Fake vs Genuine

Things are not always what they seem

Things are not always what they seem

James 1:26-27 “26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 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.”

Genuine Faith Controls the Tongue (1:26)

Genuine Faith Controls the Tongue (1:26) Matthew 15:18, “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.”   Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Genuine Faith Controls the Tongue (1:26) Matthew 12:36-37, “36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Genuine Faith Controls the Tongue (1:26) Genuine Faith Cares for the Afflicted (1:27)

2. Genuine Faith Cares for the Afflicted (1:27) Exodus 22:22-24, “22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.”

2. Genuine Faith Cares for the Afflicted (1:27) Deuteronomy 24:19-22, ”19 When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.”

2. Genuine Faith Cares for the Afflicted (1:27) Psalm 146:9, "The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” Deuteronomy 10:17; Deuteronomy 24:17; Deuteronomy 27:19; Psalm 68:5; Isaiah 1:17, 23; Isaiah 10:1-2; Jeremiah 7:5-7; Jeremiah 22:3; Zechariah 7:10;

Genuine Faith Controls the Tongue (1:26) Genuine Faith Cares for the Afflicted (1:27) Genuine Faith Avoids Worldliness (1:27)

Genuine Faith Avoids Worldliness (1:27) James 4:4, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

“First, there is ‘friendship of the world’ (James 4:4), which can lead to a love for the world (1 John 2:15–17). If we are not careful, we will become conformed to this world (Rom. 12:1–2), and the result is being condemned with the world (1 Corinthians 11:32).” Warren Wiersbe