"Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall"

Do you consider yourself religious? Then prove it. James says the religious are doers of the Word, defenders of the helpless, and dedicated to clean living.

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall

(James 1:22-27)

Introduction:

A.  Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?  I would guess that most of us know where that quote comes from, Snow White.  The wicked witch in that story sure liked it when the mirror told her that she was the fairest. But when it told her that
she wasn’t … then she got very angry and very jealous.
B.  That’s the thing about GOOD mirrors, they always tell us the truth, even if we don’t like what we see!  Some part of our morning ritual is coming face to face with the mirror.  Most of us probably get our first look at ourselves while we’re still pretty scary looking.  Our eyes have that bleary, dazed look.  Our hair is sticking out in strange places, normally clean-shaven guys have some scruffy overnight growth of beards to deal with.
C.  Facing our mirrors first thing in the morning is NOT that pleasant an experience.  Mirrors are very honest little things.  They don’t compromise.  They don’t gloss over our defects and tell us we’re better-looking than we really are.  They show us every wart, wrinkle, gray hair & pimple.  In fact, the better the mirror, the more flaws we see.
D.  So why do we all have mirrors in our bathrooms?  Well, because as unpleasant as it may be to confront our own faces first thing in the morning, we know that if we don’t take a look at ourselves, and make some major adjustments, the rest of the world is going to see that morning face!  So we figure, it’s better to “face” the truth, so we can make the changes we think are necessary to make ourselves presentable to the rest of the world.
E.  As James writes to the Christians dispersed throughout the world, he uses a mirror as a practical illustration of the Christian living out his faith.  Let’s examine our text a little closer.

I.  Doers of the Word

A.  Listen to our text written by Kenneth Wuest*.

B.  According to James, the word demands response by action.  We need to rise up and become the people of the book.  We need to be more than just good students of the Bible.  We need to be more than just people who can tell a great Bible story.  We need to be the Bible.  God’s word should so infuse our lives that the words on the page become the very guide for our everyday life.

C.  Heb. 4:12 says that God’s word is living and active.  God says through Isaiah that his word does not return to him empty or void, but accomplishes his desire and achieves it purpose.  Peter tells his reads that they would do well to pay attention to God’s word for it like a light shining in a dark place.  The Bible is not simply a good story, a text book for religious debates, but the transformational message from God.  The Bible is not our salvation, but our pathway to salvation, which is Jesus Christ.  It is because of that, that James tell us that simply to hear the message proclaimed and do nothing, is like looking into a mirror, seeing what needs to be change, but do nothing about it.

D.  I want freedom!  I want hope!  I want what only God can offer.  So, James sys to you and me, look intently into the perfect law, do what it says, and you will be blessed.  The Greek for “looks” means to bend down and examine.  It is what Peter and John did at the tomb of Jesus that Sunday of his resurrection.

E.  What does it mean to look intently?  James gives us an example of that also.  Like the first example of using a mirror, James now turns to the practical example of looking into the perfect law.  It is two-fold:  Defend the helpless and keep yourself clean.

II.  Defenders of the Helpless

A.  This is not a new teaching.  Jesus taught people that those who would be saved are the one who fed, clothed, visited and took care of the hurting and helpless.  Two groups that are often in need of a strong helping hand are the children without parental oversight and the elderly.  The groups of orphans and widows are not as much the idea of James as is the push of “those in distress.”

B.  Where is your heart?  We enter into a season where many charity groups seek financial help.  But let’s make this personal.  Let’s make this more than giving money, but how about time and energy.  Maybe this month you will encourage one child in this congregation; or send a note to someone who gets little attention from this congregation; or visit one of our members and see if you can change a light bulb or do some little thing to help.

III.  Dedicated to Clean Living

A.  I know what worthless religion is; it is thinking I am a Christian but talking like an unbeliever.  It is self delusion.  It is focusing on me and acting out as I desire instead of as God desires.  But pure religion, faultless religion is acting on behalf of others and keeping myself from the pollution of the world.

B.  This saying is based upon the view that the word is a source of stain and evil and is opposed to God.  Look at James 4:4.  It is steering yourself away of the sins that so easily entangle you.  It is a dedication to clean living.  It takes me back to the mirror.

Conclusion:

A.  Let’s come back to this spiritual mirror as we close.  I want you to take a close look at yourself.  Don’t think about your spouse, children, other people in the congregation, just look in the mirror of God’s word and examine what it shows about you.

B.  Maybe, as you look in that mirror of God’s Word you realize that you at least try to hid part of your life, you know the struggles, trials and temptations, but for now have decided to do nothing about them.  Let me remind you, God sees all of you in that mirror and you and I can’t hide anything from him.

C.  Take a look at your actions, for they really tell a story about you as a person.  Are you the person who hears a sermon or a really deep Bible class that exposes some need for repentance and then begin the work of change?  If you are, that’s great.

D.  Take a look at the way you see others, especially the helpless.  Are you touched by their lack?  Are you not just touched, but striving to bring about a better life for those children or elderly that need some benefit?  I know that each of us have sin, for only in Christ are we perfect.

E. Take a look at yourself as God sees you – either unspotted or dirty.  It’s okay to say, “I am saved by the grace of God and I am striving to do all that he has revealed to me.”  But if you look and see a spiritually dirty person, then let me tell you how Jesus can wash you clean.  If you need prayers, study, or simply need to express something to this congregation, then come as we stand and sing.

*James 1:22

Moreover, keep on becoming doers of the Word and stop being hearers only, reasoning yourselves into a false premise and thus deceiving yourselves, because if, as is the case, anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, this one is like a man attentively considering in a mirror the face with which he was born. For he took one look at himself and was off, and he immediately forgot what sort of a person he was. But he who with eagerness and concentration has pored over the perfect law, the law of liberty, and has continued in it, not having been a hearer who forgets but a doer who works, this person shall be prospered spiritually in his doing.   (Wuest translation)