Well, we do continue our series this morning from the letter of James. The letter of James, you'll find that in your Bible after Hebrews and before 1 Peter. After Hebrews and before 1 Peter on page 1,289 in the Pew Bible. Now, we've already seen that James wasted no time in giving us a reality check with regard to what is involved in living the Christian life in this world. It began by broadening our perspective to remember and believe that God is sovereign over every circumstance, every relationship into which we enter in this life, and that He is working through them to refine our faith and to mold us after the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, to make us holy as He is holy. And because of that, we can count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds. But God is not only sovereign, God is good. God is good, the giver of every good and perfect gift. Therefore, when we experience temptation to sin, we cannot blame God. It is not within Him. He cannot do it. Temptation comes from the inside out, from our sinful hearts, as it is aided and abetted by the world, the flesh, and the devil. The salvation that God gives to us takes hold from the outside in. And the good God who of His own will, James says, brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. That's where we left it last time, being reminded of this truth that God in His goodness has brought us forth, has given us new birth by His word of truth for a purpose that we should be a kind of firstfruits, fruitful in righteousness in this world. And James does not want us to underestimate or neglect the great salvation that he has just set before us. It's ours in Christ, and we must beware of neglecting it or forgetting it. Using theological terms, which we do need to know, through faith in Jesus Christ, we're not only justified, we're not only made right with God by grace through faith in Christ, We are also being sanctified. We're also being enabled and empowered and motivated to do what's right in conformity to Christ's image, to glorify God. And we need to remember, James says, you can't have one without the other. To claim justification, to claim that you're saved without pursuing holiness, without pursuing sanctification, is to practice a religion that James calls worthless. And we are to avoid worthless religion. And that's what our text is about this morning, is his call to avoid worthless religion. And as we approach it, I need to have you oriented to a particular reading of the text that I'm going to give to you this morning, because it will look a little different than what's on your page. Not much, but just a little. Look at the beginning of verse 19. This is where our text begins. We need to consider the opening words here where James commands us to know something. Know this. And this knowing he calls us to is a knowing that's not just in our heads. It's a knowing that is bound up in our being. It's the ground of our certainty. It is at the core of our being. We are certain and assured of this. And the question is, what is this that we're to know with such certainty. If James opens up with know this, as is translated here in the ESV and in most other English Bibles, he would be directing our attention to what follows and he wants us to give a lot of weight to what follows in verses 20 or 19 to 21. And not that that's not important, but if that's the main thing that we need to pay attention to in this text, I found myself confused. I had to go back and back and back. It seems out of place. It seems to exalt something in the wrong place and at the wrong time. And so looking at that word, going back and studying it, I believe that if we read it another way, a very allowable way, it's not a stretch by any means, it reorients us to the whole flow of this text and will open it up to us in a way that encourages us in our walk with Jesus. And that way is if James is opening this up by saying, knowing this. Knowing this, pointing back to verse 18. Knowing this, this gospel, this gospel that of His own free will, God brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. Knowing this sets a foundation and a sufficient motivation for everything else that James has to say to us here today. And so as I read this to you today, I want you to have that understanding. I want you to come at this text from that direction. It will help us. It will help you. And so here now the Word of God from James 1. I will begin with verse 18 so that you see the connection. Of His own will, God brought us forth by the Word of Truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Knowing this, my beloved brothers, that every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your soul. And be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror, for he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, This person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Thus far the reading of God's Word this morning. Well, by the time we get to the end of that text, we know that James' main concern here is that we avoid the trap of falling into worthless religion. And toward that end, he gives us three very clear directives. He tells us three things. He says, first of all, to remember your salvation. Secondly, to receive the implanted word. And third, to become doers of that word. Remember your salvation. Receive the implanted word. And become doers of that word. Well, James begins right away by directing us, beloved brothers, to remember your salvation. And he does it with that first word of verse 19. That's why I spent time to tell you that. With that one word, he calls to mind the truth of verse 18 and brings it into this text as a very important aspect of what he calls us to. And why is that? And that's because the Christian life not only begins in the power of God through the gospel, it can only be carried on to perfection in the same power of God through the same gospel. The gospel is not something we hear, believe, and leave behind. The gospel is something we hear and believe and believe and believe to carry us forward. As Christians, we can know and we must never doubt that of His own will, according to His own desires, God has brought us forth. He has given us a new life that is not ours by nature, an eternal life by means of the word of truth in the power of His Spirit. And He's established us to be fruit-bearing crops in this world as we wait for the world to come. And this knowing is not only a knowledge and conviction that everything that's in this word is true. It is that. I have said to many of you, the devil knows what's in here, and he knows it's true. But he doesn't have this knowing. Because this knowing is also a deep-rooted assurance, a grounding, a certainty, a conviction that out of sheer grace earned for us by Christ, not only others, but I too have had my sins forgiven, have been made forever right with God, and have been granted salvation. That's the knowing that James is calling us to. That's the knowing that young people and adults you know is the essence of true faith. Heidelberg 21. It's the hallmark of true faith. It's the gift of God that is created in us by the Holy Spirit through the Word, the implanted Word, that saves our soul. And apart from knowing the Gospel in this way, you are not saved. You cannot be a Christian. Only God can give it. And once He gives it, He will never take it away. And so we are to know this every day of our lives. And once it's received, this knowing takes hold and never lets go of Jesus. It looks to Jesus for the motivation and the power to walk this walk that looks like the talk that we talk. We must know the gospel in this way if we're going to avoid worthless religion. We must know the gospel in this way if we're going to have a religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father. if we're going to be doers of the word and not hearers only, if we are going to be blessed in the doing, we must know the gospel in this way. And I want you to take note that the first direction James gives to you for avoiding worthless religion is not for you to do more, work harder. There's plenty of work to be done, but that's not the first thing. The first thing is to remember more. To remember your salvation, not only once upon a time, a long time ago, far, far away, but every day as your strength, as your purpose. And it is this knowing the gospel that equips us for James' second directive, which is to receive the implanted word. In order to avoid worthless religion, we need to receive the implanted word, and the sense of receive here is to continue to receive, To receive on an ongoing basis. We find it in verse 21. Where again, I believe James reminds us of the gospel with his first word. He says, therefore, and we have to ask, well, what's the therefore, therefore? I believe it's therefore to remind us of the gospel of verse 18. Just like the know this was there in verse 19. He's calling us back to the gospel. Therefore, because God has already brought us forth with the word of truth. receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. Now we must not misunderstand James here to say that we must receive this word again to be saved again. It's been implanted. It's been given to us. We've been changed by the power of the Spirit and given life. And he gives this directive to brothers in the Lord, those who have been given faith. So this isn't a call to walk the aisle again, or say the prayer again, or believe the gospel again, like it's something new. He's directing us to continue to receive it, to welcome it, to embrace it, and to appropriate it to ourselves, to have it imbue us every day of our lives until the fullness of our salvation is finally realized. Paul says much the same thing in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And just before he introduces his famous summary of the gospel, he says this, he says, Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you have believed in vain. Unless you really haven't believed. James and Paul are agreed. The gospel promises are to be received through faith, not only for our justification, to know that we're right with God, but also for our sanctification day by day, for our progress in holiness, to look like Jesus, our Savior. Until Christ returns and our sanctification is complete, we will continue to need to receive this implanted word. In verses 19 through 21, then Paul makes it clear that this receiving is not something that's passive. It's something with which we are actively engaged, actively involved. He says that this receiving includes putting away all filthiness and rampant wickedness. It's not a separate commandment here. It's not a separate directive. It's to characterize our receiving. Paul says it this way in Ephesians 4, put off your old self, which belongs to the former manner of life, And be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God and true righteousness and holiness. It's like a change of clothes. You can't put on one set of clothes without taking off the other. James is saying much the same thing. We can't receive the word of God if our hands and our minds and our tongues are busy with the things of this world. We have to put these things off in order to appropriate and imbue and to receive the Word of God. These verses also tell us that the Gospel must be received with meekness. He says, receive with meekness the implanted Word. And he also tells us in an indirect way that it must be received with wisdom. And he puts these together in chapter 3. He calls it meekness, the meekness of wisdom. Meekness is an aspect of wisdom. So we receive with meekness when we recognize and submit that the Word of God comes to us with authority and with power. And we, like young Samuel, say, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Or like the Thessalonians who received the Word of God and accepted it, not because it was the Word of man, but because of what it really is, the Word of God. We receive the implanted word with meekness. And as I said, according to James, meekness belongs to wisdom. He issues this challenge to the church in chapter 3. He says, who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. To highlight the need for this wisdom, James presents a proverb in verses 19 to 20. Let's read those verses again. Again, beginning, knowing this, knowing the gospel, my beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. Why? Because the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. This proverb is worthy of Solomon. In fact, it might call to mind many of Solomon's proverbs about what it means to listen and to hold our tongue and to speak in a way that's controlled and to control our temper. I mean, that all comes to mind, and we can put that all in the book here, but I don't think that's James' point. James has his mind on something very particular. And he'll address these other matters soon, but here he's concerned with how we receive not only the gospel, but the full counsel of God's Word. How are we going to receive what God wants us to receive? It requires wisdom. The author of Hebrews reminds us that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword piercing and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It comes at us and it cuts. It's not always easy to listen to the Word of God, especially when it exposes our sin. It's not always easy to understand the Word of God, especially if we're not giving it due attention. And so we, as finite creatures, still tainted with sin, can find ourselves bristling at the Word of God. Now, we are much too civil to open our mouths and interrupt the preacher. But that wasn't always the case. In James Day, it was common for someone in the congregation to raise a voice, to raise a question, to engage in debate. But even if we're too civil to do that, we're not free from engaging in these conversations in our minds. We may stop hearing because in our hearts we are arguing with the message or angry with the messenger or distracted by our troubles or those of this world or perhaps preoccupied with what we would rather be doing. It takes wisdom to receive God's Word. And this proverb of James echoes the wisdom of the preacher in Ecclesiastes chapter 5. The parallels are remarkable. The preacher says, guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Do not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be few. I believe that's the point that James is getting at here. That in order to receive God's word, we need to be humble before it and wise to not argue with it, against it, refuse it, diffuse it, distract it. That we are open to have it change us. Knowing that it is living and active. That it cuts deep. Well, James has told us to avoid worthless religion. We do so by remembering the gospel, already accomplished for life and for godliness now, and by continually receiving the implanted word actively and with meekness and in wisdom. And he starts with these two things in order to give us and provide to us the motive and the power to do what we all want to jump to, and that's how to be a doer of the word. And that's his last direction. is become doers of the Word. When James calls us to become doers of the Word in verses 23-27, he does so with a severe warning. It gets our attention. Why does he do this to my beloved brother? Why does he do this to us in the church? Because if we're honest, we have to say that we have a hard time believing the Gospel and doing the Word at the same time. They have a hard time believing the gospel and doing the Word at the same time. Those who attempt to be doers of the Word apart from the gospel only become better behaved sinners. They don't make any advance in righteousness. They make no advance in holiness. They just become better behaved sinners because there's no life from Christ there. There's no inheritance in God. But James is more concerned about another mix-up that we have. He's more concerned with those who claim to have faith, but neglect or refuse to be doers of the Word. They may have said the prayer. They may have walked the aisle. They may have been baptized. They may have made a profession of faith. They may be in church Sunday after Sunday. But they have little or no concern to show their love for God and His people by doing what God commands in His Word. You've heard this sometimes called the fire insurance faith. I've got my fire insurance. I've said the prayer, I've got my salvation and I'm going to live like I want until it's time to cash in. James will have none of that. God will have none of that. That's worthless religion. But it's not always so stark and so obvious. Jesus said, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. In effect, James is saying, if you will not keep God's commandments, you do not love Jesus. Well, there's a lot going on in these verses, but I want to get to the point. The point is rather clear. If you know the saving work of Christ for you, and continue to receive the implanted word for your sanctification, you will become doers of the word and not hearers only. And that's the force of James' word here is to become doers. And James makes this point in two ways. He does it first with a simple illustration in verses 23 and 24 and second with a clearer description in verses 26 and 27. And he does this so that we would know that anyone who's a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is self-deceived. He is self-deceived. He thinks he's religious, but his religion is worthless. Well, looking at this illustration in 23 and 24, many have tried to interpret it as an allegory and spent a lot of ink trying to find meaning in every detail. And I suggest to you today that if we resist the temptation to plumb the depths of our own imagination and step back and consider the big picture here, we can understand it pretty directly. In verse 23, James says that anyone who is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this man is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. That's the comparison. The one who is a hearer of the word but not a doer is like a man who looks at himself in the mirror, intently. The question then is how are they alike? And James answered that in verse 24 and 25. He said, Just like a man who looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he looks like, anyone who is a hearer of the word and not a doer is a hearer who forgets. Just like the man who looks at himself in the mirror goes away and forgets what he looks like, the hearer of the word is not a doer goes away and forgets what he heard. That's the point. He receives no benefit from God's Word. And he's of no benefit to others by use of that Word. He deceives himself, thinking he's religious, when his religion is worthless. He comes to church, he sits in the pew, he hears the sermon and goes home for a cup of coffee. Duty done. Might not make it past the foyer before he's on to sports. In contrast to that, in verse 25, James sets before us the hearer who is a doer. He compares the hearer who forgets on the one hand and a doer who acts on the other. The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres. That's the point. He perseveres. He doesn't forget. He perseveres. He perseveres in doing that which he has heard. The doer who perseveres, James says, will be blessed. He'll be blessed through the word that he looks into and he'll be blessed in the doing of that word for other people. Is this not what we sing in the hymn? Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy, to be blessed in Jesus than to trust and obey? To hear and to do? That's the point of that story. That's the point of that illustration. When you hear the word, we're called to be those who remember and persevere in doing, not putting it out the back door and moving on with the rest of life. To do that is to have a worthless religion that has no value in the kingdom of God. Now, before we turn our attention to these last two verses, which are this very clear description of the life that we're called to and what we're called to avoid, I want to pause for just a minute, a little sidebar here. We need to know this is a sidebar only because it's important in our text. James, in this illustration, refers to the perfect law, the law of liberty, the law of liberty. This phrase stands out for several reasons. First of all, it's the first mention of the law in James' letter thus far. He has not mentioned the word law until now. And when he does, it's not just any law he talks about. he talks about the perfect law, which is none other than the law of God, as we have it summarized in the Ten Commandments, to be sure, and as Jesus summarized it in two, that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourself. All that's contained in that is the perfect law of God. And James calls this law the law of liberty. And I hope that causes you to pause and think a minute. I thought the gospel was about liberty, And the law was about bondage. How is the law, the perfect law of God, the law of liberty? James is the only one that calls it this. He does it here, and in chapter 2 he says it again. But he's the only one that refers to the law as the law of liberty. What is he doing? What is he saying? Why does he put it here? In the midst of telling us to do the law. Why is it the law of liberty? I will believe it's because he would have you remember that even though this perfect law is holy, righteous, and good, in itself it cannot make you willing and able to do it. That's why he didn't start with do more, do more, do more. The law doesn't have the power to make you do more. Therefore, when you approach the law, he wants you to remember your salvation so that when you look at this perfect law, you see that you can receive this law as the law that Christ has fulfilled for you. The law that in Christ you're set free now to actually pursue for the first time in your life. You've been set free from the bondage that the law brings. But you've been freed to do what the law requires. You are free to obey. When you feel like obedience is such a weighty, burdensome task, you just wonder why God expects so much. James would have you remember that the law is set before you to show you the way forward in your freedom. It's the way that you express your life. It's the way that you look like Christ. It's something that apart from Christ you could not ever enter into. And therefore, the law of the Lord is a delight. It is the law of liberty to those who are in Christ. Because of Him, you want to. And you will obey. Perfectly? Not in this lifetime. Truly? Yes. People of God, you need to know that when you read the Word of God, you hear the Word of God, and you know what you're supposed to do, When you do it in faith, you can know that you're doing the Word. And you're worthless, and your religion is not worthless. And so James now closes with this description in verses 26 and 27. A clear description of what this religion, this liberated religion looks like. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father. Religion for which we are motivated and empowered by the gospel. Now, we need to know that this description is not intended to cover every aspect of the human life. It's not the end-all, be-all description. It does, however, highlight three prominent and observable behaviors. Things in which the doers of the word will persevere. Things that will show that we're moving in the direction that God will have us move. Three things that James will unpack further as we go through this letter. He'll give them much more attention. This is his way of introducing us and making us aware of where he's going, but also making us aware of what God is doing. So the warning of verse 26 that we read there, if anyone thinks he's religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person in religion is worthless. We can take that warning, we can plug in any one of these three things in the statement will be true because the inverse is true, that the religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world and to bridle the tongue. So if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, does not visit orphans and widows in their affliction, does not keep oneself unstained from the world, he deceives his heart. His religion is worthless. That's the warning. Doers of the word, however, will want to and be able to do such things. More and more, they'll be evident. They'll testify to God of His work in us. They'll testify to ourself of His work in us. They'll testify to our neighbor of His work in us. For they are good works, empowered by the grace of the gospel. And so this week, as you have been called to examine yourselves whether you should come to the Lord's table. In James' language, you're to examine yourself to see whether your religion is worthless or pure and undefiled in Christ. It's not asking whether you are perfect in everything you do. It's not asking that if you're trusting Christ for all that he calls you to do. I'd like to encourage you to evaluate your religion this week in light of what James has said here this morning. You might contemplate such questions as these. Do you remember your salvation? Holding fast to Jesus Christ alone as your complete Savior, not only the one who made you right with God, but the one who is making you and enabling you to do right before God. Do you remember your salvation? Secondly, do you hunger to receive the implanted Word of God? To hear it from this pulpit, to read it from your Bibles? Do you hunger to receive it? Are you active in that endeavor? And are you humble and wise to receive it? And do you desire more and more, more and more, to become a doer of the Word, striving to obey God's will for which Christ has freed you and for which He equips you. Remember your salvation. Receive the implanted Word continually. Become a doer of the Word more and more. Rejoice that in the strength of Christ you can come to His table, be strengthened even more for this very task of the Christian life. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we come before you thankful for your word to us through James. Too often considered a bit of a country bumpkin, unsophisticated and uneducated. But Lord, you have used him in your word to reveal profound and deep things, rich things. And so much of the gospel is present here in James. We thank you for that verse. Sometimes he is maligned as a law-only guy. We thank you for the encouragement you give us this morning to look to Christ, for the strength that we will find in him ever and always. And we pray, Father, that more and more we would look to him and trust in him to pursue the life you call us to live, that our religion would indeed be pure and undefiled in your sight. To the glory of your name and to the well-being of your church, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.