PURE AND UNDEFILED RELIGION
James 1:26-27,
If anyone among you thinks he is
religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart,
this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God
and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble,
and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
When we speak of being religious what do we mean?
The word is defined as being pious or devoted to properly
expressing one’s beliefs. It
is the idea of a devout and God-fearing person.
This gives us a good idea of what being religious OUGHT to be.
As we speak of being religious, we are describing
one who is devoted to God in such a way that others can see faith is
important to him. The
conduct of his life is such that when he is identified as a Christian,
it should not surprise anyone.
Often the word today has negative connotations.
Some see religious people as self-righteous or elitists or
branded as intolerant. This
has caused some to hide their religion from their friends and
acquaintances lest they be perceived as different.
Others have observed hypocrisy
in professed followers, corruption and exploitation in the name of
religion, and inconsistencies.
They have attached such to the label of being religious.
They have a point!
Consider Romans 2:24, 1 Peter 2:12, etc.
HOWEVER, we need to be religious.
We should not be ashamed to call
ourselves Christians and to let others know who we are and what we stand
for. Our text is just one of many that points this out.
Our text also notes that our religion needs to be pure and
undefiled.
1)
Be pure and undefiled –
the word pure can mean,
something that is unpolluted (no impurities) or something that is
undiluted (e.g. 100% pure, not watered down).
Spiritually this means that we are not defiled by the ways and
things of the world. Jesus
in Matthew 5:8 said, Blessed are
the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Hebrews 10:22 calls for us to
draw near (to God) with a true heart in full assurance of faith.
Undefiled means to be not tainted.
It is negatively emphasizing the same thing that being pure
emphasizes positively. The
point is that God expects us to be pure and our religion needs to
manifest that purity. Be
reminded that only the pure in heart will see God.
2)
Involve our mind (vs. 26)
– If anyone among you thinks he is
religious. We begin by
observing that faith begins with the way we think.
Following God is a decision we need to make.
We cannot do it lightly but must do so with resolve.
Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on things above, no on things
of the earth.” It is
with the heart that one believes
unto righteousness (Romans 10:10).
Jesus even taught that the greatest commandment is to love God
with all you heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:27).
One of the things Jesus emphasized throughout His teaching was
our need for commitment to God and Him (cf. Luke 9:23, 62).
Following Jesus will not be genuine until we make up our minds
to go down that path whole heartedly.
NOTE that our text doesn’t say we should not think we are religious,
just that such must be truthful. The word here for “think” means to
suppose or presume something.
While presumptions can be faulty, it can also be founded in
truth. James is challenging
us to “think we are religious” because our actions genuinely demonstrate
it and that is emphasized in our text.
3)
Be demonstrated in our words
(vs. 26) - And does not bridle his
tongue. James 3:1-12
emphasizes the power of the tongue, that is the words we use.
Words can do much good or evil, depending on what we say.
He equates the tongue to a fire that burns down a forest, and an
unruly evil that is full of deadly poison (3:5-8).
His point is that we need to control our tongues.
In fact, we read, If anyone
does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the
whole body. (3:2)
Jesus taught that out of mouth proceeds the things of the heart (Matthew
12:34-35). True religion will be
manifested in what we say and what we DON’T say.
And this includes HOW we speak (tone, intentions, etc.).
4)
Be genuine and truthful –
but deceives his own heart.
To deceive is to cause one to believe that which is not true.
The Bible clearly condemns lying (Revelation 21:8, Ephesians
4:25, Colossians 3:9) and calls for us to speak truth.
One who lies cannot be trusted.
But in our text, we find one who deceives himself.
That is, he is telling himself that he is fine even though he is
not doing what God tells him to do. He is lying to himself.
How many today tell themselves they are religious, but their actions
prove otherwise? How many think
they are religious but they have failed to determine whether or not what
they are doing is true to God’s word? How
many have set for themselves a standard that is sub-standard to God’s
demands? Pure religion seeks
to VERIFY that it is true.
5)
Will be based upon God’s word
– before God and the Father is
this. James notes that
God is the one who gets to determine what true religion is.
And how to we learn that?
Through His word. The
context leading up to our text challenges us to not be merely hearers of
the word of God, but doers (James 1:21-25).
But the emphasis is on God’s word.
We need to listen to what God tells us to do.
IF our religion is to be pure it will be based upon what God
tells us to do. Romans
1:16-17 tells us that it is the gospel that is the power of God unto
salvation, and that in it the
righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.
John 17:17 it is His word that is truth.
Jesus Himself taught that in judgment we will be judged by doing
His will, not ours – Matthew 7:21-23.
Let us ensure that God sets our standard for what it means to be
religious.
6)
Involves thinking of others
(27) – to visit orphans and widows
in their trouble. One of
the tenets of the Christian life is that we do not think only about
ourselves. Philippians 2:3-4
tells us that we look out for the interests of others.
1 Corinthians 13:5 tells us that Christian love
does not seek its own.
We cannot live in a vacuum and call ourselves religious.
It is emphasized over and over that we must care about others and
be compassionate. Consider
the judgment scene Jesus portrayed in Matthew 25:31-46.
He will look at whether or not we visited the sick and those in
prison, clothed the naked, fed the hungry, etc.
There is also an emphasis on remembering the poor – Galatians 2:10.
James 2:14-18 tells us that a living faith will be demonstrated by how
we care for the needy (and other things).
Genuine religion is unselfish!
7)
Involves holy living (27)
– and to keep oneself unspotted
from the world. Another
key theme of scripture is how the ways of God and the world are
incompatible. You must
choose one or the other.
Jesus taught this in Matthew 6:24 saying you cannot serve both God and
mammon. James 4:4 warns us
that friendship with the world is enmity with God.
The Bible emphasizes that we are to be separate.
The very idea of holiness is to be set apart.
2 Corinthians 6:14-17 describes this separation from the world.
1 Corinthians 6:11 notes that we have changed from what we used
to be and are now sanctified.
To be sanctified means to be set apart or consecrated.
We need to be different and the world should notice that
difference – 1 Peter 4:3-4.
In the same way that a foreigner is different in their mannerisms and
speech, so we as Christians ought to be different from the world.
In fact, be reminded that we are “not of this world” (John
17:14-16). Our
citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).
Pure religion will cause us to live so that the world and its
influences are not staining our pure and undefiled garments.
While not exhaustive, this passage gives us a good
idea of what God wants to see in us as we live our lives and let our
light shine, “in the midst of a
crooked and perverse generation.” (Philippians 2:15).
So are you religious?
Yes, we need to be religious.
Let this text remind us of what our religion SHOULD look like!
How is YOUR religion perceived?
Think about it!