James 1:26-27 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain.… The word "religious," here, does not mean the entire religious life — the inner experience and the outward manifestation of religion — but only the outward expression of it. It is the branches and fruit of religion; not its root — that without which the root would be useless, but which is itself dependent upon the root for its very existence. It is the body of religion; not the soul — yet the body by which the soul acts. It is — to use a now commonly repeated word — the ritual of religion. To the Christian the whole world is a temple, and all life that religious service of which we speak. This is the ritual we care to preach, and long to revive; the ritual of pure morality; not the morality of worldly maxims, or human standards; but the morality that springs from love to Christ, and is possible only through faith in Him. I. A FALSE RITUAL. James is here merely citing one example of many false rituals, and he is probably citing that one because it was emphatically the sin of the Church of that age. It is, in a word, the sins of the tongue — the sin of wantonness of speech. Notice that all external manifestation of religion — if you like, all ritual — is faulty, fantastic, and false — that is — 1. Self-deceptive. There are some sins, in the midst of whose blighting influences a man cannot satisfy even his imagination that he is religious; that are too flagrant to let a man "deceive his own heart." But there are others that many a man commits, and yet imagines that he is religious. Refined sins, that have a smooth attire and a gentle voice; customary sins, that are easily lost in the crowd of other men's sins, because they are so common in their appearance. Such men are their own dupes. 2. Inconsistent. All wrong expression of religious life is inconsistent. Is not murder? Yes, you say quickly — and so is lying! However, James instances a more common, and, some might have thought, excusable, inconsistency. But he quotes it as an example of all the rest, and sternly condemns it. All garrulousness, all excessive talkativeness, is here condemned — whether it is that of uncharitableness, including the words of hatred, of passion, of detraction, or that of untruthfulness, where there is deceit, false witness; or that of unreality, when in social intercourse, or in worship, unmeant, unfelt things are continually being said, or sung — words that circulate in the home, the drawing-room, or the sanctuary that are base coin. (1) The gossip "bridleth not his tongue." Such is the man who is greatly interested in, and constant conversing about, the concerns of others, who is ever ready to say many things about the commercial concerns, the home, the social life, or the moral character of his neighbour. (2) The censor "bridleth not his tongue." Such is the man who is constantly criticising and condemning his fellow-men, forgetting the Divine command, "Judge not, lest ye be judged."(3) The bigot "bridleth not his tongue." Such is the man who has no brotherly words for any beyond his own Church. (4) The sentimentalist "bridleth not his tongue." Such is the man who strongly utters what he weakly feels; who glibly says or sings what is mere matter of superficial feeling rather than of deep spiritual conviction. 3. Valueless. We are as Christians what priests in the sanctuary before the congregations profess to be — we are performing the holy rites, and thus symbolising the faith and uttering the worship of Christ. Our ritual is our life. That life is the performance of religious rites which symbolise our faith to the world, and utter our worship to God. Now, the life of such as we have glanced at, must evidently be a false ritual. It does not symbolise our religion to the world, for when the lynx-eyed world observes the conversation of the gossip, or of the censor, or of the bigot, or of the sentimentalist, it is not awed by it, it is not attracted by it. There is nothing religiously impressive in such conduct. Such a "man's religion is vain." Nor does it honour God. II. A TRUE RITUAL. Coleridge well says that "While the outward services of ancient religion, rites, ceremonies, and ceremonial restraints of the old law had morality for their end, were the letter of which morality was the spirit, morality itself is the service and ceremonial of the Christian religion." 1. Beneficence. The charities that lead us in the footsteps of Emmanuel, who" went about doing good," are the best authorised rites of our religion. (1) Care for the afflicted. (2):Personal intercourse with the afflicted. Charity seems to do too much of her work in these days by proxy. If you would really be of Christian service to the afflicted, be a brother, not a benefactor only. 2. Purity. (1) The world is a defiling thing. (2) The Christian is to mingle with the world. (3) That the Christian must not be defiled with the world. These two, then, charity and holiness — not apart, but together: not in themselves, but as the expression of piety, the simple and sublime ritual of religion — are necessary and possible to every Christian man. Our Pattern exemplified them. (U. R. Thomas.) Parallel Verses KJV: If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. |
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