Mouth (1:26): Like the dashboard in our cars, our mouth is the gauge for our hearts. James repeatedly deals with the condition of our speech to address the underlying issue of the heart.[1] The man who does not direct his mouth[2] toward humble, righteous, pure, loving and God-honoring thoughts exercises a worthless religion. In the end, such a person “deceives his own heart” and thinks himself to be right with God while all along his religion is “worthless.”
Mercy (1:27): No one who truly knows and worships God overlooks the care of the needy. God’s will for His people in this regard is unchanged from the Old Testament to the New.[3] Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God always includes[4] caring for those who are “in distress.” Even as Christ’s work was to preach the gospel and also meet temporal needs[5], so we, too, proclaim the gospel for the salvation of lost souls and compassionately meet temporal needs. Everyone needs Christ and His eternal blessings: the forgiveness of sins, the hope of heaven, peace with God and the joy of the Holy Spirit[6]. It is sheer hypocrisy to relieve temporal suffering and do nothing about people’s eternal suffering in hell.[7] Why only hand out meager earthly goods when we can point them to eternal salvation in Christ? We minister to people in need.
[1] Cf. James 2:3-4; 3:8-16; 4:11-12, 13-16. The battle for the mouth is ultimately the battle for the heart.
[2] Bridling the tongue speaks of both restraint over it (bite your tongue) and directing it toward God-honoring things. A cunning man may try to control his tongue to hide the evil in his heart, but that is just a form of deception (Prov. 4:24; 6:12; 10:11, 18). That is not the type of bridling of the tongue that Scripture calls for. Instead, we are to direct our tongues toward godly things by filling our hearts with godly things (Luke 6:45).
[3] Cf. Deut. 24:19-21; Isaiah 1:23; Jere. 7:6; Zech. 7:9-10.
[4] James does not argue that this is the entirety of an acceptable religion before God, but an essential part of it.
[5] Cf. Matt. 9:35-36; Mark 6:34.
[6] Cf. Acts 10:43; 13:38; Acts 13:52; Rom. 14:17; Gal. 5:22; 1 Thess. 1:6.
[7] We must proclaim the gospel (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 17:30; Rom. 1:5; 1 Pet. 2:9).