Do I think I am religious, but selfish?
Yesterday
We LOOKED at one who claims to be religious but can’t bridle their tongue.
Today
We want to understand what the purest religion in the sight of God is.
Open GODcha to the Book of James.
NOTE:
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Or, you can use your hardbound Bibles and follow along.
You can print off this post and put in a Notebook!
Let’s Pray
O Lord, we come craving Your Word today, wanting to receive it! Meet each one of us where we are at. We want to have ears that hear You. Please grant us understanding. May we heed what You tell us and obey! Thank you!
LOOK at What God Says
Let GODcha point the way.
Where will you begin?
READ God’s Word
Read James 1:19-27 again, asking the 5W’s and H.
Let’s focus on verses 26-27.
What is the purest undefiled religion in God’s sight?
Unlock the Meaning 
What words are 
Key to these verses?
Understand God’s Words
Check Out the Meaning
Let’s break apart Verse 27 by first checking out ‘pure’, ‘undefiled’ and ‘visit’.
Pure, katharós; Clean, pure, clear, in a natural sense unsoiled, unalloyed.
Undefiled, amíantos; unsoiled, i.e. (figurative) pure:—undefiled. That which has nothing in it that defiles; unpolluted, unstained, unsoiled, undefiled by sin.
To Visit, episképtomai; To look at something, examine closely, inspect, observe: (I) To look upon with mercy, favour, regard (III) To look after, take care of, tend. Frequently used in the Class. Gr. for taking care of or nursing the sick (Mt 25:36, 43; Jas 1:27).
TIP: Remember to take the definitions back to the text.
v27 “Pure [clean] and undefiled [unsoiled, unpolluted] religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: To visit [more than a social call, it is taking care of or nursing the sick] orphans and widows [the neediest] in their distress.”
LISTEN..
Do I have a pure, undefiled religion in the sight of God?
How have, and/or do, I take care of orphans and/or widows when in their distress?
Respond to God…LIVE it out!
Let’s scope out some of the Cross References to understand pure undefiled religion.
Truth Explains Truth
CR-Cross References-Word Search Tutorial >
1. What does God say about the orphans and widows?
a. Not to afflict any widow or fatherless child. (Exo 22:22)
b. Told that to care for widows and orphans is right. (Jer 7:6)
2. Why did James pick out orphans and widows?
Because those with True Faith:
a. Reach out in love to care for and help others. (Mat 25:36-43)
b. Love others. (1Jo 2:10-11)
c. Love one another. (1Jo 3:10)
We see: To be a doer of the Word, we love and care for others who are needy and helpless.
LISTEN..
What is my attitude toward others, especially the helpless and needy?
Am I moved by compassion to care for others in need?
How do I prove I genuinely love others?
Respond to God…LIVE it out!
Let’s check out ‘keep oneself unstained from the world’?
Understand God’s Words
Check Out the Meaning
To Keep, tēréō; to guard; hold fast, keep (-er), (pre-, re-) serve, watch. Figuratively, to obey, observe, keep, fulfill a duty, precept, law, custom, or custom meaning to perform watchfully, vigilantly, spoken of keeping: commandments.
Note: the Grammar for ‘to keep’ is present tense, meaning continuously.
Unstained, áspilos; unblemished (physical or moral):—without spot, unspotted. Without blemish or spot, free from spot, unblemished, pure. Spoken of Christ in 1Pe 1:19; of doctrine in 1Ti 6:14; of moral conduct in Jas 1:27.
World, kósmos; the present world, the present order of things, as opposed to the kingdom of Christ; and hence, always with the idea of transience, worthlessness, and evil both physical and moral, the seat of cares, temptations, irregular desires. Used metonymically for the men of this world as opposed to those who seek the kingdom of God (… Jas 1:27);
TIP: Remember: take the definitions back to the text.
“And to keep [continuously guard, watch] oneself unstained [without blemish in moral conduct] by the world [a population acquiring wealth and enjoyment without God, opposed to those who seek the kingdom of God].”
What does God say to give us better understanding?
Truth Explains Truth
CR-Cross References-Word Search Tutorial >
1. Whose power does ‘the world’ lie in?
We know the whole world [a population acquiring wealth and enjoyment without God, opposed to those seeking the kingdom of God] lies in the power of the evil one. (1Jo 5:19)
2. From Jesus’ prayer in John 17, what is the believer’s relationship to the world?
a. Believer’s are ‘in’ the world but ‘NOT of’ this world. (Joh 17:14-15)
LISTEN. . .
How do I live in this world, but stay separated from it?
b. Believers are NOT to love the world.
To love the world means the Father is not in us.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father. (1Jo 2:15-17 )
LISTEN. . .
What is my relationship to the world?
Do I love the world and its philosophies?
Respond to God…LIVE it out!
c. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1Jo 2:15-17 )
d. Believers are NOT to be friends with the world.
To be a friend with the world is to be an enemy of God. (Jam 4:4)
LISTEN. . .
Am I a friend of the world, thus an enemy of God?
e. Believers are NOT to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we may prove what the will of God is. (Rom 12:2)
LISTEN. . .
Am I being conformed to the world?
Or, do I avoid anything and everything that comes against the Lordship of Jesus in my life?
Am I letting God’s Word to me in James renew my mind?
Is transformation taking place?
Respond to God…LIVE it out!
What Did We LEARN
We LEARN:
Being Religious is all about the outward.
Pure Religion in God’s sight is, inward, ‘doing the Word’.
The True Response to the Word of God is SEEN in our lives.
We LEARN:
A Doer of the Word
Controls his/her Tongue.
Reaches Out in Love to Orphans and Widows (OTHERS) in Distress.
Keeps Oneself Unstained by The World.
Hear God Speak
LISTEN..
What must I do to be unstained by the world?
Is my life marked more by the ways of the world, or by a commitment to Jesus?
Am I a doer of God’s Word, or just a hearer of the Word?
Respond to God…LIVE it out!
“The world does not need a definition of religion as much as it needs a demonstration,” Martin Luther.
Connect the Dots
The proper response to the Word is:
That we receive the Word and LIVE it out without selfishness.
That’s It For Today!
“I will meditate on Your precept And regard Your ways,” (Psa 119:15).
How has the Lord stirred your heart today?
What have you heard Him say to you?
Will you do what He has said?
Talk to your loving Father! He’s waiting!
Log Your Discovery 
Take a minute to put the Definitions and Cross References not only in your Notes but also in your hardbound Bibles next to Jam 1:26-27.
Video Tutorial> Notes Tutorial >
Let’s Pray
Perhaps. . .
FATHER GOD WHO ART IN HEAVEN, we continue to praise You and thank you for Your Word. Father, I so pray that all of us see that how we respond to Your Word is another test of our faith. That true religion is seen; it is evident in our lives. Show us our hearts, Lord. I pray that we all are brokenhearted, knowing we have been led into temptation in these these 3 areas that prove us to be doers of the Word. Oh Father, we confess right now those times we have stumbled and ask that You cleanse us and forgive us, (1Jo 1:9). I ask that we all will receive and do Your Word as You have commanded. May we not only bridle our tongues, but may the love we have for You, pour out to others. May we be willing to reach out to those You put in our path when in distress. And may we strive to be set apart from the world and its ways. Oh Lord, help keep the world out of us. May we not be conformed by this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds through Your Word. And dearest Father, if there are any who realize that the habit of their lives does not line up with what You have taught us, if their tongues do not honor You; if they have no concern for others; and/or they love the world, would You woo them and draw them to Yourself. May they bow the knee to you, turning to You to receive forgiveness of their sins and an inheritance among the saints. May they be saved. Oh dear God, we love You and ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen!
Next: Join us as we pull this all together and Wrap Up Chapter 1.
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