Download James 1:26-27 BC 1/95

James 1:26-27 BC 1/95
26a Whoever/If anyone thinks/seems/determines to be religious
among you
26b
not bridling his tongue,
26c
but (alla) deceiving his heart,
26d this one's religion [is] vain/worthless.
27a Religion (which is [profitable])
27b
pure/[clean] and undefiled
27c
before the [our] God and Father is this,
27d
To visit the fatherless and widows in
their affliction,
27e
to keep himself unspotted from the world.
I. vv1-4 The Reason James tells persecuted believers to rejoice in
the midsts of trials to their faith is because (they know that)
successfully enduring the refining of their faith results in
reward.
II. vv5-8 The Means of successfully enduring the refining of one's
faith is to exercise faith in asking God for wisdom in the trial.
III. vv9-12 The Manner in which believers should endure trials is
with the perspective that the only thing worth getting excited
about is their future reward.
IV. vv13-18 The Manner in which believers should endure trials is
by not blaming God for the difficulty but by refusing to give in
to their desires, because not only is God infinitely good, but His
purpose is for us to endure and get rewards (so He wouldn't tempt
us to miss them)
V. vv19-21 The Result of God's purpose to bless believers is that
we should not demonstrate unrighteous behavior, (being angry at
God and blaming Him in trials), but rather righteous behavior
(hear & obey the word) since that's what saves us (it's the
righteous behavior that God blesses = delivers/rewards/glorifies).
VI. vv22-27 The Manner of being a righteous doer (obeying the Law
of Liberty) in such a way as to be blessed is to both limit
ourselves for the benefit of others while maintaining inner
control over our desires.
A. v22a-b
Do what you hear = MVP
B. vv22c-25e The Reason beleivers should do what they hear is
because the result of just being a hearer is deceived
unprofitability while the result of being a doer is blessedness.
C. vv26-27 The Manner of obeying the Law of Liberty in such a way
as to be blessed is to both limit yourself for the benefit of
others while maintaining the inner discipline of righteousness.
C1. v26 The Result of someone without inward control performing
religious acts is lack of blessing.
C1a. v26a-c The one whose religious acts don't result in blessing
is one whose has outward appearance without inner reality.
C1a-1a. v26a
One can seem [only appear] to be religious
(externally)
C1a-1b. v26b-c The reason one can seem to (rather than
actually) be religious is because they don't control their speech
but delude themselves
C1a-1b-1. v26b The reason/[or = manner in which] one
can be only externally religious is because they don't
control their (heart out of which flows their)
speech
C1a-1b-2. v26c The reason/[manner] one can be only
externally religious is because he is deceiving himself
(into thinking that ritual is more important
that reality).
C1b. v26d Some religious practice doesn't result in blessing = MVP
C2. v27 The Result of someone with inward control performing selfsacrificial acts is blessing.
or C2. v 27 The Manner of profitable religion is that one limits
and guards oneself for the benefit of others.
C2a. v27a-c The Reason some religious practices are profitable is
because they are pleasing to God
C2a-1. v27a Some religious practices are profitable
(MVP=This is religion)
C2a-2. v27b-c The Reason some religious practices are
profitable is because they are pleasing in God's sight
C2a-2a. v27b The manner of (profitable) religion is
that it is pure and undefiled
C2a-2b. v27c The One before whom it is undefiled is
our God and Father (who sees inside)
C2b. v27d-e The Content of profitable religion is to limit and
protect yourself for the profit/benefit of others.
C2b-1. v27d The Content/[Manner] of profitable religion is
to limit yourself for the profit/benefit of others.
C2b-2. v27e The Content/[Manner] of profitable religion is
to guard yourself from the world's values.
or C2b-2. v27e The Purpose of limiting oneself to benefit
others is in order to keep one's values distinct from the
world's. (cf. Z. Hodges)
NB 26c there has to be a connection between tongue and heart,
since they're joined by the coordinating conjunction alla. It
seems plausible to see the connection being Jesus' teaching in Mt
12:34 "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."
In Semitic thought, the heart is the seat of the decisionmaking process. It is the volitional component of man, the will.
Someone who is deceiving or deluding their heart (present active
participle rather than the passive "is deceived") is deceiving
their will.
To deceive is to promise one thing, but deliver another. To
portray reality as something that it isn't, frequently the
opposite of what it is.
One who deceives their heart represents to their internal
value and standards committee a picture of reality contrary to the
facts. Their will is untouched by the truth. A decision-making
heart deprived of the facts will not decide to filter their speech
through the grid of what exalts God and edifies others, but will
rather use the filter of what makes one look or feel good. The
deception is an active process, perpetrated by an appetite still
in the dark, untrained and unrestrained by the light of the Law of
Liberty. The tongue is just the errand boy, carrying out the
decisions of the heart, which in turn more manipulated by the
belly than the mind.
A person who has external ritual without internal reality
controlled by the Spirit of God, is not profited by his ritual. It
is worthless, unproductive, unfruitful, and it should go without
saying, not lining up someone for God's blessing.
NB v26d Vain, worthless, empty, non-productive religious practices
don't produce anything. What should it produce? Glory to God,
benefit to others and blessing to oneself. When someone doesn't
demonstrate the righteous life that God desires, they can't reap
the blessings which God has promised to the righteous. They've
disqualified themselves from their reward by failing to meet the
requirements.