Daily Devotional – Thursday, December 23, 2021
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
James 1:27 (NKJV)
According to Merriam Webster Dictionary religion is, “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods.” The world’s major religions include Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
Among some Christians, however, the word ‘religion’ has negative connotations. It is associated with a mechanical and dry ritual that attempts to please God through good works. If someone labels you religious, he or she means you are a modern-day Pharisee.
Pure and undefiled religion before God
In light of this, I find the counsel by James worth pondering. James is vehemently opposed to a superficial profession of Christianity. He admonishes his readers, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22).
He gives an example of the misuse or abuse of language by professed Christians. “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.” (James 1:26).
He then proceeds to give the criteria for the religion that God accepts. “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27).
Having a form of godliness but denying its power
James does not condemn religion per se. What he castigates is what Paul calls, “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:5). We cannot claim to be religious while neglecting the needy amongst us.
To understand the importance of the pure religion James talks about, consider Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 24:31-44. The story’s theme is the judgement and the criteria that God applies to determine our eternal destiny.
God judges the sheep and the goats
Here is Christ’s judgement of the ‘sheep’ (His faithful followers):
‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36).
In contrast, the Judge condemns the ‘goats’ for not doing what the sheep did. How we treat the needy is important because Jesus considers our actions as being done or not done on Him. In addition, it is on our acts of commission or omission that God judges us.
Saved by grace, judged by works
It is interesting that while God saves us by grace through faith, He judges us by our works. That is exactly what John saw in the vision at Patmos:
“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” (Revelation 20:12)
“To keep oneself unspotted from the world” and to assist the needy in proportion to God’s blessings in your life is pure and undefiled religion. If that your brand of Christianity, God is proud of you and heaven is your destiny.
Lord Jesus, teach me how to practice pure and undefiled religion.
Amen! This is the religion all christians should strive to have as their goal.
Amen, Charles