A Resurrected Religion | Pure and Undefiled
Easter has come and gone. I can’t help but think about the fact that we’re in the aftermath of the event we just celebrated. We are the aftermath. And then I think, as I often do, am I living out my Christian faith? Am I truly the extended arm of what the apostles started? Or have we muddied the waters a little? Christianity isn’t simply a religion, but can be categorized as that conceptually. It’s actually the truest form of religion. You know Israel had their religion, but it was dead. Jesus resurrected a new religion; a new way of life. And we should all ask: are we following that way of life?
Meek Hearers, Blessed Doers
I think about all of the different components that go into “church” as we know and love it today. I think about the different stages that the Christian church has gone through over the hundreds of years. I think of the countless “genres” of the church that exist around the world. I often get nervous about whether or not I’m doing what I should be doing as a proclaiming member of the Church of Jesus Christ. This is especially true when I see reminders in portions of Scripture like this one:
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (James 1:19-25 ESV)
[Note: I don’t want to be accusatory. It’s oftentimes easy to stand back and snipe comments about the modern church. When I’ve done this, I’ve usually felt a sense of self-righteousness, so I can assume others also feel this way when they do it. But I warn you, that feeling is addicting. You can see that addiction in the YouTube channels that are now created around this very act. But it’s not the way that Jesus would have us go about things. I aim to share myself and my own thoughts on this in the hopes that you can relate to them.]
Back to the text. There are two things James talks about. First section, he refers to our mouths, saying we need to be quick to listen and slow to speak. It’s no coincidence that we’re talking about anger in this. Anger is when I am most likely to speak quickly without thinking and the time where I’m farthest from being a good listener.
And then he says be gone with wickedness and other things that don’t produce righteousness, but rather be quick to hear the word, and slow to speak. He states that, with meekness (meaning reserved or gentle strength), receive the implanted word. So he’s describing this idea of allowing the word of God to be absorbed as you hear it. Okay, this sounds like something I’ve heard to be understood in church.
But then secondly, after referencing the act of hearing or listening, he emphasizes that we should be doers of the word, not hearers only (v. 22). You and I know that clarification is always key. He couldn’t only reference the part about absorbing the word of God, because that’s not the full picture. And—as I think James would suspect based on how he writes the following lines—there would be people who would claim that they have the word of God implanted in them, while ignoring any action that comes with the implantation. Finally, James ends the chapter with this:
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:26-27 ESV)
Pure and Undefiled
The portion above is so crucial for myself and my fellow Christians to understand today. When James says “religion,” this word is a general term referring to a person’s reverence and worship of their god. So contextually speaking to Christians, he’s coming at them saying if you claim to be a devout worshiper of God and follower of Jesus Christ but have a quick mouth and unrestrained speech, therefore deceiving yourself, your supposed religious efforts are worthless.
Lastly, if you were curious about what religion isn’t worthless, James is pretty straightforward. Pure and undefiled before the Father, visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and keep yourself unstained from the world. Again, I don’t want to only point and criticize from afar, but I can’t help but observe in my church experience that we have a lot of hearers, while we seem to leave undefiled religious work to the nonprofits.
We need to be BOTH. It’s not optional. It can only ever be both. Without doing, there is no proof of truly hearing. If you heard, you will do. This is not doing good things just because it’s what you’re told to do. If you truly have heard the word of God and absorbed it, then your worship, your religious effort, will be proof and will look a certain way, like taking care of those in need and remaining different from the world.
Use this text and examine yourself. Are you only a hearer and not a doer? Do you consider yourself religious (a devout Christian in this context)? Then examine whether it’s worthless or pure before God the Father.
—Luke Soliwoda