Practicing Pure Religion
James 1:26-2
What is the central thought for the book of James?
Is your faith showing?
Controlling the Tongue
What does "religion" mean here?
What is pure religion?
To give glory to God,
Must be thankful,
Must separate from sinners and be pure,
Must display obedience in outward ways, by fasting and tithing.
Sounds like a good list. (Luke 18:9-14)
Character assassination with a dagger tongue
Your first ride on a horse can be a scary thing
Pure religion must control the tongue (Matthew 12:33-34)
What are some sins of the tongue?
The tongue is the window to the soul (Psalm 141:3)
Selfless works of service
Who are the weakest, neediest in our society?
What does "visit" mean?
God visited us in our need when we could offer nothing in return.
(Luke 1:68; 78; Hebrews 2:6)
A pure walk
We are not to be controlled by the agenda, attitudes of the world.
We must keep ourselves pure in the midst of a sinful world.
Grace changes us
Tests of Pure Religion
by Douglas J. Moo
One test of pure religion, therefore, is the degree to which we extend aid to the "helpless" in our world – whether they be widows and orphans, immigrants trying to adjust to a new life, impoverished third-world dwellers, the handicapped, or the homeless.
Another mark of true religion is more general than the other and also less concrete: to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James is careful not to give the impression that religion pleasing to God consists simply in outward acts or in social action. The "world" is a common biblical way of referring to the ungodly worldview and lifestyle that characterize human life in its estrangement from the creator. Christians who have ended that estrangement by accepting the reconciling work of God in Christ must constantly work to distance themselves from the way of life that surrounds us on every side – to keep themselves "spotless" (a literal rendering of the Greek word here) from the world’s contaminating influence.