Charles Ellicott Commentary James 1:26

"If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man`s religion is vain." — James 1:26 (ASV)

But St. James has until now elaborated only on the first part of his advice in James 1:19, Let every man be swift to hear; now he must enforce the remaining clause, slow to speak.

If any man among you seem to be religious ...—Better, If anyone imagines himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. The sense of the Greek is slightly obscured by the English version. If any man ... seem—i.e., to himself, and not to others merely; the warning is not to the hypocrite, but to the self-deceived.

A Christian may have, or rather cannot help having, the feeling that he is a religious man; and so far, so good. But if such a person deceives his own heart, as he admittedly may, and gives to those around him the proof of his self-delusion by not curbing his tongue, then all his religious service is vain and useless. Just as some mistakenly suppose there can be a religion of hearing without acting, so others rest satisfied “in outward acts of worship, or exactness of ritual.”

“But,” remarks Bishop Moberly on this passage, and his voice may win an audience where another’s would not, “if a man thinks himself a true worshipper because he conforms to outward services, while he lets his tongue loose in untruth or unkindness or other unseemliness, he deceives himself.” The first mark of true religion is gentleness of tongue, just as the contrary, blasphemy, is the most damning fault of all.

Our Lord directly says, By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (Matthew 12:37). The text, however, is more a guide for self-examination than a stone to be cast at a neighbor; and well is it indeed for him that hath not slipped with his tongue .

The Apostle returns to this subject in James 3:1 and following (compare this with the passage above), though from a different point of view. The best commentary on the whole is Bishop Butler’s Sermon, No. IV., “Upon the Government of the Tongue.”