follower of Christ, don’t buy that line of reasoning” (Exalting Jesus in James, Loc.

543).

It’s easy to make excuses, isn’t it?

Let’s suppose 93% of your speech is totally praiseworthy.

Or make it 96%.

Or 97%.

But what about the 7% or the 4% or the 3%?

That’s James’ whole point.

You can’t skate past this truth by saying, “My speech is morally upright 97% of the time.”

That’s like saying, “I’m not really a murderer.

Most of the time I never murder anyone.

I only kill people 3% of the time.”Perhaps

we need to pray for the gift of silence.

I remember reading about a famed linguist about whom it was said that he knew how to remain silent in seven different languages.James draws a shocking conclusion when he says the unbridled tongue makes your religion useless.We need to keep this warning in mind at all times, but especially when we are tired, under pressure, and when others are trying to provoke us.May the Lord Jesus grant us special grace so that we might keep a tight rein on our tongue.

Real Religion has a touch that is compassionate

“Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (v.

27a).True religion moves us to action.

We don’t just see the need and then walk away after saying a few good words.

I was hungry

And you formed a humanities clubAnd discussed my hunger.Thank you.

I was imprisoned

And you crept off quietlyTo your chapel in the cellarAnd prayed for my release.

I was naked,

And in your mindYou debated the moralityOf my appearance.

I was sick

And you knelt and thanked GodFor your health.

I was homeless

And you preached to meOf the spiritual shelterOf the Love of God.

I was lonely

And you left me aloneto pray for me.

You seem so holy;

So close to God.But I’m still very hungry.

We can never substitute another church service or even more Bible reading for rolling up our sleeves and getting involved in this hurting world.

True religion sees the distress of the world and then moves to meet that need.True religion gets its hands dirty James singles out two groups deserve special attention: orphans and widows.

Then he adds a qualifying phrase—“in their distress.”

He means those who are alone and forgotten.

They are in distress precisely because they have no one to care for them.This echoes a familiar Old Testament theme:"Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless” ( NIV).“Defend the cause of orphans.

Fight for the rights of widows” ( NLT).“Do not oppress the widow or the orphan” ( NASB).

Widows had little protection in the first century Widows had little legal protection in the first century.

That’s why Jesus excoriated the religious leaders who “devour widows’ houses” while making long prayers as a show of public piety ().

They made a show of their religiosity while taking advantage of the widows.

They did this by preying on their vulnerable position, inducing them to give away their money until they were destitute.

They “devoured” whatever money the widow had until she was left helpless and penniless.Here, then, is one test of true religion.

Will we care for those whose need is so great that they can never repay us?

Sometimes I hear people talking about certain people we need to reach for Christ who could do a lot to “help the church.”

They mean the rich, the famous, and the well-connected.

But they never mean the orphans or the widows.

They have nothing to offer but faith, hope, and love.

To put the matter that way is not to argue against reaching the upper class.

Rich and famous people need Jesus too.

But we need to recapture James’ perspective.Will we care for those who can never pay us back?God bless those who care for the widows.God bless those who minister to single mothers.God bless the nursery workers.God bless those who lead backyard Bible clubs.God bless those who take in foster children.God bless those who adopt children.God bless those who care for the disabled.God bless those who give to support orphans in India or Africa.God bless those who speak up for the unborn.God bless those who support crisis pregnancy centers.The religion God approves cares for those who cannot care for themselves.

It includes the widows and the orphans, but it doesn’t end there.

It must include the unborn, the sick, the dying, the homeless, the disabled, the immigrants, the victims of sex trafficking, prisoners, refugees, and many others the world would rather overlook.

Real Religion has a testimony that is clean

“To keep oneself unstained by the world” (v.

27b).Genuine religion keeps you from being stained by the world.

Imagine a little boy coming home from school.

It’s been raining so there is a mud puddle in his path.

What does he do?

Well, it depends.

If he remembers what his mom told him, he will walk around the mud puddle so he won’t get dirty.