James 1:22-27

[Hidden In Him]

Before Passing Judgment, Look Yourself Deeply In The Mirror, Part 1

                                 

     Many try to justify their sins by quoting the verse that says, "Judge not, lest you be judged," which leaves some Christians wondering if it is wrong to even condemn sin? The answer, or course, is that it is not. In fact, scripture teaches the opposite, and that it is wrong to simply give sin a pass. Rather, Christ's teaching was not to pass judgment on the sinner himself because of his sins but be merciful in spite of them, and leave judgment in the hands of God. The reason is because men have a tendency to look at a splinter in the eye of another while failing to see the beam in their own (Matthew 7:1-4).
     James would repeat this teaching in discussing what he called the "Perfect law" or the "Law of Liberty." Loving your neighbor as yourself kept such mistakes from happening, for a true "doer of the word" would not pass sentence like a Judge and jury. Instead he would look in the mirror, be reminded of his own sins, and thus be more inclined to show them mercy instead:

     But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if a man is a hearer of the word yet not a doer, this is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, in that he observed himself and went away and immediately forgot what he himself was like. But the one who has looked deeply into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and has continued therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his doing. If anyone presumes to be religious yet does not bridle his tongue, this man's religion is in vain. Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: To visit orphans and widows in their oppression, and keep oneself unblemished from the world. (James 1:22-27)

     The "perfect law" here was "love your neighbor as yourself" (see James 2:8 ). The Jews were strictly keeping many laws, including things like the unclean food laws, yet unfortunately in matters of the heart their religion was by no means "pure and undefiled." They were allowing unclean spirits to govern their behavior, for they were lashing out against those they disagreed with doctrinally (James 3:1, 4:1-2), speaking curses over those they despised (James 3:9), and treating the poor disrespectfully, telling them to sit under their footstool or in the corner during a meeting (James 2:1-4). These were clear examples of breaking the perfect law, for if they had focused on loving their neighbor as themselves they would have seen their own sins, and as a result been more merciful towards others in light of it.
     This is what Jesus was teaching in the gospel of John, when the woman caught in the act of adultery was about to be stoned to death for violating Jewish law:

     3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. 7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the Light of life.” (John 8:3-12)

     As the Light of the world, Jesus was now teaching a higher law than simply stoning the adulteress to death. It was most certainly a sin, for afterwards He would tell her, "Go and sin no more." But He was telling them to let God be the One to pass the final sentence, telling them whoever had not sinned should cast the first stone. Suddenly they began seeing the woman in a different light, and began to have compassion. Maybe she had lived a hard life married to a cruel man, and had just wanted to be treated like someone loved her. Maybe she was looking for help or protection, only it had now come to this. But one thing they knew for sure, they were most certainly not sinless either. Though many of them might not have committed adultery, they had all committed some form of sin, and as a result they could not stand before the Lord and act like they were worthy to cast the first stone. so they each dropped what they were holding and began to walk away, no matter how much life experience they had (i.e. "starting from oldest to youngest"), because each saw glimpses of their past, and knew they were not without guilt themselves.   
     This then is why James was saying how important it was to always look at one's own life and weaknesses. If you looked deeply in the mirror, you'd find something you had done wrong as well, and the result would be adopting a more merciful attitude towards others and being far less judgmental.


Helping The Helpless, Instead Of Judging

     To quote from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, "Without a legal protector, the position of the widow in Israelite society was precarious. She was often neglected and exploited. Part of the reason for the harsh treatment may have been the common view that widowhood was a reproach from God Himself (Ruth 1:13, 20; Isaiah 54:4)." Verses in Deuteronomy 28 also stated that servitude, severe lack, and being dependent upon others for survival were signs of being "accursed" by God, and this was the financial state that many widows and orphans found themselves in during New Testament times. Some within Judaism were therefore judging them as being deserving of abuse and mistreatment, and thus felt no qualms about oppressing them even further, despite God's repeated commands in scripture about providing for them and seeing they were taken care of:

     You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. (Exodus 22:21-24)

     Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth? Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. (Isaiah 10:1-34)

     These passages warned about preying upon such women financially and taking their homes from them after their husbands died. It left them destitute, yet the scribes and Pharisees were engaging in these practices nonetheless, which is what led Jesus to eventually rebuke them, saying, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation" (Matthew 23:14). The way this was done this was by convincing men to dedicate their homes as "Corban" (i.e. a gift to God) to the Jewish leadership upon death, so that such men would not be obligated during their lifetimes to sell the property if their parents should need help (Mark 7:9-13). Though their wives and children would sometimes have no place to stay, the Pharisees nevertheless came in upon the man's death, made a long-winded speech about how "righteous" he had been in life, and then proceeded to take the only place they had to live.
     This is why Jesus revealed that the holier-than-thou spirit the Pharisees walked in was actually of the Devil, and a cover for walking in wickedness. The story of Job had proven that not all who were afflicted or oppressed were "accursed of God," and even God Himself stated several times in the Old Testament that He watched over orphans and widows to protect them in their time of need:

     Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families. He brings out those who are bound into prosperity. But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. (Psalm 68:5-6)

     Praise the Lord... Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to prisoners... and raises up those who are bowed down. The Lord watches over strangers, He relieves the fatherless and the widow, but the way of the wicked He turns upside down. (Psalm 146:7-9)

     Thus, James was here reminding his readers of what God's original intention was, and how the scribes and Pharisees were now corrupting the religion He first instituted, by engaging in practices that were not only wicked but spiritually impure.


When A Religion Becomes Spiritually Defiled

     Judaism was instituted by God and started out pure. What the Jewish leadership eventually turned it into, however, was something entirely different. It was no longer the "pure and undefiled" religion God intended it to be, but had become spiritually defiled, as Jesus would allude to on several occasions, telling the Pharisees in one place:

     25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:25-28)

     He referred to them as "whitewashed tombs" because dead bodies were unclean according to Jewish law, and all the unclean laws were instituted by God to symbolize our need to avoid all contact with unclean spirits (2 Corinthians 6:17). The result of doing so would be the reaping of death and bodily decay, for the "worm that dies not" riddled the bodies of those in Hell just as maggots did dead bodies on earth, and both were the result of men giving themselves to evil spirits and reaping death as a result. Demons are intent on bringing death to humans just like Satan had in the garden, so no wonder Jesus referred to the Pharisees as "sons of vipers," for just as Satan manifested himself as a snake with murder as his intention, so too were demons now implanting the desire to murder within the hearts of the Pharisees, leading Jesus to ask them, "How can you escape the damnation of Hell?"

     29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, "If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets." 31 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of Hell? 34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. (Matthew 23:29-35)

     This would not be the only time He told self-righteous Jews they were children of the Devil, or mentioned why. It was specifically because they harbored a spirit of murder in their hearts:

     42 Jesus said to them... "You are of your father the Devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him." (John 8:42-44)

     It was for these reasons that Jesus eventually exposed how the entire Jewish religion was becoming defiled, by pointing out that the unclean food laws were symbolic of something deeper, and that what mattered most in the eyes of God was not letting unclean spirits defile a person's heart; spirits that encouraged them to murder, commit adultery, and rob the helpless of their belongings and property:

     18 Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man. (Matthew 15:18-20)

     If the desire to blaspheme others also characterized a spirit that could defile a man, the Pharisees blasphemed Christ blatantly, and continued to even up until the time James was writing this letter (James 2:7). Specifically, they were accusing Him of having cast out demons by the power of Satan, i.e. through the power of sorcery:

     22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute, and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” (Matthew 12:22-24)

     The teaching in James, then, was that Christians were not to give themselves to the same defiling spirits that indwelt the Pharisees. Instead of judging and condemning others, they needed to look themselves in the mirror, see that they were not perfect either, and find ways to be merciful. They would do this by keeping the Law of Liberty, which instead of holding men to a specific set of rights and wrongs, freed them to think about how they themselves would want to be treated if they were in the other person's shoes. Unlike a long list of laws the Pharisees were keeping, if they kept this one law, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ would be characterized by a Spirit of mercy and compassion, not one of condemnation, self-righteousness, and religious hypocrisy.


Questions And Applications

1. As an exercise, name three sins recently committed against you. If you applied the Law of Liberty, how would you have responded to each?

2. If you put yourself in the shoes of someone whose sins absolutely disgusted or enraged you, would you still be able to keep this Law? If not, why?

3. Why do you think Christ Jesus asked us as believers to keep this law?

4. Would you say modern Christianity as a whole is a "pure and undefiled religion," or has it become corrupted in some ways now as well? If so, in what ways?