TRUE RELIGION

By William R. Cunningham
December 28, 2003

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever heard someone say that he or she is religious? Have you ever heard Christianity referred to as a religion? What is religion anyway? What does it mean to be religious and should we strive to be so? We are going to investigate those questions in this lesson.

SCRIPTURE LESSON

James 1:27 (NKJV) 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.

First let's define the key words in this scripture so that we could understand what it teaches us.

Pure and undefiled: not soiled, clean

Religion:

1. Belief in and reverence for God or some supernatural power.
2. An organized system of doctrine with an approved pattern of behavior and a proper form of worship.

God and the Father. Is there anything significant about this statement since we assume that God is the Father? We should consider that James would have been addressing gentiles as well as Jews. In any case, consider the definitions of the words.

1. god: from Gk theos and Hebrew Elohiym: a deity. The word "god" in the Christian Bible is rendered as "God" and it is a type of proper identification of God the Father. It identifies the particular God. In other instances, the word is rendered with the lower case "g." In an absolute sense, the word "god" does not necessarily mean the God of the Christians so to speak. It is a general term referring to a deity.
2. Father: from the Gk pater, which means a father. God is our Father. He is our provider and He has the role of a father to us, His children.

Visit: From Gk episkeptomai, which means to inspect, select, by extension to go see, relieve. This implies a ministry of sorts.

Orphans and Widows were the most unprotected and most needy people in ancient times. God has always been concerned, so to speak, of the needy and it is no different in the New Testament. The western mind might have trouble identifying with this because we have government programs that are available to aid us. However, there were no such things in ancient Israel except for God's law.

Keep: from the Greek tereo, which means to guard, to keep in the state one is presently in. This implies that you are already not tainted by the world.

World: from the Greek Kosmos, which means an orderly arrangement, that is, decoration; by implication the world (in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively [morally]). This refers to the overall system over all people. We sometimes call it the world system. For the most part, the world system is not godly intrinsically. The world system is governed and fueled by selfishness and greed. Those of the world are striving to obtain more and more for them and the care for others is not important ultimately.

Two Aspects of True Religion

James here seems to point out two major aspects of true religion.

1. Ministry to others
2. Purity of self

MINISTRY

James said that true religion is to see about the orphans and widows in their trouble. In general, we might say that true religion is to help those who are in need when it is within our power to do so. Consider the following scriptures.

• Matthew 25:31-40 - Here we see that Jesus considers ministry to others very important. It is even to the point where ministry to others is as if you are ministering to Jesus. That follows Christian doctrine since we are the body of Christ.
• Galatians 3:6 - Here we see that faith operates through love. We should also note that true love is not a mere ideal or thought. True love manifests itself in practical and visible ways. It is one thing to say that you love someone and it is another to really mean it with supporting activity.
• James 2:14-17 - Faith and works go hand and hand. One cannot claim to have faith in Jesus Christ and yet have no evidence of that faith. Our faith manifests itself in love and that love translates into various forms of care for each other.
• 1 John 3:17 - We should help those who are in need when it is in our power to do so. This is how the love of God is demonstrated. This scripture emphasizes the help to fellow Christians.

Some things to think about regarding ministry

• Minister to others what God has given you

• Do not measure your gifts according to the world
• You have much more to offer than you probably think
• Begin with what God has already placed in you and freely given you
• Don't strive to be like someone else and don't define your ministry on someone else's standard except Christ's. To often we think that we have to be ordained or approved by a bishop, pastor, or whomever. We only need approval from God. If God has called you to do something then simply begin to do it and allow God to lead you. Don't allow your ministry to be hindered because of the standards and practices of a religious institution.

PURITY

We are also told that true religion is to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. We are to remain pure and true to the Christian faith.

• Undefiled from the world (greed, selfishness, etc.)
• James 4:4-5 - We should not be friends of the world. Those who are friends of the world are enemies of God. The world system is not godly and does not operate according to the principles of the kingdom of God.
• Romans 12:1-2 - We can be transformed from the worldly ways by renewing our minds (with the word of God and by the Holy Spirit).
• John 17:14-17 - Here we see that Jesus prayed for his disciples that were in the world but not of the world. They of course had to operate in the world, that is, preaches the Gospel. However, they were not of the world, which is opposed to God.
• You can only minister godly if you are godly. YOU directly affect your ministry.

True religion is therefore to minister to those in need and to remain faithful to God in the Christian faith. We should love each other through deed and practice and work to remain unblemished by the world system. We would do well to continue in just these two principles.

We should not be confused with the worldly definition of religion, which is basically a system of procedures to follow. Worldly religion tells us that if we do good deeds then we will be accepted by God and therefore enter heaven. Worldly religion tells us that if we go to church, pay our tithes, and a plethora of other rules, and then we will be good Christians. True religion has nothing to do with these. True religion is about living according to the Kingdom of God, which is founded upon love. Amen.