If anyone thinks himself to be religious while not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religions is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:26-27.
As I mentioned yesterday, we are told there are three things we should not discuss in public. One is politics which we discussed yesterday. Today we will talk about religion.
First of all, I want you to understand it’s not about the religion you profess to be, it’s about your relationship with the Lord.
Many people claim to be religious, and they are devout Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, or whatever. Many are more concerned about the rituals or the traditions of the church than they are the doctrine.
Doctrine is defined as a set of beliefs held and taught by a Church, political party, or other group. In the Bible, it refers to instruction, especially as it applies to lifestyle application and helps us to understand the will of God for our lives. We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness so the man of God may be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
We often pick or choose religions to suit our own desires. Some choose a religion because it allows things those other religions frown upon like drinking for example. I could spend a whole blog on that. The measure we should use for choosing a religion, however, is how well the doctrine of that religion lines up with God’s Word.
The problem comes in when we fail to study God’s Word. You can’t know what’s in it unless you study it. Study it and pay careful attention to what it says and what it instructs you to do or not do.
When choosing a religion or a specific church, we need to be sure their teachings line up with what’s in the Bible. We need to be sure they aren’t so wrapped up in ritualism that they fail to teach and instruct us to adhere to God’s Word.
Our Scripture passage says if we think we are religious but don’t bridle our tongues, we are deceiving ourselves and our religion is useless. We should not use our religion as a means of offending others.
In Romans 14, Paul warns against judging each other for various religious beliefs and practices. In verse 12, he said, “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore, let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.”
If someone gets involved in a false religion and follows a false teacher, we should gently try to steer them away from this using God’s Word.
And lastly, James mentions pure and undefiled religion. He says pure and undefiled religion before God is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
We are not here to adorn the church pew, we are here to serve the Lord. We often do this by serving others. If we truly love the Lord, we will love others and have a strong desire to serve Him and show His love to others.
This world is a filthy, rotten place. How do we keep ourselves unstained from it? Well, I try to do this by focusing on God and the good things He provides for us. I try to resist temptation. I do my best to avoid the news and social media and all the negativity those things produce.
Jesus said in John 14:6, I am the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except through Me. The things happening in this world won’t save us. The world is passing away. Only a solid relationship with Jesus will save us.
When we get to heaven what will matter is if you loved the Lord with all your heart and showed God’s love to others. Don’t get so hung up on your religion and its rituals and practices that you fail to be in a loving relationship with the Lord.
Have a great day!