JesusWalk Bible Study Forum: Q4. The Test of True Religion - JesusWalk Bible Study Forum

Q4. (1:26-27) Why does James make taming the tongue and caring for the poor the prime tests of pure religion? Why not the quality of our quiet time or worship?

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This is such an AWESOME letter! We are to take ACTION and not to just passively listen. There was never a time when Jesus listened to what the Father said and did nothing. This is the challenge to us so we can be doing the will of God. People see us in action before they can ever talk to us about the Word. I've really been made aware of the things that I have to change in order to present the glory of God through me to others.

Our tongue is attached to our flesh which is selfish and will say anything to get what we want. If we tame our tongue so that we think of others before we speak, we will show love to those hearing us. We are to only speak that which edifies and blesses the hearer. This is quite the exercise especially when we are angry. Words are soooo important. We will be condemned and/or acquitted by them. Our words can do sooo much damage and are irretrievable. We are representatives of Christ and others will judge us based on our words and actions. If we claim to be Christians and act like heathens, think of how many people we will repel from Christ's eternal kingdom. We will be responsible for our knowledge of Him and our resulting actions/inactions. Both speaking unselfishly and caring for others unselfishly is the true test of a person walking in the spirit. Worshipping and quiet time are necessary but very easy to do compared to giving of ourselves and holding our tongue.

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[color="blue"]4a.) James is telling us that our actions speak louder than our words. I am reminded that we as followers of Jesus Christ are under constant scrutiny by non-believers and our actions had best follow our words. Concern and love for others is God's example to us. "God loved us that he sent his one and only Son..." The Apostle John reminds us: "[/color][color="purple"]This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.[/color][color="blue"]." (1 John 5:2) If we love God, we will obey His commandments.[/color]
4a.) (1:26-27) Why not the quality of our quiet time or worship?
[color="blue"]4a.) I guess I would have to answer this question with a question. How would our quality quiet time and/or worship be a witness to an unbeliever? This is in private. Quite frankly, you can do this as a pagan. You can have quiet time and worship with your god. "[/color][color="purple"]The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever[/color][color="blue"]." (1 John 2:17) Look to the eternal prize. [/color]

What our tongue says reflects the condition of our heart. If we have a pure heart our words will be honoring to God. If Jesus is truly Lord of our lives our words will reflect that.
Caring for the poor shows a caring heart. There is no earthly reward for this deed. It is truly humbling your self and serving someone that can’t reward you.

It's a test... it grounds us in the Word if we can control our tongue and take care of those less fortunate than ourselves. These are such small gestures that have mighty consequences... I find it easy to help the orphans and widows but I sure do need to work on taming my tongue... it is not a satisfying feeling when I don't listen, I am quick with my tongue, and have a quick temper... I feel guilty and weak and a failure. It doesn't make me or the person I am directing this behavior at feel anything positive.
I think people who don't believe look for a Christians mistakes... the tongue speaks loud and clear in so many ways. Being thoughtful and quiet sometimes speaks louder than a yell.
When we worship... we are ususally with other Christians... we are hopefully all there with the same intention... we are doing what we are suppose to do...

Q4. (1:26-27) Why does James make taming the tongue and caring for the poor the prime tests of pure religion?

I once heard Charles Capps say that our tongues are like unto a small rudder that can navigate a huge ship. Our tongues will decide where we are going in this life and what we can expect.

Why not the quality of our quiet time or worship?

Pure religion is about the heart (love). Quiet time and worship is wonderful, but incomplete unless we do as Jesus commanded us to do .. love the Lord God with our entire being and love others as we love ourselves.

Taming the tongue and caring for the poor are some of the outward signs of the godly man. If the tongue is left to run wild then all the quiet times in the world have not been effective in changing the man. God's message is intended to recreate man in His own image. God is one whose tongue is pure, and who loves those who are disinherited in earthly terms. In some very major degree our spirituality is manifested in what we say, and how we treat other people. Short of this our spirituality is totally immature and stunted. To the world we look nothing like God, and by calling ourselves Christians we demean the Name of Christ. This is blasphemous and sacriligious. Let us not be found in this predicament!

Of course our quiet times are important. But Jesus said, "Love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples." Loving one another involves speaking only words productive of blessing to all involved, and caring for those weaker than ourselves. Jesus is the physical manifestation of LOVE, and His disciples are likewise!

[/B]Afterthought!
I suspect this law goes further than the immediately obvious. We need also to watch what we listen to. Everything that we listen to is a seed sown into our thought processes and can blossom into an ugly tree. Listening to unseemly words, be they gossip, complaints against pastors of church leaders and others, words that do not stand the test of scrutiny by scripture, can undermine our spiritual walk and cause us to take a step backwards. I have had to tell a precious and dear Christian friend who has helped me in major ways, that I do not wish to listen to constant words of complaint about people at church. He has chosen to take a break from the friendship for a while. (He has done this before and thought the better of it later and come back). This hurts my heart but I feel it is necessary. I pray that Father will show him the way through. I am not prepared to concede to negative thinking.

Ithink the reason God considers taming the tongue and caring for widows and orphans as most important is because God loves people and he considers our relationship with people to be affected by what we say with our tongues.

Q4. (1:26-27) Why does James make taming the tongue and caring for the poor the prime tests of pure religion? Why not the quality of our quiet time or worship?

We act out of what we believe in our heart-of-hearts. We may say we believe one thing, but are our actions consistent with that belief? It is easy to be "spiritual" in the presence of God, one-on-one, but what about when we are treated poorly, rejected, and are around those one , (or more), people who seem to push every button we have? In those times is where we see what we truly believe.

Are we not just feeding the physically hungry and the obviously orphaned, but the spiritually hungry and orphaned? There is such a need for spiritual mothers and fathers to help spiritual babes to grow up in their walk with God. They are needed to model Christ to those who have not ever had that. Our world is full of hungry and orphaned people.

Let's quit fooling ourselves into thinking that we are spiritual because we go to church and have a quiet time. Jesus says, by your love they will know to whom you belong and a good tree does not bear bad fruit. What do our fruit look like?

Thank you for this study. It has been so good to reflect on these scriptures and know which ways I lack and need God's help on.

In Him,
christina.

Q4. (1:26-27) Why does James make taming the tongue and caring for the poor the prime tests of pure religion? Why not the quality of our quiet time or worship?

Pure religion results in action in our lives and contacts. When we watch how we speak, treating others with kindness rather than sharp tongues and bitter anger--in spite of how they treat us--we show Jesus' love for them, and they are surprised at our response and wonder what makes us different from others. Caring for the poor also is an action that results from our love of God. We serve them in their need, in order to serve Him, and in response to His telling us to "do unto others as we would have them do to us." Thus, these are the "proofs" of the fact that we are, indeed, children of the Lord God!
We can have a delightful quiet time with the Lord, and worship Him in deep joy, but if it does not have any result in our lives, how will we be able to reach those who need to hear about Him? How can we draw others to know that there is something they need??

The tongue , if left unchecked can cause untold distress to others.
We, therefore, need to keep a guard on our tongue, and be mindful of the feelings of others when we speak, especially if it is by way of putting others down, or criticising their actions. When we allow the Holy Spirit to purify our hearts, then He gives us self-control enabling us to say things to others which will please God.

Jesus was always looking out for those who were victimized, or unloved. In the same way, He has called us to love our brothers as ourselves. When we obey, we are fulfilling His Word . Also, when we give to the orphans and widows, we have litttle chance of getting in return. We then experience the true effect of what His Word states "that it is more blessed to give than to receive."

it reminds me of the parable of the 2 sons. the 1st son said he wouldn't do what the father wanted yet thought about it and changed his mind. and the second son who said anything that would please his father, but didn't do what he said he'd do. both spoke to soon. neither doing what they said. give your mind the time to process. you'll be surprised as to what you will do if you think about it. also talk is cheep like the second son the father(in heaven) knows the truth, so you're not fooling him.

Practical.

The mind controls the body. (Don't believe me... go through a fire walking experience!) What is in the mind will come out. If our thoughts are selfish and corrupted... that will come out.

The choice then to do practical things like looking after those who have had their supports cut out from them is one that flows from a mind focused on being Christ-like.

The quality of worship and quiet time is subjective. It is interior and personal to us. Religion is lived out in front of and beside others. That makes relationships critical.

Angus

Our words or a monitor to our heart's and a witness to the world that we are christians by our love.

The word tells us if we have love abiding in us we will not even notice if we have been wrong, so we can go and minister to the widow and the orphans even though sometimes we might not get any thanks. What would Jesus do? He would meet the needs of all He came in contact with (with love).
A meek and quite spirit should control us.

Caring for the poor and controlling our speech are signss of compassion. If compassion fills our hearts, then these two things are part of what will result.

Thus, they are a true sign of the Spirit's work in our hearts.

Taming the tongue and caring for the poor is a testimony to others of our relationship with Christ. If we are hurtful with our tongue then people cannot see Christ in our lives. If we turn our backs on the poor we are not identified with Christ.
Quality time and worship are things that we do privately and the world does not see it.

It think James used this as a measuring point because they are the two hardest things to do. It is easy for me to control my time and the quality of my study but it is a real challenge for me to control my tongue.

Additionally, it is easy to surround my self with people who are like me. It is even easier for me to ignore the poor. We must master what is difficult and see what we would rather not see.

"taming the tongue and caring for the poor the prime tests of pure religion"
Being pure also means holy living, and if u have untamed (uncontrolled)
tongue,etc. then u are not living (practising) the life (James1v22).
U may know the Word but if u are not practising(living) the Word,
then your so called pure religion is vain and useless (James1v27).