Thank you for taking the time to read the sermon this week. I hope that you are all safe and well. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to post this message this week. I am posting a day early because I don't know if I will feel well to post tomorrow. I am going in for my coronavirus vaccine this afternoon, and I don't know for sure what will happen.
This week, we are finishing up our study in James 1. We have a long way to go yet in the book of James, and I know that we will learn a lot more about what the Lord would have us to do. We will take a short break from James during the Holy Week and Easter season for messages on those topics.
There are a lot of people in this world who practice a variety of religious beliefs. According to whose figures you read, about one-third of the people in this world claim to be Christians of one type or the other. Islam is the second largest religion followed by Hinduism.
When it comes to the Christian religion, there are many different types of Christians. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestants are the largest contingents. But there are other types of Christian groups. Within Protestantism, there are many denominations including Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and Lutherans just to name a few. Within the Christian religion as a whole, there are those who make it a habit of actively practicing their faith while others are what some call Christians in name only.
James has something to tell us about practicing true religion. He says that, "If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person's religion is worthless."
This statement by James is part of one of the over-arching messages of the book. Faith without works is deed. We saw it last week. A person can be a hearer and not a doer of the Word. If that is the case, that person is just deceiving himself.
What James is telling us is that true faith results in actions that are pleasing in the sight of the Lord. In this case, a person who has truly had his or her heart transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ will have a different way of speaking. A person who is following Jesus will not have a tongue that is out of control. This means that a person who is living in the light of Jesus' love will be speaking words of love, hope and encouragement and not words that are filled with anger, hate and lies.
One thing that has often troubled me is that some of the people who say the meanest things are often those who say that they believe in Jesus. When we say that we believe in Jesus and that He is our Lord, we need to follow what He did and what He taught. Jesus calls us through His words and through the example of His actions to speak to others in such a way that they feel loved, honored and respected.
The words that we speak can do either great good or great harm to someone else. I've found in my life that if a person says something negative to us, we remember that for a long time. On the other hand, it takes many words of praise before that sticks in our minds. When we say something hurtful to someone, that can damage a person in the psyche and in their spirit for a long time to come.
James moves on to tell us of what true religion consists. He says first of all that someone practicing true religion will visit the widows and the orphans in their distress. What does this mean? In James' and Jesus' day, widows and orphans were considered the most vulnerable members of society. Without a husband, a widow often had no means to support herself, and she would often be exploited. An orphan had no parents to come to his or her defense against the meanness and evil that is prevalent in the world.
James is telling us that we need to stand up for those who are hurting and for those who are oppressed. In our day, that can mean helping the homeless to have a better situation in this world. It means helping to alleviate poverty. It means visiting and helping the sick. In general, a Christian that is practicing true religion is a person who is doing what he or she is able to do to help others and to make this world a better place. As believers, we absolutely have the duty to spread the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus. We also have the duty to do good to the least of those among as Jesus told us to do.
There is one other aspect of true religion that James tells us about. We are to keep ourselves unstained by the world. This means that we are to live lives of holiness. We are to keep ourselves from sin. This world wants to drag us down to its level so that we practice its value system. Instead, we must follow Jesus as Lord and follow all that He has told us to do. Amen.
Prayer Request
Please continue to pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic. After I finish this message, I am going for my coronavirus vaccine. Please pray that all will go well. I am kind of nervous about the whole thing.
Continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Syria is in need of prayer. Continue to pray for Yemen, Afghanistan and Libya.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in Ivory Coast and Kuwait. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, Lord willing, we will start chapter 2 of James. I will post the verses on Monday. I will try to post something mid-week. May God bless you all.
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