Oh That Treacherous Tongue!
Responding to the Word with anything other than faithful, unreserved obedience is self-deceptive. Another word used to describe this useless religion is to delude oneself. It means incorrect reckoning or reasoning. It’s the idea of deliberate, false reasoning for the purpose of deceiving. As a mathematical term it means miscalculation. In other words, to hear God’s Word and not act upon it is spiritual miscalculation, i.e., self-deception; hearing without receiving.
John MacArthur tells of an old Scottish expression which describes false Christians as “sermon tasters who never tasted the grace of God.” Any response to the Word which does not lead to obedience is self-deception. It is the difference between a ‘profession of faith’ and a ‘possession of faith’. Profession says it believes; possession proves it does! And James doesn’t disappoint, rather he gives us a stern warning, a litmus test to know the difference between the two.
Religion. The word was used to describe the religious rituals, the external liturgies, routines and ceremonies. Doing those things, even with pomp and splendor, apart from knowing Christ and living a life to bring glory to God, is useless religion and cannot save anyone. What looks good on the outside will eventually be exposed by the heart on the inside as it reveals itself by what it says. Sermon tasters hear the Word, yet do not possess the faith required to bridle the tongue, thus falsely measuring themselves. It’s the old adage that says, “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket!” So then, the tongue that is not controlled by God is a clear indicator that the heart isn’t either. Jesus said, “The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you” Matthew 12:37 (NLT).
“Father, help us not to be sermon tasters who only hear the Word, taste it, yet never allow it to penetrate our hearts and change our actions. May the Lord Jesus Christ possess us and through His Spirit live through us to proclaim a bold witness of who we are and Whose we are. Amen.”