Religion Pure and Undefiled

James 1:26-27
March 14, 2021
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

People want many things to be pure and undefiled. Some get air purifiers to improve the quality of the air in their homes. Others get noise cancelling headphones or earbuds to filter out the bad and focus on the good. Many people want things that are 100% pure something - 100% pure squeezed orange juice or 100% pure natural skin care products that are paraben free and cruelty free and gluten free. And many fantasy basketball managers put a very high value on players who in NBA parlance are considered to be “pure shooters” - players like Steph Curry from the Golden State Warriors who can shoot the ball extremely well.

God our Father wants us to have a religion that is pure and undefiled. It is true that the word “religion” has a bad rap. It is popular to hear people say things like, “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual,” or “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship.” But neither of these statements mean that we should just avoid the word. James uses it here. The word “religion.” And that word has a good definition in the Bible.

Religion is how you live in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Religion is what you do in response to God’s word as a doer of the word. And religion is synonymous with godliness and the fear of the Lord. To be religious, in the biblical sense, is to be godly in your conduct and obedient in the law. To be religious, in the biblical sense, is to fear God with reverence and awe and humility before him.

Religion is a good thing. Our goal here at Highland is to be religious. And God wants our religion to be pure and undefiled. He wants your Christian life to be sincere and good and respectable. He does not want your obedience, your fear of him, and your heavenly-mindedness to be mixed or mingled or married with disobedience, the fear of man, and worldliness. God wants your righteousness (which is different from Christ’s righteousness) to be of the highest quality.  He wants you to filter out bad works and focus on good works. He wants 100% of your love from 100% of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. He puts a very high value on hearers who in the book of James are considered to be pure doers - believers who do his word extremely well.

Today’s passage gives us a sober warning and a kind of litmus test for what right religion looks like. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father. Here are three things for us to think about and take very seriously as we strive to be religious. And remember, God and God alone determines what true religion is. Not us.

First, if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. This is very humbling. If we are slow to hear and quick to speak and fail to control our tongues, then our religion is worthless. If we react to words from other people or from God with anger instead of receiving such words with meekness, then our religion is worthless. This means that our worship is worthless. Our givings, our tithes, our offerings are worthless. All the time and energy spent together for church fellowship is worthless. All of our work and service and help is worthless. This is amazing. An unbridled tongue can cancel out your Christian life and negate or undo or void everything. Perhaps you may think that you are religious. But if you have an unbridled tongue, then you are not.

These are very strong words. But James gives us these very strong words because the Lord is giving us very strong medicine. Dear Highland, be warned. Wake up. Stop being foolish. Learn wisdom now. Jesus loves you. And he does not want you to deceive your own heart. He wants you to be pure and undefiled in your religion, and in particular, with your words, with your tongue. Therefore, let us be more careful and obedience and wise and godly with our tongues and with our words before others and before God.

Why? Because God is producing righteousness in you. You are a new creation. You are united with Christ Jesus. God is growing you and changing you in so many ways. And one really big department in his program of sanctification is focused on the bridling of your tongue. God has given you a new heart. And God gives you new words that come out of your new heart. Your God is a God who speaks, and your words are extremely important to him. God is changing your words for the sake of his glory. God is taming your tongue for the sake of service to others. All of this is gospel truth. All of this is why we must bridle our tongues. This our religion. Religion pure and undefiled.

Second, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. This is very challenging. God wants us to have a heart for people like orphans and widows. And God wants us to take care of them. Orphans and widows are a really big theme in the Bible. Orphans are people who have no parents. Widows are people who have no spouses. When we think of orphans, we tend to think about children. But orphans can also be adults. When we think of widows, we tend to think about women who have lost their husbands. But the same kind of thing can happen to men who have lost their wives (the term for a man who lost his wife is “widower”). Orphans and widows are about people who are weak and sad and need help and support. Think about this: orphans have no past; widows have no future. And at the end of the day, orphans and widows lack family. Orphans and widows are alone in this world. They lack people whom they can turn to. People whom they can count on. This is the heart of their affliction. And out of this comes so many other things: poverty or economic vulnerability, depression or mental illness, loneliness or social exclusion, abuse or injustice.

We are to visit people like orphans and widows. The word “visit” is profound. Its meaning is not merely literal. To visit people biblically means to take care of them. To visit people biblically means to have a special kind of relationship with them. In the book of Exodus, the Lord visited his people when he delivered the Israelites from Egypt. In the book of Ruth, the Lord visited his people when he provided food during the famine and returned Naomi to Bethlehem and paved the way for King David - and ultimately our Lord Jesus Christ.

Visiting people like orphans and widows involves practical love and care. In Acts 6:1-6, in our church history, God ordained that the office of deacon would exist so that people like orphans and widows in the church would not be neglected in the distribution of food and relief. Diaconal work is a fundamental part of the structure and ministry of the church. People such as afflicted orphans and widows are important to God. And God states that religion that is pure and undefiled involves practical love and care for them.

Dear Highland, do you know that we have orphans and widows who are members of our church? Perhaps our definitions of orphans and widows need to be broader. Perhaps our hearts need to be expanded. May the Lord help us to be more aware of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are weak and sad and need help and support. Church members who have no past or have no future. Church members who lack family. Church members who are alone in this world. I am so proud of y’all. Our G5/EM is full of caring and loving people. But now let us care more. Now let us love more abundantly. Let us be more attentive and sacrificial and warm and embracing to everyone. And let us really pray for the Lord to provide for us deacons who will rise up from the English-speaking part of our church. Deacons who will visit members regularly. Deacons who will provide practical care and love for members officially.

Why? Because spiritually speaking you were once like an orphan. Because spiritually speaking we the church were once like a widow. But God is like a father to the fatherless. And God is like a husband to the widowed. You were once dead in your sins. You were once not a part of God’s family. But now you are. You have been adopted. We have become the bride of Christ. God loves the orphan and the widow. God loved Mephibosheth and God loved the children in the book of Lamentations who were left after Jerusalem was destroyed in the exile. God loved Naomi and God loved Ruth. All of this is gospel truth. All of this is why we must visit orphans and widows in their affliction. This our religion. Religion pure and undefiled.

Third and finally, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to keep oneself unstained from the world. This is very life-changing. This world can mesmerize our hearts and influence our way of thinking. And this world is open to many sinful things. But this world is not our true and final home. And we must not allow ourselves to be stained from the world. God wants you to be holy. He wants you to be separate from the world and distinct from the world. He wants you to be unstained.

Why? Because this world is not our true and final home. There is a new world coming. The new heavens and new earth. We are waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:13-14). And we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We are a royal priesthood and a holy nation. All of this is gospel truth. All of this is why we must keep ourselves unstained from the world. This our religion. Religion pure and undefiled.

Dear Highland, may you be humbled and challenged today. And may your life change this week. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all.

Soli Deo Gloria