The Practice of Allegiance

Welcome

Introduction

We are continuing in our series through the New Testament book of James - so if you have a bible with you, meet me in James chapter 1. James chapter 1 and we’ll be in verses 19-27 today.

Series Recap

In case you missed last week, let me catch you up real quick.

The book of James is actually a letter written by one of the earliest leaders of the 1st Century Church in Jerusalem, a man named James. He was writing primarily to Jewish followers of Jesus in and right around Jerusalem.

Best we can tell, he wrote this letter somewhere around 55 A.D. and what we spent a lot of our time talking about last week was the politically explosive world he was writing in.

There’s been about 100 years of rebellion in Israel at this point. There have been countless assassinations of high-ranking officials, retaliatory executions by the Roman Government and warring factions on all sides that are demanding loyalty to their side from everyone else. One group is ready to pick up the sword - to fight back against Rome and the other says it’s time to make peace with Rome - to compromise.

And it into this kind of cultural moment, one that demands you choose a side…that James presents a third way.

We spent most of our time talking about the word James uses as the major theme of his letter: faith. And we discovered that “faith” in the first century did not merely describe your intellectual agreement - or just a personal belief. Instead, it describes loyalty or, allegiance.

That has a lot more punch to it, doesn’t it?

James is not interested in our personal beliefs as much as he’s interested in our allegiance to the true and right king: Jesus.

And that, alone, was (and still should be) a deeply subversive claim…because of all the the things that vie for our allegiance and loyalty, James comes along and suggest that at the end of the day, to follow Jesus is to pledge your allegiance to Him…it’s to declare that this no other king or ruler in your life but Him.

Today, we’re going to start a longer process of what this allegiance looks like - asking the question, what would it look like for us to put our allegiance into practice.

So if you’re not there yet, look with me at James 1…starting in v 19. I’ll read the passage and then we’ll get started.

James 1:19–27 ESV

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

PRAY

The Practice of Allegiance

Alright, let’s go ahead and get started.

One of the reasons that I like the word Allegiance over the word “faith” is because it takes something that is actually quite abstract and gives it some structure. See, “allegiance” implies a way of life…a code of conduct…something beyond just our personal and private thoughts.

James calls this out in v. 22. Now, I’ll say this, he will go into much more detail in chapter 2, but listen to how he says this here.

James 1:22 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

This is the major principle he is laying out about allegiance - that there is a practice that flows from our allegiance to Jesus: that we be doers and not just hearers of what He has to say!

He is not interested in “Christians in Name Only.”

James’ desire is to see followers of Jesus work out their allegiance to Jesus in tangible and visible ways - which is exactly what he begins to talk about.

Look with me at v. 26.

James 1:26 ESV

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.

Look at that word, “religious.” or “religion “at the end of the verse.

This is another one of those words, like faith, that we use all the time…and yet, we think about something very different than what James’ original audiance would have thought.

Bear with me…we’re gonna step into the class room again.

In the original language, which is Greek, it’s the word: θρῆσκος.

In the modern world, we think of “religion” as a system of beliefs. We think of Christianity as a belief system. Judaism as a belief system…Islam, Hinduism…you get the idea. And for those of us in the West, Religion doesn’t really have anything to do with your geographic location - you can be a Christian anywhere…a Muslim anywhere…that kind of thing

But in the first century, “religion” was intricately connected to where you lived.

Under the Roman empire, each city and state had a patron god that was believed to be the protector of that city and its citizens. And what you would find in each city is a whole set of rituals and practices that every citizen was expected to participate in. More than that, your participation in these rituals were considered the proof of your allegiance! It was evidence that you were living as good and obedient subjects of Caesar because you had a clear interest in appeasing the gods of your city…you keep the gods happy - you keep the city safe - you keep Caesar happy.

Even the english word religion itself, comes from the Latin “religio” which means “Binding” or “Obligation.”

This is what they meant by religion.

It was the binding civic duty on each citizen as they practiced their allegiance.

Now, with this background, do you see what James is doing?

He’s taking what were two politically charged categories: allegiance and civic duty (religion)…and saying to followers of Jesus: “If you want to be doers and not just hearers…if you are going to claim allegiance to Jesus…here is what that looks like…here is your binding duty to the king that demonstrates your allegiance…

But James pulls a masterful bait-and-switch. He doesn't contrast Christian ritual with pagan ritual. He redefines the entire concept away from ritual altogether.

He says:

James 1:27 ESV

27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

And it might not sound like it at first, but in the first century, this was an unprecedented idea! No one outside of the church was saying anything like this!

James is saying: "You want to know what public duties prove your allegiance to our King? It has nothing to do with sacrifices, incense, or temple ceremonies. The defining public ritual of the Kingdom of God is radical mercy for the powerless.

The defining practice that proves our allegiance is building a community that cares for the vulnerable and rejects the corrupting values of the empire ('the world')."

In Caesar's kingdom, your binding public duty…your religion…was honoring the emperor. In Jesus' kingdom, your binding public duty is caring for the widow.

In Caesar's kingdom, the proof of your allegiance was your ritual at the temple. In Jesus' kingdom, the proof of your allegiance is caring for the orphan.

And I think we need to acknowledge how backwards this would have been in the first century! Tom Holland, the historian, not the guy who played Spider Man, talks about this in his book, “Dominion.”

The Roman world was unrelenting in its utilitarianism and sharply separated people into two classes: the useful and the useless.

Yet, the strong, the beautiful, and the successful were celebrated and adored!

But the weak, the sick, the poor—they were seen as burdens, people the gods had obviously passed over.

And there was no social safety net. If you were an orphan, most likely your fate was death, followed closely by slavery or prostitution. Your only hope was becoming a resource…property…to be used by someone else.

If you were a widow, particularly a widow from the lower class, you were an economic problem to be ignored or overlooked.

At the ned of the day, deemed useless, you were disposable. In the first century mind, the gods were not concerned with your “affliction”, so why should the state, or anyone else for that matter, be?

PAUSE

And yet, it’s into that world—a world that stepped over the vulnerable—that James declares the defining public ritual, the core civic duty of the citizens of of this new kind of community…this new kind of kingdom…is to run towards the very people the rest of the world ignores.

Caring for the orphan and the widow wasn't just a "nice thing to do." It was a public demonstration of allegiance to a altogether different kind of King—of an altogether different kind of Kingdom.

It’s practicing allegiance to a King who first emptied himself…who had been crucified; a King whose kingdom is built on justice, mercy, and compassion.

James says this is the practice of allegiance.

This is what it looks like.

Friends, this is what we are to be known for - a defining characteristic of the people of God. It’s our pure and undefiled religion.

The practice of allegiance is our care for the vulnerable.

What Are We Known For?

And the beautiful thing is, this is the legacy that turned the world upside down.

See, for the earliest followers, this wasn’t just theory; they actually practiced this!

And this is not just a beautiful theory; this is the legacy that literally turned the world upside down. The actions of the first followers of Jesus were so bizarre, so counter-cultural, that they baffled the pagan world around them.

As historians like Tom Holland have documented, this strange new "religion" led Christians to pioneer social institutions the world had never conceived of.

When devastating plagues would rip through a city, the pagan response was to throw their own sick family members into the street to die. But the Christians stayed. They risked their lives to nurse not only their own, but their pagan neighbors who had been abandoned, demonstrating a loyalty to a King who valued every life.

In a world where unwanted infants were legally left on trash heaps to die, Christian communities would actively go to those dumps, rescue the babies, and raise them as their own, creating the first real practice of adoption based not on securing an heir, but on loving a child.

They created a radical and organized system of support for widows. This wasn't just occasional charity. The church created an official "order of widows," providing them with food, housing, and, most importantly, a role of honor and service within the community. In a world where a widow was either a burden to be remarried or a target for exploitation, the church became her new family, her protector, and her provider. This was a direct assault on a social system that rendered women powerless without a man.

They established the first true hospitals and orphanages. The Roman world had nothing like them. If you were poor and sick, you died. If you were an orphan, you were sold. But Christians invented what they called a "house for strangers"—which was a public institution open to anyone, regardless of class or creed, providing a place of care for the sick, the poor, and the traveler. They built the first orphanages, institutions dedicated solely to the care and protection of parentless children. This was so revolutionary that a pagan Roman emperor in the 4th century wrote letters complaining that the "Galileans" were shaming them with their charity, because their love extended even to non-believers.

For centuries, this relentless, organized, and self-giving care for the vulnerable was the defining characteristic of the people who claimed allegiance to Jesus. It was their public ritual. It’s what they were known for!

It was a social and spiritual power the world had never seen, because it was a demonstration of loyalty to a King who had declared that whatever you do for "the least of these," you do for Him!

And I love that!

And I think there’s something inside of us that says, “Yes! That’s the kind of thing I want to be apart of!!”

What are We Known For?

And yet…

PAUSE

I think that brings us to the hard question for us, two thousand years later.

If James walked into our city…if he walked into our church…today…

PAUSE

What would he say we are known for?

PAUSE

We have great music! We have excellent programs for our kids! We have a welcoming environment! And those are all good things! I feel like we do a great job with the things we do!

PAUSE

But what would we be known for?

PAUSE

Now, certainly that’s not the only thing the church is about - and it’s not the only thing that matters.

What we believe about God - Humanity, Eternity, Purpose and Meaning - our doctrine - matters!

But we cannot ignore the nagging questions from James - we’re confronted by it.

If our defining characteristic—the thing the world sees and knows us by—is not our radical, sacrificial, and consistent care for the most vulnerable people in our community, then I think we have to ask if we are truly practicing the "pure and undefiled religion" James is talking about. We have to ask if we’re truly practicing the allegiance to Jesus James is talking about…

And listen, this is not just a question the INSTITUTIONAL church…this the question I need to ask myself.

If I cataloged my day as a pastor…or chart out what I give me time thinking about…my emotional energy on…how much would actually be going to this kind of care?

One of my fears for the modern church - is that we have become so proficient in many things the Lord never asked us to do…to the neglect of the few things He explicitly commanded us to do.

So what would we…what are we…known for?

PAUSE

Awakening the Kingdom Imagination

And look, I genuinely do not ask this as a question to out of arrogance…or to guilt/shame us into something else.

No, you see I ask the question because I want us to both discover and recover our own revolutionary legacy!

I’ve been praying about this for the last two years - but just recently have been able to put words to it…I have been asking God to re-ignite our kingdom imagination.

For us to imagine more of what it would look like for us here at Lifepoint Worthington to “seek first” the Kingdom of God - and have that begin to shape all of what we do and why.

And this is not just a nice “sentiment” to throw around, but my desire is to provoke each one of us to begin thinking for more concretely about how God has shaped us individually…how He has equipped us…gifted us…to serve HIS kingdom!

Questions for Kingdom Imagination

The first question is this: "Where does my own story and suffering connect with the suffering I see in the world?"

Author and Pastor Henri Nouwen often talked about Jesus as the “wounded healer"—and the idea that our own brokenness is often the source of our deepest compassion. God often uses our own experiences of pain, loneliness, or need to make our hearts tender toward others in similar situations.

So, what is the specific brokenness in our community that resonates most with you?

For some, having experienced instability, the plight of the homeless is a weight you can't shake. For others, having known loneliness, the isolation of the elderly is a reality you feel deeply. Don't ignore that ache. That resonance is not an accident. It might be the very place where Jesus is inviting you to be His compassionate presence. Where does your heart ache with His?

Here’s the second question: "What has God already placed in my hand that the kingdom needs?"

The kingdom doesn't run on superstars; it runs on the faithful allegiance of ordinary people. So look at your life. What do you have?

Are you a teacher? A mechanic? A financial planner? Are you a great cook? A trusted listener? Do you have a spare room in your house? Do you have time on a Tuesday morning?

Your unique gifts, resources, and life experiences are not just for you. They are the specific tools your King has given you to be a missionary, right where you are. How could your ordinary life become a strategic outpost for the kingdom of God?

Finally, the most important question: "What is the next, smallest, most obvious step I could take?"

Awakening our kingdom imagination doesn't mean we have to solve the world's problems tomorrow. That's overwhelming, and it leads to paralysis. The way of allegiance is a journey of a thousand small, faithful steps.

So what is your next step? Is it making a phone call? Is it signing up to volunteer for one hour? Is it buying a coffee for the person you know is struggling? Is it finally having that conversation you've been avoiding?

[Insert section about Jason and I’s role in helping]

You don’t need a whole plan. Just ask the King to show you the next, single act of "pure religion," and then do it. That is how a revolutionary legacy is recovered.

Transition

Now, maybe you hear those questions and you feel... tired. Overwhelmed. Maybe even a little guilty. Because if we’re being honest, our natural default isn’t to move toward the brokenness of the world; it’s self-preservation. Our default is to care for our own.

And if we try to answer these questions with sheer effort, we will burn out. Our kingdom imagination will sputter and die. Our service will become a heavy burden, another thing on our religious to-do list.

So where does the power—the desire—to live this way actually come from?

It doesn't come from us trying harder. It comes from first being on the receiving end of God first pursuing us in the person and work of Jesus.

Gospel

See, the reason the early church could run towards the plague-ridden and the abandoned is because they were utterly convinced of one life-altering reality: God, through Jesus, first ran towards them when they were vulnerable.

Think about it. The Gospel is the story of a God who did not abandon us when we were spiritually orphaned. He didn't step over us when we were widowed—cut off from our life source.

He didn't treat us as disposable. He didn’t deem us useless and move on.

Instead, He saw us in our "affliction," and in the person of Jesus, He visited us. He entered our broken world, took on our affliction, and carried it to the cross…and yet it’s in HIS death - His wounds, that we find one who heals, forgives, and restores!

You see, we love the vulnerable because He first loved us when we were vulnerable. He loves us in our vulnerability.

We adopt the orphan because He first adopted us as sons and daughters.

We care for the forgotten because He never forgot us.

This isn't a duty we perform to earn God's favor. This is the family resemblance of those who have been overwhelmed by God's grace. Our allegiance to King Jesus is demonstrated by treating people the way our King has treated us. The Gospel doesn't just give us a command to obey; it creates a new heart that finds joy in obeying the command.

So, friends, let's go back to those questions one last time, but hear them differently. Hear them not as a burden, but as an invitation. An invitation to experience the joy of reflecting our King's character to the world.

Ask him this week: "King Jesus, because you visited me in my affliction, who can I visit in theirs? Because you've used my own story of brokenness to bring healing, whose story can I enter into? What do you have for me—the next, smallest, most obvious act of allegiance?"

That is how a revolutionary legacy is recovered. Not by our striving, but as a joyful response to the King who gave himself for us.

Let's pray.