Pure and Undefiled Religion.

I. Introduction

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.

James 1:

James has moved into a test relating to God’s Word. Christ followers should have a love and devotion to the Word the God. We have divided this section into 3 parts .

Our attitude toward God’s Word.

Submission.

Quick To hear God’s Word.

Slow to speak God’s Word.

Pure

Slow to become anger at God’s Word.

Our Response to God’s Word.

Not a hearer only, those have deceived themselves about salvation.

BUT a doer of God’s Word. - Obedience.

The character of one who is saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ is one whose life is characterized by obedience. This does not mean one never sins and always does what he is suppose to 100% of time. But it is the intent or desire of their heart. John speaks very similar to this same thought in his first letter. 1 John 1:5-10

1 John 1:5–10 ESV

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:5-10

James illustrates this thought in verses 23- 24

James 1:23–24 ESV

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.

Sometimes when we wake up in the mornings and walk over and flip the light on and glance in the mirror it scares us to death. For some of us we really do not even know who that person is looking back at us. We think someone has already died. Hair is sticking up everywhere whats left of it. Everything is all out of place. Just think of what this room would look like if everyone got up this morning and jump into some clothes and came to church. No shower, no comb, no make up, no fixing hair, Just rushed to church. It would be a nightmare for most of us.

James writes for the one who is a hearer only is like one who looks in the mirror and sees all the things that needs to be fixed before you leave your house but instead of fixing them you just go and get in your car and forget everything you saw.

A doer of the word looks in the mirror and sees all that needs to be fix and you are determined before you leave the mirror to fix whats wrong. So a doer is quick to hear God’s Word, slow to speak God’s Word, Slow to become angry at what they hear, BUT they receive it with a teachable spirit for God’s Word to fix our sinful and pride filled hearts to wipe the flesh off of us and shine Jesus so they listen to God’s Word, Carefully, specifically, and Intentionally.

II. Message

James now takes this a step further. James speaks about Our attitude toward the Word and Our response to the Word. But he now takes this a step further.

James 1:26–27 ESV

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.

James 1:

If anyone think he is religious.

This word religious refers to the external routines or ceremonies that one would expect from a doer of the Word. So James really takes this to the next level. James is now addressing those who attend church services, prayer meetings, even those who have the right theology or belief in God and about God but yet their religion has deceived their heart.

James writes if you think you are religious because of what all you do you have greatly been deceived as well.

This word deceived refers a to a sense of self deception. Means to be self deceived. To entertain false hopes.

James writes a good indicator that you are deceived is you say one thing but your life shows another. James writes look at your tongue or your words. In our culture Christianity seems to be something we pick up and put on for Sunday and then take it off and lay it down on Monday. Christianity is not something that can be put on and taken off. When someone repents and follows Christ, It is an exchange for all that you are for all that he is. Jesus brings dead bones to life. It becomes their very being. It is not something you can be one day and take it off and lay it down the next. That is the one who is deceived.

John MacArthur writes, “The tongue is not the only indicator of true spirituality but is one of the most reliable. It has been estimated that the average person will speak some 18,000 words in a day, enough for a 54 page book. In a year that amounts to 66 - 800 page volumes. Many people, of course, speaks much more than that. Up to 1/5 of the average person’s life is spent talking.”

I would have to agree with Dr. MacArthur. The tongue is a great check.

Matthew 12:33–37 ESV

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew 7:33-37

Jesus is making it clear that if the tongue is not controlled by God it is a good indicator that the heart is not controlled by God either. James write religion that does not change the heart first and foremost and as a result of a changed heart your speech changes than that is worthless religion and you have desperately tricked your self and are self deceived about what salvation is all about.

There is also a more dangerous tongue than a loose one and that is a slick one.

Matthew 15:6–8 ESV

6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

To honor God with your lips but inwardly be far from God having little desire to live for and obey his word and love others like Christ has loved you.

Here the Pharisees and scribes with their lips were honoring God but their heart was far from him. Their traditions nullified God’s commandments. God said honor your father and your mother. But Pharisees and Scribes had what was called the Corban Laws which was pledging to the temple, money or materials upon ones death. Therefore their traditions was preventing compassionate help for others that were in need including their parents who they owed most of their respect too.

Jesus calls them hypocrites! Hypocrite is one who pretends to bring honor to God but yet really distracts attention away from God. To say one thing but live another. I want you to know there are hypocrites in every church but not everyone is hypocrites.

Secondly, James now turns his attention to religion that is pure and undefiled. Religion that means something. Religion that is worth something.

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.

James 1:

Visit does not mean stop by for a talk or a brief stop to catch up. This word refers to caring for someone or exercising oversight on their behalf. Matthew uses this word as well

Matthew 25:36 ESV

36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

Matthew

Carries this idea of careful inspection or examining of ones life for the purpose of caring for and meeting their needs.

I do not think James’s main point here is how well you minister to 2 specific groups of people however I do not want to undermine the importance of orphans and widows but I believe there is a great lesson to be learned here. Widows and Orphans was the most neediest people in the NT time. Think about it. There is no welfare program or life insurance policies to help meet needs and take care of them. An orphan meant without parents or fatherless. Therefore the child had little or no support, no one could care for them. A widow was the same way. It takes true sacrificial love to care for widows and orphans because in the bible they could do nothing in return.

God means business when it comes to these two groups.

Psalm 68:5 ESV

5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

Exodus 22:22 ESV

22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.

Deuteronomy 14:28–29 ESV

28 “At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

Deuteronomy 27:19 ESV

19 “ ‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Deut

But I also think there is a much deeper lesson to be learned. James is saying the real test of your faith is how well do you care for others that has little or nothing to offer you. It is easy to love someone who has a lot to offer you in return. But that is not pure religion. The true test of your faith is how well you love those that are without a heavenly father who does not love you back and has nothing to offer you.

The Good Samaritan. One of those pew sitters who likes to sit, soak, and sour came up to Jesus. How do I know he was a pew sitter? Because he knew God’s Word but He was not a doer of God’s Word. He knew it inside and out. A lawyer one who specializes in knowing the law, came up to Jesus to justify himself, so he ask Jesus who was his neighbor. He expected Jesus to tell him another Jew not samaritans and gentiles in which all the disciples that were sent out were meeting their needs. Jesus taught him a lesson that everyone who has a need is your neighbor. I want to make a bold statement very carefully to keep it in the context with which we are in. For some of us, we do not need another Bible Study, for some of us we need to be obedient to the Light that we have already been given and quit sitting, soaking, and souring and claiming to be religious and go out and be neighbors to those that are in need.

III. Conclusion

James writes pure and undefiled religion is to care for and meet the needs of orphans and widows. Why? Because That is the clearest picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Everyone in this room was an orphan at one time. Oh you might of had a physical Father to meet your physical needs, but Sin has you separated from a heavenly Father. I praise God that when I was an orphan, I could not do anything for God. I was dead there were no life in me. No care for him nor love towards him. He loved me enough to come to me when I could not get to him. He brought me to life and met all my spiritual needs through Jesus and the cross. He showed me what real love means. He showed me what pure and undefiled religion was. He became me Father who cares for my needs. He guides me daily. He loves to meet and fellowship with me through out this journey.

God has given us many orphans here at Providence. We need to be sure to be a father to the fatherless and point them to the heavenly father.

Some of you are still orphans. Oh you have a physical Father but not a heavenly Father. I pray today before you leave the mirror, God’s Word, That you will allow the Holy Spirit to do a work in your heart and you will respond rightly with Obedience and not leave the mirror and forget what the Lord has done in your heart. You do not have a need that the grace of God can not meet.