God’s Pure Religion

 

 

God Defined Pure Religion

Most religion that is practiced today does not conform to the definitions God gave us in the Holy Scriptures.  Just as most preachers teach half a gospel, most Christians practice half of God’s religion.  I have spoken out of late on the hypocrisy of the apostate church in general and of the denying of Christ that is rampant in the professing body of believers.  In this post, I want to look deeper into what God said about religion and the consistent repeating scriptural witnesses calling us to attain to His standard.  Let’s start with the two fold definition James gave to us.

James 1:26-27  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. ²⁷ 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 defined undefiled religion before God to include two critical things.  First James said to help the needy, specifically citing orphans and widows in this verse.  Secondly, James defined pure religion to include (notice the AND), keeping ourselves clean of the corruption of the world.  The reference to the world obviously ties back into sin, ungodly living and pursuit of worldly lusts, which is how the heathen and pagans lived, not the true sons of God.  If Jesus is really our Lord and we really love God, we will be practicing a religion (a lifestyle) that is consistent with this definition.  Sadly most are not.  Many do give at times to the needy but fail to live up the second part which is to stay unspotted.  Others do a pretty good job not engaging in worldly lusts and debauchery; yet they are prideful, arrogant and selfish “Pharisees” that do nothing to show love and help their neighbors.  Let’s take a deeper look into these two dimensions of God’s pure and undefiled religion.

Helping the Needy: 

We have an obligation before God to love one another as Christ has loved us.  How did Christ love us?  He gave all of Himself to us even though we have done nothing to ever merit such a gift and have absolutely zero hope of ever repaying the debt.  That was the example given to us that we are called to follow.  The needy obviously include orphans and widows, but as the many examples cited below will show, include the poor, the downtrodden, the sick, the unsaved  and all situations where help is needed.

1 Timothy 5:3-4, 8 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. ⁴But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.⁸ But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.  The last verse is chilling as Paul compared those who do not take care of their own family when in need are worse than unbelievers.  Those who do not take care of their own families, which are sadly many Christians, are deluding themselves about their “practice” of their religion.  That is false religion.

1 John 3:17-18 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? ¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.  The adage, actions speak louder than words may well have derived from John’s passage here.  We will be judged by our deeds, not our supposed faith, the Scriptures are absolutely clear on that.  Everything belongs to God and He has given to us as He deems fit but it is not ours to hoard.  If we place our comfort and lavishness above helping those in need, Jesus is not our Lord, our possessions and love of money are instead.  

James 2:14-17 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  The faith alone followers hate this verse, in fact Martin Luther didn’t accept James’ Epistle as being a valid inspiration from God.   But the brother of Jesus was taught by the Lord Himself so I am going to side with James who told us our faith is worthless if we do not help our brothers and sisters.

Once John the Baptist was asked by the Jews “what should they do” in responding to his admonishment to get off their butts and quit resting on their Abrahamic laurels.  John’s response gave insight into true religion before God, including helping the needy and acting with total honestly.    

Luke 3:10-14 So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”
¹¹ He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” ¹² Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” ¹³ And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” ¹⁴ Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

The last passage, I want us to consider relative to helping and loving others as a sign of pure religion is the story of the Good Samaritan.  Recall that Jesus told this story after asking  the Pharisee to answer what one must  do to secure eternal life. 

Luke 10:27 -37   The Pharisee answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

 ²⁸“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”  ²⁹But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”   ³⁰In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³²So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’   ³⁶“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

 ³⁷The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
      Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Most Christians are like the Priest or Levite who walks on the other side.  But the lowly Samaritan out of his heart showed the love for his neighbor.  That is our calling ladies and gentlemen.  If you get this story deep into your heart you will be practicing pure religion and will hear “well done my good and faithful servant” on the Last Day.  You certainly don’t want to hear what Jesus tells the goats on judgment day who did not love their neighbor.

Matthew 25:41-46 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’  ⁴⁴“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’  ⁴⁵“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’  ⁴⁶“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Choose this day whom you will serve!  Don’t be like the rich man who stored up treasure here on earth.  Love is total fulfillment of the law.

Matthew 19:21-22  If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  ²² But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Staying Pure

Most of my blogging has dealt with error or absence of teaching regarding sin and repentance.  The second criteria in James’ definition was that we stay unspotted from the world.  We cannot be friends of the world as otherwise we are enemy of God.  Our religion would therefore be a false religion and our worship with our lips would be vain worship.  Jesus is coming back for a pure and spotless bride, His Church.  While He does indeed wash us clean with His righteousness when we first come to faith, we must walk in holiness henceforth; otherwise we become spotted and our wedding garments stained.  We cannot enter with stains and spots on us as the parable of the Wedding Feast shows.  We must be pure and we do indeed have a role to play in achieving that.  It is not works, it is called obedience to God which we do by the power of His grace.  Now let’s look at some calls to purity given to us in the Scriptures.

 2 Peter 3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.  Being diligent means to take consistent action to choose life, to follow the Spirit of Truth and do what He commanded. 

Ephesians 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.  We are to do what Jesus did for us and that is give ourselves to others.  While this verse speaks specifically to our wives, it applies to all of our neighbors where are told to love them as ourselves.

1 Timothy 6:11-14  But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, ¹⁴ that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing.  Paul uses a fight as a metaphor to describe our walk of faith.   We must battle temptations, evil and our flesh to be found without spot.  When we take pleasure in sin, and therefore practice it, we are not fighting, we instead have surrendered to the enemy and will not be found ready when He comes unless we repent and get “oil in our lamps”.

Philippians 2:12-15 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. ¹⁴ Do all things without complaining and disputing, ¹⁵ that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.  Salvation is not easy my friends, it is race, a race we must run with endurance.  We are told to work it out with fear and trembling to be found without fault.  The world has become a truly evil place full of perversion and immersed in sin, but we must not be partakers with them.  Religion practiced in the world today is for the most counterfeit, teaching a different Jesus and a different gospel from the one Jesus gave us and taught the Apostles. I do not want to be known as religious, I want to be known as a follower of Jesus Christ.  

 Colossians 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled ²² in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— ²³ IF  indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard.  We are made holy and blameless by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, make no mistake about that, but again we see the dreaded IF statement.  This is true IF we continue in the faith, which will be an actionable faith if it is a true faith.

1 Thess 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.   Paul would not have been praying for this in his closing remarks if it were a done deal.  Our religion if it is to be pure before God must include keeping ourselves unspotted by the sins of this world. 

Titus 1:5 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.  Paul described to two opposite ends here.  There is a middle ground that is lukewarm, which is where most of the church is today.  They are not totally pure and as we all know, it takes only a little bit of leaven to spoil the whole batch.  Jesus told the lukewarm church of Laodica; which I believe constitutes most churches in America,  that He would vomit them out of His mouth.  We are called to be hot for God which means we will follow in His commandments.  Otherwise we are not pure as partially pure means you are impure.  Those teaching this partiality purity are teaching a false gospel and a false religion that God does not approve.

 I wrote this post not to bring judgment upon Christians.  God has been calling me to step out into His field and do His work.  I hope it inspires some of you to get engaged into sowing righteousness and to purify your walk before the Lord.  He comes quickly and will give to those according to what they have done.

1 John 3:2-3 But we know that when he appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 

May God Bless You Richly!