Here, James draws our attention to a man who is only a hearer of the Word, not a doer of the work. This man conforms to all outward forms of ritual and ceremony, but his talk gives him away as spurious. Or, if he really is a Christian, the Lord has no respect for his outward form of worship. The expression "among you" would tell us that he is thinking of those who are in the circle of the Christians, but are not showing, by their speech, that their life is centered on the Lord.

"... seem to be religious ..." The word "religion" is very commonly used today, but it is not often found in the Bible. James uses it three times, twice in this verse and once in the next. Paul uses it in Acts 26:5, where he speaks of his Pharisaism as a religion. We also find it in Galatians 1:13, but there, it really should be translated "Judaism." Once more we have it in Acts 13:43, but there, the original is altogether a different word meaning "worshipful."

"... religious ..." "Religious" speaks of the outward service of God. A man might be very zealous in this outward service, and not believe or obey Christ at all. Jews are religious and zealous; Mohammedans too, and others. To be religious does not necessarily mean Christian. Some are zealous for their form of religion, but may not love the Lord Jesus, or His Word. True Christianity goes beyond the outward form. It is not merely religious, but a new life received from Christ. This new life motivates all the actions of the Christian. Mere ritualistic religious forms, apart from Christ in the heart, are utterly vain.

Examples of unsaved religious people: We have many examples of religious people in the Scriptures, who were not saved. Think of the Athenians in Acts 17. Their city was filled with idols; some say they had 30,000 of them. Then, in fear that they might have missed one, they erected an altar to the unknown God. Paul uses this altar as a starting point in order to preach to them of the true God, Christ and His resurrection.

Paul and his religious zeal: Paul was a very devout Pharisee before he was saved. It was his devotion to his form of religion, and his supposed devotion to God, that made him rabid in his hatred of Christ and the Christians. It was his religious zeal that made him consent to the stoning of Stephen, and caused him to imprison and persecute Christians, even unto distant cities.

"... seem to be ..." However, James is not thinking of religious unbelievers, or zealous Jews. He is thinking of those professing to be real Christians, who, in some ways, appear genuine in their devotion to God and Christ. The very expression, "seems to be", indicates there may be counterfeits among the genuine. The Revised Version has, "If any man thinketh himself to be religious." There are some who think themselves to be all right, yet are not saved. With all their hymn singing, listening to preaching, and observances of the services of their congregation, they are still lost.

Swept and garnished: Sometimes, we see one who professes to be converted. He appears very real for a time. Old things seem to go, and he delights in the Bible and Christian friends. However, it does not last long, and soon he is in worse shape than he ever was. He is like the man the Lord Jesus speaks of in Matthew 12:43-45. An unclean spirit goes out of the man, and so the house (the man's heart) is empty, swept and garnished. The demon goes back in again and takes seven other unclean spirits with him, and the man's last state is worse than the first. The trouble was that although the demon went out and the place swept and cleaned, it remained empty. Christ was not invited in to fill the empty place, and soon the demons had possession again. We might say of such, "The man was saved, but he fell from grace." Some fall away because they never let Christ enter their heart. If He abides within, we will be able to stand! John says, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us" (1 John 2:19).

"... bridleth not his tongue ..." James likens the human tongue to a horse that needs bridling. The bit and bridle are used to direct the horse, and to hold him in check. Some of these early Christians had undirected tongues, and perhaps, at times, they even ran wild. James says that those with such tongues were deceiving their own hearts, and had vain religion. He may have borrowed this metaphor from Psalms 39:1. "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me."

James and the tongue: Sins of the tongue were especially grievous in the days of James. Without doubt, this sin was strongly manifest in some assemblies of Jewish Christians. Some were demonstrating an argumentative spirit, perhaps, even a wrathful one. This we judge from 1:19, 20, and also, chapter 3, especially verses 6 to 10. Most of the third chapter is taken up with sins of the tongue.

Judging a man by his tongue: James says, the way to judge whether a man is real, or has but a seeming religion, is by his talk. We might say, "That man only seems to be religious, he talks dirty”; or "he can't be a genuine Christian because he’s a licentious person." James says, that person has only seems to be religious because he bridles not his tongue, and this he says by the Spirit of God. The tongue is the index to the heart. If a man sins consistently with this little member, we may well question his salvation.

Sins of the tongue – lies: The sins of the tongue are legion. Satan, with his sinful tongue, lied to Eve in the garden. Ever since, man has had a lying tongue. By lies they are continually deceiving others, and even their own hearts. The grief in the world caused by this kind of a tongue is beyond measure. John gives a list of sinners in Revelation 21:8, and ends it with this, "and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone."

Filthy conversation: Many men's tongues today are terribly dirty. A stream of filth pours out of their mouths. Even children delight to hear and to tell obscene stories. Many mouths are like a filthy sewer pouring its stench into a lake or stream. Did you ever take a look at your tongue in the mirror of the Word? Did it have black spots on it? Maybe you have only a “seeming” religion. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth" (Eph. 4:29). "Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks" (Eph. 5:4).

Swearing: As in the day of James, so today, swearing and cursing are terrible sins. One can hardly watch television, a movie or go into a public place, without hearing someone use the name of the Lord in vain. Some Christians, perhaps almost unknowingly, use minced oaths a great deal. They seem to forget that "golly" is just another way of saying "God," and that "Gee" is a changed form of "Jesus," and that "darn" is the same as saying "damn." Let us pray with David, "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips" (Ps. 141:3).

Evil speaking: Evil speaking has done great mischief. Too many of us seem to delight in running down others. We think this raises ourselves in the eyes of others, or at least, brings others down to our level. "Yes, I know I do this, but so and so, he does this or that, so he is no better than I am." James deals with this in 4:11, 12. Paul also speaks of it many times in his epistles.

Loud and continual talking: Another thing not so becoming to a Christian is loud and continual talking. If any are given to this, they should watch themselves, and seek to overcome it. Often, pride is at the root of it. Remember what the Lord Jesus says, "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matt. 12:36).

The talkative man: The talkative man often does more harm than those who willfully set out to deceive. He is sure to say many things that would be better unsaid, and because of this, he will wound hearts, cause enmity to increase, blacken men's characters, and hinder truth. "Therefore let thy words be few" (Eccl. 5:2).

A deceived heart: A man may have some of these sins of the tongue and still be a Christian, but if we see one whose tongue seems unbridled, we may well conclude he is not genuine. He may himself think he is, but he is deceiving his own heart. He may even say nice words at times about Christ and the Bible, but his uncontrolled tongue tells us that his spirit is not at all controlled by the Holy Spirit. He may be outwardly religious, but inwardly he is utterly deceived.

"... this man's religion is vain." When James says "this man's religion is vain," he means that it is empty, useless, and unreal; that it is a counterfeit. So, a man whose tongue is unbridled might just as well not profess to worship the Lord. It is vain and useless anyway.

Not a fruit of the Spirit: It is well to remember that this verse is speaking of the fruit of Christianity. It has nothing to do with how to become a Christian. The blood of Christ is the efficient means of our forgiveness and redemption; the sacrifice for our sins was made there – in the atoning death of Christ on Calvary. When our belief in the Lord causes us to obey the Gospel and be born again, the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). An evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives is a controlled tongue. We cannot see the roots of a tree, but we can examine the fruit. Even so, we cannot see the roots of salvation, but we can examine the fruits of it; and surely, an unbridled tongue is not one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Others with vain religion: Because one can control his tongue is not sure evidence that His Christianity is genuine. Some are naturally very soft spoken and quiet. Some are like what we read in Psalm 55:21, "The words of his mouth were smoother then butter, but war was in his heart." Some are like the Pharisees of whom the Lord Jesus says, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer" (Matt. 23:14). A controlled tongue is not sure evidence of true Christianity; an uncontrolled tongue is clear proof that it’s not true.

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