James chapter 1

vs 19

"You have two ears and one mouth, and they should be used in that ratio" is a Biblical concept. We also need to be slow to anger. Anger is a really interesting concept in the Bible. It's never commanded against, but is always warned against. Lustful thoughts, greed and other feelings we probably can't control are commanded against, but anger is always different. Perhaps it's because it is one of those things that God does, and therefore you can't say God commands against it.

vs 20

James has more to say about anger though, and I think the NASB expresses this much better: "For the wrath of man does not achieve the righteousness of God". We might get angry at something, and the anger might start out being caused by some act of unrighteousness, but quickly our anger goes beyond that to other people, to hating stuff, to even hating God. We lose the moral high ground really quickly when we get angry.

vs 21

In the NIV, this is grouped with the last two verses, but it really belongs to the next paragraph in my opinion. Although it starts with therefore, I don't think it relates to the immediate verses before. I think this goes back to verse 13 and encompasses the whole thing up to this point. And the point of it has been that good things come from God, and bad things, anger and temptation, do not and do not contribute to your godliness.

So this verse has two steps. Step 1: get rid of moral filth and evil which is everywhere, and in big portions too. Step 2: humbly accept the saving word planted in you. Remember that very few times are actual Scriptures referred to, because most people didn't have them. Planted in you should be the hint that this is talking about the gospel. Most often when a NT writer talks about the word of God, he's either talking about Jesus or the gospel, not the written Bible.

He then goes on to focus on step 2 first, before coming back to step 1.

vs 22

We were talking about this idea (although not this verse) at the mission conference I was at yesterday. The preacher said that each of us lives a secret life within us that no-one can see. Only God can judge that secret life within. And he said that it is here where sins like hypocrisy and cynicism take their root. And the way to defeat these is to ask God to help you apply what you're reading, or hearing to your soul, and really make a difference in you and how you act. Far out, imagine if Christians actually went out and did what the Bible said! Scary.

Yes, I did say earlier that the Bible and the gospel aren't the same thing. But for us, the place we find the gospel is in the Bible, and the whole Bible contains the gospel, but the gospel is actually larger than the Bible, not the other way around.

vs 23-24

So James gives us an illustration of what he's talking about. Ignoring what God has said to you in his gospel as a Christian is incredibly hypocritical and contradictory. And there is no society that can smell hypocrisy and contradiction and hates it more than the current young generation.

vs 25

Although the word law here (nomos) can mean Mosaic law, you will notice that James calls it the "perfect law of freedom" which to me doesn't mean the Mosaic law at all. We can expect blessings in what we do, if what we are doing is what we are told to do by God in the gospel! Ha! The gospel doesn't tell us to be doctors or nurses. It doesn't tell us to be preachers or evangelists or artists or unemployed. It tells you that you've been given gifts, and to use them for the body. And it tells you that the body of Christ exists to reach the world. Yes, the gospel is pretty vague on what we should do, but when we do it then we'll be blessed.

vs 26

So now we look at moral filth, which James mentioned back at verse 21. But he focuses not on our actions, but our words. Our tongues are our main implement of filth. So first James tells us that if we can't keep a reign on the tongue, then our religion is worthless.

vs 27

Then he gives us a definition of what he means by religion - looking after those in distress (at the time orphans and widows were the big two), and keeping yourself from being polluted by the world. That should be a definition of what Christianity is. Helping the marginalised, and keeping ourselves pure. Far out, if that's what Christianity is, then we've got it sooooooo wrong. I think almost nothing of what we do at church on a Sunday morning keeps me pure - breaking bread is probably the only thing. Singing doesn't keep me pure. Most of the sermons don't either (some do). And I don't really see church on a Sunday helping people in distress. Most of the sermons aren't aimed at people in distress and most marginalised people don't even feel welcome in a church - certainly probably not our church. If we were more practically focused on inner purity (by inner I mean within the church) and outer visitation of the helpless. The NIV got "look after" from the greek word episkeptomai, but the root of the word, skopos, means to be a watchman. So what the word really means is to look over people (ie oversee) in order to help them. And if they're not in the church, then you might actually have to go out and look over them where they are so you can help them. No good being a watchmen when there's no enemy coming from the direction you're looking.