Title Undefiled Religion
Contents
Title: Undefiled Religion
Bible: James 1:23-27
Starting Point of the Word>>
This time, I would like to share a sermon with the title of “Religion without Defilement”.
James is an apostle who emphasized godliness more than any other apostle in the early church.
In particular, through the words of the text, ‘vain godliness’ and ‘true godliness’ are distinguished.
He expressed true godliness as 'pure and undefiled godliness before God the Father'.
Undefiled godliness does not come from words of lips or religious rituals.
It is not accomplished by washing flaky feet before entering the synagogue, as the Muslims do.
Godliness must be indulged in life and must be shown by life.
'Piety' is the Greek word for 'Eusebia', which refers to man's attitude toward God.
It is an attitude of being careful before God with a heart of reverence for God.
In the words of verse 27, James teaches this through the phrase “before God the Father”.
The motto of Calvin the Reformer was “Koram Deo”.
This word means a life of godliness ‘before God’.
How much do we strive for godliness with the consciousness of 'before God' in our lives?
These days, it is difficult to find saints who strive for godliness.
In 2 Timothy 3, Paul warns that one of the signs of the time of suffering in the last days is that “there is a form of godliness, but there is a denial of the power of godliness.”
According to Paul, the characteristics of the last days are clear in this age, so we should feel great fear.
And we must strive for a life of godliness without impurity.
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So, what must be done “to attain undefiled godliness”?
First, you must ‘grip your tongue’.
If we look at the words of verse 26,
“If anyone considers himself religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is in vain.”
said
A bridle is a tool that the rider puts in the mouth of the horse he rides.
The reason the horse is gagged is to keep the horse stuck and follow.
And the jockey gags the horse and leads it where he wants to go.
In the text, 'to bridle the tongue.' means to adjust our mouths.
A person's godliness is in vain if he does not control and control his tongue. I mean, it's just a shell.
If you cannot control your mouth as a believer, you cannot become a true believer.
Faith cannot be measured by our words, but true faith is that the mouth must be controlled by faith.
James dedicated chapter 3 of his epistles to careful speech.
If we look at verse 2 of chapter 3,
“We all make many mistakes, and if there is no error in what we say, then he is a perfect man.”
As he spoke, he warned about the dangers of the tongue, saying, “The tongue defiles the whole body and sets the wheel of life on fire, and its devouring comes from the fires of hell.”
Therefore, I hope that you will become believers who accept James's lesson of being careful with your words.
In particular, we must be more careful with our words in the church for godliness.
We need to be careful with words that blame God, words that condemn others, words that slander us, and dark and negative words.
Please remember that true godliness can be achieved only when words and deeds are in harmony, and you can receive full of inspiration, power, and God's blessings.
Second, we must become saints who take care of those who are suffering.
If we look at verse 27,
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
said
Here, ‘orphans and widows’ is a generic term for the poor and marginalized at that time.
Also, to 'look around' does not mean to look around, but to help.
Giving practical help to neighbors in need is true godliness.
They feed when you are hungry, drink water when you are thirsty, clothe you when you are naked, and take care of you when you are sick.
Therefore, godliness is not a matter of language or philosophy, but of practice and action.
True godliness can only be achieved through love for those in affliction.
Pastor Wesley spent only 28 a month his entire life, regardless of his income, and the rest was spent helping his neighbors.
When he died, he left only a silver spoon as his legacy.
He was a righteous man who practiced undefiled true godliness.
Please spread your love for your neighbors.
Then, I hope that you will become members who rejoice in the amazing progress of godliness.
Third, we must become saints who are not stained by the world.
This is the second half of verse 27.
“And this is what keeps itself unstained from the world.”
The secular here has a different meaning from the world.
The world is the place of life for those who took up the cross because God loved them.
But secularism refers to the many forms of sins that people commit.
It is the opposite of righteousness or holiness.
James warns that anyone who does not know how to protect himself will be stained by the world and that a godly life will bring ruin.
When the fish are alive, they are not salty at all, even when swimming in salty waters.
However, dead fish easily absorb salt and become salty purpura on the table.
A living person can protect himself from being polluted by the world.
We, as saints, should do our best not to be polluted by the world.
This is because only those who do not lose themselves from the world can come to God.
Self-defense is a form of self-control.
In order to attain true godliness, there must be the virtue of temperance.
No matter how great talent and great knowledge you may have, if you do not have self-control, you are in danger.
At the end of the speech>>
All godly people do not live according to the worldly winds.
We do not live according to the lusts of the flesh.
We conform ourselves to God's standards and live according to the desires of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, believers should do their best to attain undefiled godliness. In order to attain true godliness, we must follow the teachings of James.
Please gag your tongue.
Look out for those who are afflicted.
And I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become all the blessed saints who receive the rich blessings that godly people receive by protecting themselves from being polluted by the world.