Text- James 1: 26-27 “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world”
Sundays are the days when even the worst of all sinners seem to be quite religious. Everyone wears good cloths and go to Church looking as holy and religious as their rascality can permit. The question is, do all these count before God?
There are four things, as contained in our text that we must do if our religion will be pure and undefiled before God:
1. Bridle your tongue 2. Be sincere to yourself 3. Help the helpless 4. Keep yourself unspotted from the world
When any of these four things are absent, whatever a man does is counted as vain religion before God – useless, pointless and futile; producing no results.
Firstly, what kinds of words do you speak? “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6).
In other words, be gracious in your speech. In every conversation, let your goal be to bring out the best in others, not to put them down, nor to cut them out.
Again, ask yourself, “Am I sincere to myself?” This is a question that assesses the state of your heart, not just the acts that we see superficially. Are you being true to yourself? You see, the worst thing that can happen to a man is for him to succeed at deceiving himself.
As you go to Church today, others may call you ‘Pastor’; they see you as someone whose life is worthy of emulation; you mount the pulpit to lead prayers; to others, you are firebrand and anointed… but are you being true to yourself?
Never claim or pretend to be what you are obviously not. No matter how much accolades you have from the people, it’s all vain before God if you are not being true to yourself.
Thirdly, if your religion will be pure and undefiled before God, you must be favorably disposed to those who are helpless. Passion for God is vain without compassion for those who are helpless: the needy, the sick, the widows, the orphans, the poor, the prisoners etc.
Finally, you may spend the whole of Sunday in Church if you like, but your religion would amount to nothing if you are not keeping yourself unspotted from the world. “Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don't touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you”… Says the Lord (2 Corinthians 6:17)
PRAYERS
1. Lord, I repent of everything that has made my religion vain before you.
2. Forthwith Lord, grant me the grace to practice a pure and undefiled religion before you.
3. Lord, please fill my heart with passion for You, and compassion for those who are helpless.
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