Active Faith (Part Eight): Religion Reexamined

Transcript

JRNT 8
12/04/2022
Active Faith (Part Eight): Religion Reexamined
James 1:26-27
Jesse Randolph

Well, as we approach the end of 2022, it’s safe to say that the word “religion” has fallen on hard times in our day. This is certainly true out there in the world. In the world, religion is viewed more and more as a political matter. It’s a plank in a political platform. It’s a factor in how citizens vote. It’s a factor in how elected officials vote. It influences one’s political alignments of affiliations. It dictates whether one wears a red tie or a blue tie.

In the world, religion is more and more viewed as a generational matter.
“My parents took me to church, so I guess I’ll take my kids to church.” “It just seems like the right thing to do.” Or on the other side of the spectrum . . . “My grandparents and my parents were religious, but the times we live in today are so much different, so for me, not my thing.”

In the world, religion is viewed more and more as a personal matter.
“Religion may be good for you, but it’s not for me, I’m more of a free thinker.” “How I like to think of God is ...” Or “How you live your life is between You and your God, not between me and whoever that God is.” “That’s not my God ...” “He wouldn’t …” “She wouldn’t …” “They wouldn’t …”

In the world, religion is viewed more and more as a matter of personal liberty. With religion usually being looked upon negatively as stuffy and cramped and constraining one’s personal rights. “Don’t use your religion to tell me that my beliefs are wrong and immoral.” “Don’t use your religion to tell me that my beliefs conflict with the bible.” “Don’t use your religion to tell me that my lifestyle is sinful.” “Don’t use your religion to tell me that I can’t extract this clump of cells from my womb.” “Don’t use your religion to tell me I can’t marry someone of the same sex.” “Don’t use your religion to tell me I can’t change my gender.” “Don’t use your religion to tell me I can’t identify as a frog or a cat.”

In the world, religion is viewed more and more as a mark of naivete. A crutch for the lame. An irrational set of beliefs for the blind. A set of man-made rules to keep gullible humanity in line. An excuse for tyranny. A cover for corruption. A Trojan horse for shoving conservative policies and politics and programs down our throats. Or, as Karl Marx infamously quipped, it’s the “opiate of the masses.”
In the world, religion is viewed as an engine for fanaticism. The Crusades. Jim Jones. 9/11. The Westboro Baptist Church. Faith healers. Snake handlers. Money grabbers. I could spend our entire time today listing the names of those who have drummed up fanatical followings, under the cover of religion.
The point is, the term “religion”, by and large, is not viewed positively by most in our world today. And by identifying yourself today as religious, you’re not going to win any popularity contests out there in the marketplace of ideas.

Well, it’s not just the world that has a slanted view on religion. Many in the church have a skewed perspective on religion, as well. See, in the church at large, religion is thought more and more in terms of rituals and ceremonies. Candles and incense. Organs and bells. Sitting and standing. Singing and reading. Kneeling and praying. Preaching and teaching. Nodding and waving. Coming and going. You know, the Sunday version of all the rituals that take place at Memorial Stadium on Saturdays in the Fall. We have our own version of the “tunnel walk” as we come into church every Sunday. We have our own version of “slapping the horseshoe” as we grab a bulletin or shake an usher’s hand. We have our own version of chanting, but it’s not “Husker Power” or “Go Big Red”, it’s “Nothing but the Blood” or “Come Thou Fount.” We sit in our seats and are mildly entertained. And then we shuffle our way out of here, back to our cars. And we do it all over again seven days later.

Of course, if that’s what your church experience is… if that’s what your faith experience is... if that’s what your religious experience is… a series of hoops that you jump through as you meander your way through another week… a set of rituals to get you to whatever really matters to you… your kid’s grades… that big presentation at work… meal planning for the week… whether you’re going to put up a real tree or a fake tree this year… That’s a big problem because the scriptures are clear about what a major problem a substance-less and meaningless form of religion is.

See, the Pharisees of Jesus’ day honored the Lord with their lips. They piled up their good deeds. They heaped up their good works. They attended religious services. They prayed. They kept the Law. They tithed. They vocalized their commitment to God. They would sit, and stand, and sing, just like the best religious people of our day. And what did Jesus say to them? He said many things to them, but what I have in mind, is what He says in Matthew 15:8, where He quotes the prophet Isaiah, and He says: “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.” Later, in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus would acknowledge that the Pharisees did religious things. He says in Matthew 23:23, they tithed, they tithed “mint and dill and cumin.” But in the same breath, He notes that those religious illuminati had “neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” And what do these words from Jesus excoriating the Pharisees teach us? They teach us this, that there’s a form of external piety, there’s a form of religiosity which can actually lead a person to being further from God, not close to God.

I mention all of this because today there is a lot of push back against the idea of religion in certain Christian circles. And maybe it’s because they’ve been influenced by the world’s slamming and smearing of the concept of religion like I’ve just outlined. Maybe it’s because they have read and heeded the warnings of the Pharisees, or the warnings directed to the Pharisees, about their abuse of religion. Maybe it’s because they’ve grown weary of certain repetitive aspects of Christian life, like regular Sunday church attendance. And so, they’ve begun to question, if not dismiss, certain standard Christian practices as being too religious. Which is why we so often hear, and sometimes believe, and if we’re careful even use, that tired, unoriginal, and incorrect phrase: “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship.”

To which James, will say in our text this morning, “hold on.” Turn with me in your bibles, if you would, to James 1:26-27. James 1:26-27 is the final section of James 1, that we’ll be in this morning. And I want you to note what he says here. He says: “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Did you catch it there? Three times, in those two verses, James uses some form of the word “religion”. And he doesn’t use the word negatively. Rather, he points his original audience, and by extension he points us, in the direction of a right type of religion, a correct form of religion, a true form of religion, what he calls “pure and undefiled religion.”

And as we’re going to see today, as we work our way through just these two verses, this form of religion, “the pure and undefiled religion,” is marked by three elements. Three elements: purity of heart would be number one. Practical concern would be number two. And personal piety would be number three. I’ll repeat those many times throughout the message.

Well, we’re eight sermons now into this Active Faith Series. And we’re still rounding the corner here in James 1, finishing this up finally. We’re 25 verses into this letter so far. And James has already shown us so much. He’s shown us that as God’s chosen people, Christians will go through various trials. It’s not a matter of if this will happen, it’s a matter of when it will happen. He’s shown us that we’re called to persevere in our trials. To maintain an eternal perspective on our trials. And to pray for wisdom in our trials. He’s shown us that the trials that we’ll go through will look differently for some. For instance they’ll look one way for the rich of this world, then they will for others, for instance the poor of this world. He’s shown us that the difference between trials that come from without, and temptations that arise from within. And that we can’t blame Satan, and we certainly can’t blame God when we are tempted.

He’s shown us that our primary navigation instrument for our life’s voyage, whether our voyages are long or short, whether they are marked by the placid waters or choppy waves, is the Word of God. It’s the Word which brought us forth in salvation says James 1:18. It’s the Word that we are to receive in humility, says James 1:21. And James 1:19 says, we’re to be quick to listen to the Word, we’re to be quick to listen to the Word, slow to speak in response to the Word, and slow to anger, when we hear the Word. He’s shown us that we’re not only to be hearers of the Word though, we’re to be doers of the Word. That’s where we were last time. He’s showing us that if we’re “mere hearers”, we “delude” ourselves. And now, in our passage for today, verses 26-27, James is going to add some color to the type of doing that he has in mind.

As we’re going to see, doing is not enough. Mere doing, mere busyness, mere activity is not enough. Use of Christian terminology, use of Christian lingo, Christianese. “Hey brother,” “sweet sister,” “amen,” “hallelujah,” “to God be the glory” is not enough. Church attendance, Bible study involvement, overall zeal about all the activities that were mentioned during the announcements this morning is not enough. No. Just as one can be a mere hearer, one can be a mere doer. Our doing must be done with the right perspective, the right motives and the right orientation of our hearts. Our doing must be done with… I’ll repeat the three points again: purity of heart, practical concern and personal piety. These are the marks of true religion, according to James, James the Apostle, James the half-brother of our Lord, James the Spirit-directed author of scripture.

With that, let’s get back into our text, James 1:26-27. Again, just two verses, but two verses that contain such rich storehouses of truth. I’ll read it again. He says: “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

So, James starts with these words in verse 26, he says: “If anyone thinks himself to be . . .” If someone thinks himself to be… or believes himself to be… or supposes himself to be… or considers himself to be… or if someone has the opinion that he is… That he is what? “Religious.” There it is. There’s our word. The word that polarizes our world. The word that divides nations and rulers. The word that causes tension and trouble in families and marriages. The word that gets such a bad rap in our day, but there it is. James says: “If anyone thinks himself to be religious.” And note, right away, there’s not condemnation of religion or being religious here. The word for religious here is not a bad word. It’s not a pejorative. Rather, this word “religious”, “threskos” in Greek, simply refers to ceremonial public worship. Ceremonial public worship. Rituals, routines, rites, practices, customs, the idea is external religious activity. It’s a word that bridges both Jewish and Christian contexts. For instance, on the Jewish side, it’s the word Paul used in Acts 26:5, when he’s before Agrippa, to describe the ceremonial practices he once engaged in as a Pharisee. It’s the word the early Jewish historian Josephus used when he wrote of the worship practices that took place in the temple of his day. On the Christian side, it’s a word that would describe attendance at church services, a participation in various activities, including singing hymns and praying and fasting, and reading the scripture, to name just a few. The word “religious” here in verse 26 refers to that zealous and diligent performance, these outward ceremonial aspects of worship, which stem from a budding, living, and active internal faith. It refers to the performance of religious rites and activities that are the working out of an inward faith. It refers to measurable vital signs which indicate that a person has an actual spiritual pulse.

The point is that James is not using this word “religious”, “threskos,” negatively. Rather, he’s using it positively. James here is not saying, “don’t be religious, Christian.” Being religious is not a bad thing. James is not at all opposed to adhering to outward forms of worship and piety. What he is driving at here though, is that there is a distinction between mere external forms of piety, and an internal heart orientation toward and a right relationship with God. Which is why he says in the next part of verse 26 to the one who would say he’s religious… look what comes next, “and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion [threskeia] is worthless.”

See, what James recognizes here, and what nearly 2,000 years of history since James wrote these words has proven, is that there are going to be people around churches who say things like, (in their heart or externally, more likely in their heart) “I’m not a mere hearer only. I didn’t need to hear that sermon on James 1:22. I’m a doer, and not only am I a doer, I’m an A+ doer. I’m involved. I’m engaged. I go through all the Christian pomp and circumstance. I read my bible. I go to church. I pray. I go to each and every men’s event. I go to each and every women’s conference. I drive the church van on Wednesday nights. I help with the decorating team every December before Christmas. I give to the church. I perform all the modern-day Christian rituals and ceremonies.” “I’m good, right?”

James says, “wrong.” Even though there may be nothing per se wrong with your traditions and your ceremonies and your rituals… even though your traditions and ceremonies and your rituals might be some version of evangelical… even though your rituals and your ceremonies and your traditions might be biblically supportable… if they aren’t done with the right heart… if they aren’t done with the pure heart… they’re as futile as the most pagan, idolatrous practice. Which brings us to our first main heading for this morning if you’re a note taker, our first mark of true religion, which is purity of heart, purity of heart

Back to the text. If a person “thinks himself to be religious,” threskos, “and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.” James here is saying that if a person claims to be religious… if they claim to be a doer of the Word… if they claim to be a faithful follower of Christ… and yet does not bridle their tongue, there are two things that can be said of them. First is that they deceive their own heart the text says. Second is that their “religion is worthless.”

We’ll take those one by one in a moment, but I want to just take a little diversion here, and just note, and I hope you’re picking up on this, what a “straight shooter” James is. Right? Like, you would have to do some serious hermeneutical gymnastics or just play dumb to say that you don’t understand what he’s saying here. Praise God that He has revealed Himself so plainly throughout His Word. And praise God for the clarity of the writing of a man like James. But I digress.

Back to this matter of not bridling the tongue. What James has in view here, is this bit, that five-inch piece of metal, that would go into the horse’s mouth that would guide it to the left or to the right. Or to get the animal to speed up or slow down. I’m from California, I don’t know horses, I’m trying up here. The idea is, a relatively small bridle can control the path, the direction, of that large and powerful horse. To use a more modern-day illustration, a relatively small circular steering wheel can control the direction and the speed and the pace of a huge eighteen-wheeler. So does our tongue guide and direct us for better or for worse.

Turn with me, if you would, to James 3, just one page over, to a passage we’ll get to, I don’t know, hopefully in 2023. James 3, look at verse 2 and we’re going to read down to verse 5. James 3:2, he says: “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their [entire] body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.”

The point is, this relatively small instrument, that small, pink, fleshy muscle attached to the bottom of your mouth, has the power to steer and guide you to safety or to peril. Think about it. Our tongues can bless or benefit a relationship. Proverbs 10:20 says, “The tongue of the righteous is as choice sliver.”
But our tongues can also destroy a relationship. Proverbs 17:9 says, “he who repeats a matter,” gossips, separates close friends.” Our tongues can be a balm, bringing peace. Proverbs 15:1, the first part of that verse says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath.” But our tongues can also be a storm, bringing about distress. The second part of Provers 15:1 says, “but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Our tongues can promote joy, but our tongues can promote worry. Our tongues can uplift, but our tongues can drag down. I could go on and on, but the idea is really crystallized in Proverbs 18:21, which says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

So, an unbridled tongue can direct and cause all sorts of damage. But bringing it back to the immediate context of our passage back in James 1 this morning, an unbridled tongue reveals so much about the condition of one’s heart. The tongue takes the temperature of one’s heart. Or as John MacArthur said it far more artfully, the tongue tattles on the heart.

See, if you’ve memorized the entire book of Philippians, but you’re in the habit, or the practice of verbally cutting down those who’ve experienced more worldly success than you, your tongue is tattling on your heart. If you lead a bible study here, but your children only know you as the parent who flies off the handle in regular outbursts of anger, your tongue is tattling on your heart. If you use your tongue to sing in the choir, but with that same tongue you’re gossiping about others, saying things behind the person’s back that you would never say to their face; or flattering others, saying something to someone’s face that you wouldn’t say behind their back, your tongue is tattling on your heart. If you work in the children’s ministry, or work at the information desk, if you’re a seminary student, if you’re a deacon, an elder, a pastor… and you just can’t help yourself with that snarky retort, or that biting comeback, or that little white lie, or that backhanded compliment, or that overshared prayer request, or that barbed social media comment, or that verbal jab over text or email… your tongue is tattling on your heart.

Turn with me, if you would, to Matthew 12, Matthew 12, where we see Jesus in one of His many interactions with the Pharisees not holding back but letting them know how He really feels. Matthew 12, we’re going to look starting in verse 33. The heading in my bible, it’s not inspired here of course, the heading from the editor says, “Words Reveal Character.” Amen. But Matthew 12:33 says, again Jesus to the Pharisees, “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. Your brood of vipers,” again, not holding back, “how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Did you catch it? Right there it says, “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart,” whereas other translations have it, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” A polluted tongue reveals a polluted heart. An impure tongue reveals an impure heart. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” See, one of the truest, most genuine tests of the sincerity of our “religion”, is whether we are able to bridle our tongues. It doesn’t say, silence our tongues. It doesn’t say cut out our tongues. It says bridle our tongues, control our tongues, tame our tongues.

Let’s go back to James, James 1. Let’s try to look at this again, and piece this all together. We have James here, in James 1:26, saying, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious.” If they suppose themselves to be religious. As far as they know, they’re not conscious hypocrites. They’re not, in their own minds, phonies. They’re active in the church. They’ve got well-marked bibles. They might even have a well-stocked library. But not only that, they’re not mere hearers, they’re high-functioning doers. If their day ends with “y”, they’re doing something at church that day. Well, James here is saying, if such a person “thinks himself to be religious”, but at the same time “does not bridle his tongue,” two things are true of him or her. First, he “deceives his own heart.” Second, the “man’s religion is worthless.”

We’ll take these in order. First, James says that the person who says he’s religious, but at the same time “does not bridle his tongue,” is deceived, he “deceives his own heart.” The word there for deceive, “apatao,” means to be led astray. Led astray from the path of reality, based on your own erroneous evaluation. Like you thought it would be wise to go to the right, but you went to the left, unwisely, and now here you are. The one described here, the religious person who’s unable to bridle his tongue, is under the delusion, that by performing these external rites of religion, that that’s all that he needs to do. Well, that’s not all that he needs to do. And so, he’s deceived. Not only is he deceived though, the text says he deceives himself, he “deceives his own heart.” In other words, an unbridled tongue can deceive even the tongue’s owner.

Now, this theme of self-deception has already come up a few times already in the book of James. We encountered the “double-minded man”, you might recall in James 1:8, who is deluded and deceived in his own right. In James 1:16, we came across these words, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.” In James 1:22, we saw that those who are “merely hearers” of the word, and “doers of the word”, they “delude themselves.” And just as being a mere hearer can lead oneself to “deluding themselves.” Bringing it back over to our text for this morning, being a “mere doer”, a doer who does with an impure heart, and possibly an unconverted heart, can lead to such a person in the words of James 1:26 deceiving their own heart. The picture is not of a conscious hypocrite. It’s instead, a picture of that self-deceived religionist who has a flawed opinion of themselves. Who thinks that they have Christianity, true Christianity, but they don’t.

Jesus, our Lord, gave several solemn warnings in the gospels, about those who were in such a state of self-inflicted deceit. Most memorable, most infamous, would be Matthew 7:21-23, for the Lord says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ ”

Back to James 1 though, the one who calls themselves religious, but has an unbridled tongue, an unbridled tongue which is tattling on their impure heart, deceives themselves. Not only do they deceive themselves though, look at what the end of verse 26 says. It says, “this man’s religion is worthless.” His religion, again, this word, “threskos,” it’s not a bad word. It doesn’t have the negative connotations here. Just like it didn’t have negative connotations earlier in the verse. But James’ assessment of such a person, the person with an unbridled tongue, the person with the impure heart, certainly is negative. He calls their religion worthless. That word “worthless”, we see it in the Septuagint, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, where it’s used to describe pagan idols and pagan worship practices. You could jot down Isaiah 44:9, same word here, says, “Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile.” That’s the same word that we see here in James 1:26. Or Jeremiah 51:17-18 says, “All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols… and there is no breath in them. They are,” here’s the word, “worthless, a work of mockery; in the time of their punishment they will perish.”

See, the unbridled tongue, the deceived heart, and what it ultimately shows, an impure heart, is according to James, as hollow and as vain as the worship of idols. As futile and as unprofitable as rank idol worship. It’s worthless religion. It’s a void religion. It’s not true religion. It’s a false religion. Such people or such persons are spiritually destitute, and their religion is totally useless. No matter how many gold stars of spirituality you have on your chart, if your religious practices aren’t rooted in genuine heart transformation, what you have is a dead faith. A useless faith. It’s an empty profession. It’s all for show. It's a counterfeit. Your tongue has tattled on your heart. As I was preparing this message, and trying to link this idea of how the tongue reflects of the heart, like we see in Matthew 12, like we see here in James 1… I came across this old anonymous poem. It says,
“The boneless tongue, so small and weak,
Can crush and kill,” declares the Greek.
“The tongue destroys a greater horde,”
The Turk asserts, “than does the sword.”
The Persian proverb wisely saith,
“A lengthy tongue – an early death!”
Or sometimes takes this form instead,
“Don’t let your tongue cut off your head.”
“The tongue can speak a word whose speed,”
Say the Chinese, “outstrips the steed.”
The Arab sages said in part,
“The tongue’s great storehouse is the heart.”
From Hebrew was the maxim sprung.
“Thy feet should slip, but ne’er the tongue.”
The sacred writer crowns the whole,
“Who keeps the tongue doth keep his soul.”

So, the doer of James 1:22 does according to James 1:26 with purity of heart. The purity of their religion is shown by the purity of their heart, which in turn is evidenced by the way they’re able to bridle their tongue.

Next, we’re going to see that pure religion is shown in two other ways. It’s not just purity of heart, its practical compassion, that’s our second heading; and personal piety, which will be our third heading.

That takes us right into verse 27. Verse 27 reads, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
This sentence begins with these cliff hanger words, is how I like to think of them; “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this.” Yeah, tell us James, what is it? No, in verse 26, there’s been this type of religiosity that’s been marked out as being empty and bankrupt and void. And now, we get to verse 27, and he says, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this.” So, tell me what it is, James. Whatever it is, James, I’m going to do it. I want to engage in pure and undefiled religion in the sight of my God and Father. Wear a purple cardigan sweater on every Tuesday? I’ll do it. Part my hair down the middle and walk backwards to work every day? I’ll do it. Move to Iowa and become a Hawkeye fan? I’ll do it. Whatever it takes, James, I want to do whatever you say, as the Spirit moves you, is pure and undefiled religion. And what does James say? What is his answer for the question, what is pure and undefiled religion? I want you to know the stunning simplicity of what he says. “Pure and undefiled religion… is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Hmm mm. Not what I was expecting. Threw me a curve ball there, James.

Well, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s unpack this. Line upon line, word by word.
First, is this phrase, that I’ve already read a few times, but “pure and undefiled religion,” “threskos.” For the third time now in just these two verses he’s used this word, “religion.” And again, there’s no sense of embarrassment or upset or shame on James’ part as he throws out this word. To the contrary, he’s promoting religion. He’s challenging us to be religious. But note, again, it’s a very specific type, a specific form of religion he’s promoting, “pure and undefiled religion.” Pure, “katharos,” it describes something that’s intrinsically free from moral pollution or corruption. Undefiled, “amiantos,” describes something that hasn’t been soiled or stained. The words are essentially synonymous. And both words, “pure and undefiled” find their roots in the old Levitical system of offerings, that we see described in the Old Testament. That’s a system that James’ audience surely would have been familiar with. A system that involved the sacrifice of animals to atone for sins. A system that required that the animals that you brought to be sacrificed be pure and undefiled. Or to use the language of Leviticus, unblemished and spotless.

Next, he links this idea of “pure and undefiled religion” to being “in the sight of our God and Father.” The construction of this sentence in Greek means “the God who is our Father.” The God who is Creator. The God who rules over all the earth. The God who is a just Judge. The God who “brought us forth”, James 1:18, “by the word of truth.” James here, describes as being “our God and Father” the God who is our Father. And this isn’t the only time James refers to God as Father. You’ll recall from James 1:17, that he refers to God there as “the Father of lights.” And when we get to James 3:9, we’ll see James, as he’s addressing the tongue, saying that “with it,” meaning our tongue, “we bless our Lord and Father.” And I don’t think it’s any accident, by the way, that James refers to God as Father here, considering the topic he’s about to introduce, care for orphans, the fatherless, and care for widows, those who are tending to a home which no longer has a husband and father.

So, pure and undefiled religion in the sight of this God, the God who is our Father, “is this:” says James in verse 27, “to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” I should say, as he lists these out, he’s not giving us here, an exhaustive definition of religion. He’s really illustrating this point, that genuine Christian faith, “pure and undefiled religion”, will demonstrate itself through a variety of different types of external or outward expressions: practical concerns, personal piety. We’ll take these in turn now. Let’s start with practical concern as we begin with these words about visiting orphans and widows.

Now, before we go any further with this, I think it would be helpful to provide some general commentary on the social landscape of James’ day. See, James lived in a time, and Jesus lived in a time, and the church was birthed in a time, when culturally the value that was assigned to human life was at an all time low. Abortion and infanticide were widely practiced and allowed. The weak, the sick, the infirm, no matter their age, were commonly left to die. The impoverished of the world had no societal safety net. There was no social security. There was no long-term disability. Nothing like that to fall back on. So, to be a widow or an orphan in this culture was risky, to say the least. After all, these were the ones who were without family. These were the ones who lacked support. These were the ones who were most likely to be taken advantage of. So, when James here instructs these early Jewish Christians to visit orphans and widows in their distress, he is most definitely striking a countercultural cord. Because that just wasn’t how things were done in these days. However, while the broader culture of James’ day did not concern itself with widows and orphans, the Jewish soil in which the early church was birthed did address those matters.

Exodus 22:22, the people of Israel were instructed, “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.”
Deuteronomy 14:29, the Israelites were commanded as follows, “the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord you God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.” Deuteronomy 24:19-21, there we see the Israelites were required to share with both widows and orphans the grain and the olives and the grapes they had gleaned.
Deuteronomy 29:19, God declares curses on those who deprived orphans and widows of justice. Psalm 68:5, King David there declares that God is “a father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows.” Later in Israel’s history, during the period of the divided kingdom, Isaiah would say in Isaiah 1:17, “Defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” And then in Ezekiel 22:7, among the sins of Israel that were listed there was that “the fatherless and the widow they have wronged.”

And then came the first advent of Israel’s actual Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who during His earthly ministry, His first advent, said things like this about His second advent when He would again return to this earth. I’m going to quote here from Matthew 25:31-36, the Lord in His first advent said this about His second advent, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.”

So, we have the words directed to Israel, we have the words that come through Israel’s Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, and then we have James here saying, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress.” And then came the proto-deacons of Acts 6, who were charged with distributing food daily to widows. And then came Paul in Colossians 3:12, who said this, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of,” among other things, “compassion.”

And then came Tertullian, the early church father, who recorded that offerings were being taken once a month to support widows. And then came other early Christians, who began rescuing and raising children whose parents had died. And then came the formation of orphanages by Christians in the early 4th century A.D. soon after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire under Constantine. Then came men like George Muller in the 1800’s, who established the Christian orphanages in the United Kingdom. And then came the American orphan trains during the same period of time. An idea, by the way, that was hatched by a Christian pastor. And the whole idea was to send orphan children from urban areas of the eastern seaboard, westward, to places like this, where believing Midwestern farming families could take them in and live out the gospel in front of them.

All of that I say to give some color to what James is saying here, in James 1:27, when he says, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress.”

And note, when James says “visit” here, he doesn’t mean, like pop in, and say hello, and wave and bounce. That’s not what he’s saying. This is not describing a friendly social call. Rather, the verb here for visit means to look after, to care for, to concern oneself with, to see a person with helpful intent. In this context, it means you came, you nurtured, you cared, you loved, you gave of yourself, to these disadvantaged individuals who are, as the text says, “in their distress.” Distress, fun word, “thlipsis’. It can also be translated “tribulation.” In their tribulation. Not like the period of tribulation on the earth that will come after Christ raptures His church. Not that tribulation, but instead, the trials and difficulties that all believers will experience as we walk through this life on our earthly pilgrimages. James here, is using this word “thlipsis,” distress, to speak of the economic and social difficulties that widows and orphans of his day, were experiencing. The pressure of their difficult circumstances, the grief, the loneliness, the fighting off of those who sought to take advantage of them.

In all of it, through James, both to his original Jewish Christian audience and to us, God is saying, “As my children, I have shown unfathomable kindness to you which you’ll never be able to pay back. Are you doing the same toward those who cannot pay you back. Are you helping the helpless?”
Think about it. What’s being described here in James 1:27 is not some thinly veiled social agenda. Don’t worry, Indian Hills’ social justice is not going to go to church here. Don’t worry. No, what’s being described here in verse 27, ultimately is the grace of the gospel displayed. A theological statement is being made here. “Pure and undefiled religion”, as James defines it here, is showing the least in the world, widows and orphans, what our heavenly Father has done for us. When we were yet sinners and could do nothing for God, He nevertheless set His love upon us, and chose us for His own. And He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into this world to die on our behalf, so that our sins might be forgiven, and so that our hope of eternal life might be secured. Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,” what? “Christ died for us.” And now, having been the recipients of such marvelous grace, God now wants us, as evidenced in this word, to model the love that we received. To those who could never give us anything back in return. That is “pure and undefiled religion.”

I should say, that’s one aspect of “pure and undefiled religion.” The other aspect is this, as we finish up verse 27, where he says, pure and undefiled religion is this . . . We’ve seen orphans and widows and caring for them in their distress. But now he says, “and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” So, we’ve looked at purity of heart, which is demonstrated through the bridling of our tongues. We’ve looked at practical concern, which is demonstrated through our care for the least of these. Our third heading for this morning in the second part of “pure and undefiled religion”, is personal piety, “to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

What does James mean here? Well, these closing words of James 1, are some of the simplest to explain and the simplest to understand. If we don’t understand these words, it’s not because we’re incapable of understanding them. It’s because we don’t want to understand them. The world that James is describing here, is not the planet. This is not a reference to the ecosystem, to rivers and lakes and streams and hills and mountains and plains. No, the world that James is referring to here is a reference to the lifestyle and the culture of all that surrounds us. The world’s way of thinking. The world’s system of values. The way the world views the family. The way the world views marriage. The way the world views procreation. The way the world views gender. The way the world views sex. The way the world views substances. The way the world views sports. The way the world views science. The way the world views philosophy. The way the world views politics. The way the world views presidents. The way the world views love and leisure. The way the world views education, ecology. The way the world views submission, slavery. The way the world views religion. The way the world views – you name it.

James is saying here, a mark of “pure and undefiled religion”, is that the Christian will not be stained by the world’s ethic. Not only that though, the Christian will “keep oneself” from such secular staining. That’s a present tense verb, meaning the Christian will continuously be keeping themselves from the staining influences of the world, the filth of the world, the evil of the world. The Christian recognizes that we are living in a world that desperately wants to stain us. To dye us in its ways by indoctrinating us. To submerge us in a lacquer or varnish of worldliness, that will never be able to scrub out. The Christian recognizes that being stained by the world, brings reproach to the name of Jesus Christ. The sin-bearing Savior whose sacrifice has washed our sins as white as snow. The Christian recognizes that allowing ourselves to be stained by the world would be like a bride who puts on her white wedding dress the night before her wedding and goes and sleeps out in the pig sty. The Christian recognizes that they are in the world, but not of the world. The Christian recognizes that James speaks not only to worldliness here in chapter 1:27, but he also does in James 4:4 when he says, “do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

The Christian recognizes that it’s not only James though, but many other biblical authors, who make this very same point about not being stained by the world. Romans 12:2, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Ephesians 2:1-2, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world.” Ephesians 5:8, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.” Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” And it couldn’t get more clear than this, 1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Now back to our text, James 1:27, the Christian, as an exercise of “pure and undefiled religion”, is “to keep oneself unstained by the world.” And again, that’s a present tense, meaning he is to be, she is to be, continually keeping themselves unstained by the world. How is a person supposed to do that? Well, how do you remove stains from your clothes? You wash and you scrub. How do you remove stains from your body? You wash and you scrub. How do you remove stains from your teeth? You brush, floss, rinse. How do you remove stains from your car, or your shoes, or the floor? You buff and you shine.

The point is this, if there are parts of your life that are currently stained by the world, it’s going to take some elbow grease on your part to remove those stains. You are after all Philippians 2:12 says, to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Understanding as Philippians 2:13 says, that “it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Maybe it’s cutting off a subscription. Maybe it’s changing the channel. Maybe it’s turning the dial. Maye it’s deleting the app. Maybe it’s ditching your smart phone and getting a flip phone. Maybe it’s coming clean to your boss. Maybe it’s confessing that sin to your spouse. Maybe it’s refusing to travel or dine with members of the opposite sex, as antiquated as that might seem today. Maybe it’s moving to a different part of town. Maybe it’s pouring the liquor down the drain. Maybe it’s cancelling the season tickets. I can’t write out the individual prescriptions for each and every one of you here this morning as to what it means for you to keep yourself unstained from the world. It looks different for everybody in their individual circumstances. But what I can do is make the general statement based on what we see here in verse 27, which is that if you claim here to be a follower of Jesus Christ, you must be willing to do whatever it takes to model the holiness of Christ. Who is, 1 Peter 1:19, “a lamb unblemished and spotless.” You must be willing to do whatever it takes to be found, as 2 Peter 3:14 says, “spotless and blameless.” You must be willing to do whatever it takes, as our text says this morning, James 1:27, “to keep [yourself] unstained by the world.” Then and only then, can you rightly say that you are a practitioner of “pure and undefiled religion.”

Well, once again, James is letting us have it. His words are so sharp. His words are so blunt. His words are so black and white. He words leave no room for a “moderate” faith. His words leave no room for “lukewarm” Christianity, as though there could be such a thing. His words leave no room for the soft-serve evangelicalism that we see swallowing up churches all around us. His words leave no room for wringing our hands or making lame excuses. To sum it all up, the world looks at religion like it’s a bad thing. Many modern-day churches and Christians look at religion like it’s a boring thing. James here, in this section that we’ve been studying this morning, says that religion is a good thing. It’s a good thing when it’s done right, when it’s “pure and undefiled,” when it’s marked by purity of heart, practical concern and personal piety.

As Martin Luther once said, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.” That’s an apt summary, not only of the text that we’ve been studying this morning, but as we pick up our study of James after Christmas, we’re going to see, that’s really an apt summary of the book of James as a whole.
I’ll leave you with a few questions this morning. Knowing how much your salvation cost our Savior, how much is your faith costing you?
Are you a doer, or a mere hearer? And if you are a doer, praise God for that. But are you the right type of doer? The one who has purity of heart. The one who is marked by practical concern. And the one who practices personal piety.

Let’s pray. God, thank You so much for this chance to open Your word. Each and every Sunday that we have this chance to do this together, I am reminded of what a rich source of truth You have supplied us with in Your word. Thank You for these dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, who have dealt so patiently with me, as I’ve sought to explain what this text reveals. I pray that we would each walk away from this place, transformed, encouraged, possibly rebuked, and ready to put into practice what Your word is laying on our hearts. I pray that Your Spirit would lay on us conviction in those areas where we are lacking. In those areas where our religious practices are not pure and undefiled. Help us to be faithful ambassadors, good stewards, faithful practitioners of true religion, pure and undefiled religion, as we’ve seen here this morning. May You receive all praise and honor and glory the rest of this day in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.