[Originally preached 3 October, 2004]
James 1.26-27
James continues his relentless pursuit of integrity for the people of God in our text. He is still motivated by a concern lest these saints be deceived. His desire is that their walk before God and the world be obviously faithful. He deals with three areas in our text: bridling the tongue, visiting orphans and widows and keeping unstained from the world. James spends a good deal of time on the topic of the tongue in chapter three so we’ll leave any discussion of that until then. This morning we’ll take up the remaining two areas. Here, let me remind you that this letter is wisdom literature. That means, among other things, that we will not find the academic concern for scientific precision. Wisdom literature intends to make a splash with striking statements. It leaves sorting out the details for another time. It’s important to remember this here because you need to know that our text is not a careful and detailed statement of what true religion is. It’s not intended to be. Much misunderstanding could be avoided if we remember that the Scriptures are written in different styles, different genres. We need to take these differences into consideration if we are to properly apply the Word.
In verse 27 James speaks about a religion that is pure and undefiled before God. Here, he points to two topics. We’re going to look at the second of these topics first. Then we’ll look at the other and see how the two relate to each other. James exhorts us to keep ourselves unstained or unspotted from the world. Here, we need to take a closer look at this word ‘world’. It is a word that is used in a multitude of ways. One commentator counts something like a half dozen ways this word is used. Let me focus on just one sense that fits in our text. The world is ‘the whole human scheme of things organized in terms of human wisdom to attain a human goal without reference to God, His laws, His values or His ultimate judgment. The world is, in fact, anything and everything that is at odds with the Lordship if Jesus over our lives.’ [J. A. Motyer] And so, we have a very basic contrast that defines this life. On the one hand, there is the Church while on the other there is the world. The Church looks to God and submits to Jesus as Lord and lives accordingly. The world refuses to do so but rather follows its own ideas and lives accordingly.
When I was a young child I used to hear pastors preach about the danger of worldliness, the danger of becoming like the world. Sadly, most of them focused on the wrong things. They warned about going to movies and the length of a man’s hair. But the warning was and still is proper. It is a warning that we see in our text. James is exhorting us not to allow the goals, the methods and the attitudes of the world influence us. It is a call for a sharp difference between the Church and the world. And it is a difference that begins in the heart and shows quite clearly in the actions of life. But, this is a battle that the world pursues vigorously. Listen to the Apostle Paul. ‘Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…’ [Romans 12:2] Or as a one-time popular paraphrase puts it, ‘Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.’ As you work at walking faithfully you have felt the pressure to conform. You have felt the world trying to mold you into its image. It is attacking you and your children every day. It uses all the various social institutions of our culture, the different media, and any other method it can. To use the imagery of Revelation, this is the false prophet with his false message trying to get us to believe him. This is the world. It’s appropriate for you to consider how the world is attacking you. Are there some ways in which you are especially susceptible? How to you use your time, your energy? What are your goals? What do you hope for? Are these things in keeping with the Lordship of Jesus? How is the world trying to get you to conform? Listen to some words of wisdom from the Apostle John. ‘Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.’ [1 John 2:15-17]
Now, let’s look at James’ other concern, his other test of true religion, ‘visiting orphans and widows in their affliction’. It’s not the kind of thing you might expect today when summarizing our religion. And yet, that is exactly what James does. For him, this is a test whether your religion is real, whether it is pure and undefiled in God’s opinion. If it doesn’t pass this test then James warns us that our religion is worthless, useless, vain. It is not a religion that works. We need to be careful to heed his words as we take a closer look.
First, James specifies orphans and widows. Are these the only people that he is concerned about? Here’s another place where we need to remember that this is wisdom literature. James is speaking about the needy. In his day the orphan and the widow were among the neediest. In our text, James is pointing us to those who are needy. And what are we to do with these needy? James chooses an interesting word. We are to ‘visit’ them. This is a word with a significant Old Testament background. Listen to a couple of places where it used. ‘And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” ’ [Genesis 50:24-25] ‘Then [Naomi] arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.’ [Ruth 1:6] This Old Testament sense carries over into the New Testament as well. ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people…’ [Luke 1:68]Now, there is more to this word, but in these examples we see God expressing His concern for His people and acting accordingly. That is the sense that James is drawing upon. He is telling us that real religion, one that counts before God, is one that takes note of the needy, like the orphans and widows, and then does something about it. This is a call to care about those in need. We are to care about and then care for them. James is not original here. Jesus makes the same point when He talks about the difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. The sheep saw the needs of their brothers and sisters in the faith and did something to meet those needs. The goats didn’t. And so, the sheep were welcomed into the kingdom while the goats were excluded.
Now, why does James stress this here? Back in chapter one James describes the saints as those who have been ‘brought forth’ by God. He uses the language of being born. And this fits when we remember that we are children of God. If that is true, then we will bear the family resemblance. So, what is God like? He visits the orphan and the widow. ‘The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.’ [Psalm 146:9] ‘Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.’ [Psalm 68:5] So, do you see what James is saying? If you’re religion is true, if you really are a child of the Father, then it will show. You will bear the family resemblance. And one way that will show is in visiting orphans and widows in their affliction. So, for James, a Christian who doesn’t care about the needy makes as much sense as a square circle. Now, God is patient. He knows that there is much for us to learn and that we don’t learn quickly. But once we come to see some new aspect of Christian living God expects some movement in the right direction.
It’s here that we face a problem. To care about and to care for the needy will take at least two things: time and money. And both seem to be in short supply. Yet, we have before us a clear expectation of the Spirit. True religion is visiting orphans and widows. How shall we deal with this knotty problem? How can we find the time and money and whatever else that is needed to obey the Scriptures? This is where we bring James’ other exhortation into play. ‘Keep [yourself] unstained from the world.’ Is your assessment that time and money are in short supply based on Godly wisdom or on worldly wisdom? Is it possible that in this area you are conforming to the world? Take the area of money. Consider the themes of our culture when it comes to money. One prominent theme is fear. We are tempted to a fear of the future, a fear of what might happen, a fear of failing to plan well enough and of finding oneself in financial trouble. And what is our protection against all of this, at least according to the world? A very large nest egg. We need to save for all the contingencies. There needs to be a fund for the next car, for the children’s education, for the water heater that is bound to go sometime. And there certainly needs to be a large sum of money for that great unknown, retirement when you get old and fail in health. We hear this message of fear every day. Now, let me be clear. Am I saying that it’s wrong to save? Absolutely not! I want to be very clear on that. That isn’t my point. My point is about why you choose to save in the way that you do. Is your money management based on the wisdom of the world? Is it based in fear? Fear makes sense if there is no God who will care for you. But fear makes no sense if your God promises to provide for all of your needs throughout all your days. Saving makes sense but not as a defense against a dangerous future. Jesus is the only real defense against danger. So, my point is not that it’s wrong to have money in the bank. My point is that it is wrong to be afraid and to think that good money management will protect you. The world says that you can only count on yourself. So you had better prepare now for that uncertain future. Jesus says trust Me for the future.
Now, I went through all of that to get to this point. If you are able to set aside this fear, if you are able to trust Jesus for you future, then you’ll be freed to make wise decisions about your money. I have been moved by the plight of Christians and especially pastors who live in the former Soviet Union. I have read about them in the newsletter that we get from the mission agency Come Over And Help. Here are people who have nothing. They live in shacks and small, cold apartments. They are barely making it. Now, as you know, I recently sold my house. With the money, I paid off a few bills and bought my little car. I still have a chunk of it left. One of my prayers has been that God would give me wisdom in how to use this money. The advice of the world is clear. ‘You’d better sock it away. Retirement is coming and you don’t have enough. You never know what’s going to happen.’ That is the message of fear. Then there is Jesus’ message. ‘Trust Me for your future.’ Then I come upon our text that calls me to care about and to care for the needy. And so I’ve asked myself if maybe I should take some of that money and send it to those pastors and saints who have so little. Maybe I should share what I have with them. After all, what’s the worst that could happen to me? And even if ‘the worst’ were to happen, Jesus’ promise is firm. He said that He would take care of me.
In all of this I want to be very clear. I am not saying that you are miserly people, that you are cheap and want to hoard your money. I am not saying that because I know that it isn’t true. Also, I am not saying that saving money is a bad idea, that it is somehow sinful. And I am not saying that you should give all your money away. What I am saying is this. Could it be that you have been fooled into believing the world’s message about your future, about what it should look like and about the fear that it might turn out badly? Are you motivated by fear as you consider how to manage your money? Or is your hope securely rooted in Jesus when it comes to this area of your life? We have before us a word from the Spirit. It tells us what true religion looks like. True religion is caring about and caring for the needy. We can’t ignore it. We need to obey it somehow. The only way that we will be able to even think about how to obey our text is by first taking Jesus at His word. ‘Yes, Lord, I do trust You. I have no clue how my future will all work out. I know that there will be bumps in the road. But I also know that You will keep me in Your care.’ It is only when we do this that we will be freed to look at our money and make wise choices about how to use it. We may make very different choices but at least in this we will be the same. Our choices won’t be rooted in fear. Instead, we will be confident in the loving care of our Savior, Jesus. In that we will be able to rejoice together.
James 1.26-27
James continues his relentless pursuit of integrity for the people of God in our text. He is still motivated by a concern lest these saints be deceived. His desire is that their walk before God and the world be obviously faithful. He deals with three areas in our text: bridling the tongue, visiting orphans and widows and keeping unstained from the world. James spends a good deal of time on the topic of the tongue in chapter three so we’ll leave any discussion of that until then. This morning we’ll take up the remaining two areas. Here, let me remind you that this letter is wisdom literature. That means, among other things, that we will not find the academic concern for scientific precision. Wisdom literature intends to make a splash with striking statements. It leaves sorting out the details for another time. It’s important to remember this here because you need to know that our text is not a careful and detailed statement of what true religion is. It’s not intended to be. Much misunderstanding could be avoided if we remember that the Scriptures are written in different styles, different genres. We need to take these differences into consideration if we are to properly apply the Word.
In verse 27 James speaks about a religion that is pure and undefiled before God. Here, he points to two topics. We’re going to look at the second of these topics first. Then we’ll look at the other and see how the two relate to each other. James exhorts us to keep ourselves unstained or unspotted from the world. Here, we need to take a closer look at this word ‘world’. It is a word that is used in a multitude of ways. One commentator counts something like a half dozen ways this word is used. Let me focus on just one sense that fits in our text. The world is ‘the whole human scheme of things organized in terms of human wisdom to attain a human goal without reference to God, His laws, His values or His ultimate judgment. The world is, in fact, anything and everything that is at odds with the Lordship if Jesus over our lives.’ [J. A. Motyer] And so, we have a very basic contrast that defines this life. On the one hand, there is the Church while on the other there is the world. The Church looks to God and submits to Jesus as Lord and lives accordingly. The world refuses to do so but rather follows its own ideas and lives accordingly.
When I was a young child I used to hear pastors preach about the danger of worldliness, the danger of becoming like the world. Sadly, most of them focused on the wrong things. They warned about going to movies and the length of a man’s hair. But the warning was and still is proper. It is a warning that we see in our text. James is exhorting us not to allow the goals, the methods and the attitudes of the world influence us. It is a call for a sharp difference between the Church and the world. And it is a difference that begins in the heart and shows quite clearly in the actions of life. But, this is a battle that the world pursues vigorously. Listen to the Apostle Paul. ‘Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…’ [Romans 12:2] Or as a one-time popular paraphrase puts it, ‘Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.’ As you work at walking faithfully you have felt the pressure to conform. You have felt the world trying to mold you into its image. It is attacking you and your children every day. It uses all the various social institutions of our culture, the different media, and any other method it can. To use the imagery of Revelation, this is the false prophet with his false message trying to get us to believe him. This is the world. It’s appropriate for you to consider how the world is attacking you. Are there some ways in which you are especially susceptible? How to you use your time, your energy? What are your goals? What do you hope for? Are these things in keeping with the Lordship of Jesus? How is the world trying to get you to conform? Listen to some words of wisdom from the Apostle John. ‘Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.’ [1 John 2:15-17]
Now, let’s look at James’ other concern, his other test of true religion, ‘visiting orphans and widows in their affliction’. It’s not the kind of thing you might expect today when summarizing our religion. And yet, that is exactly what James does. For him, this is a test whether your religion is real, whether it is pure and undefiled in God’s opinion. If it doesn’t pass this test then James warns us that our religion is worthless, useless, vain. It is not a religion that works. We need to be careful to heed his words as we take a closer look.
First, James specifies orphans and widows. Are these the only people that he is concerned about? Here’s another place where we need to remember that this is wisdom literature. James is speaking about the needy. In his day the orphan and the widow were among the neediest. In our text, James is pointing us to those who are needy. And what are we to do with these needy? James chooses an interesting word. We are to ‘visit’ them. This is a word with a significant Old Testament background. Listen to a couple of places where it used. ‘And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” ’ [Genesis 50:24-25] ‘Then [Naomi] arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.’ [Ruth 1:6] This Old Testament sense carries over into the New Testament as well. ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people…’ [Luke 1:68]Now, there is more to this word, but in these examples we see God expressing His concern for His people and acting accordingly. That is the sense that James is drawing upon. He is telling us that real religion, one that counts before God, is one that takes note of the needy, like the orphans and widows, and then does something about it. This is a call to care about those in need. We are to care about and then care for them. James is not original here. Jesus makes the same point when He talks about the difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. The sheep saw the needs of their brothers and sisters in the faith and did something to meet those needs. The goats didn’t. And so, the sheep were welcomed into the kingdom while the goats were excluded.
Now, why does James stress this here? Back in chapter one James describes the saints as those who have been ‘brought forth’ by God. He uses the language of being born. And this fits when we remember that we are children of God. If that is true, then we will bear the family resemblance. So, what is God like? He visits the orphan and the widow. ‘The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.’ [Psalm 146:9] ‘Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.’ [Psalm 68:5] So, do you see what James is saying? If you’re religion is true, if you really are a child of the Father, then it will show. You will bear the family resemblance. And one way that will show is in visiting orphans and widows in their affliction. So, for James, a Christian who doesn’t care about the needy makes as much sense as a square circle. Now, God is patient. He knows that there is much for us to learn and that we don’t learn quickly. But once we come to see some new aspect of Christian living God expects some movement in the right direction.
It’s here that we face a problem. To care about and to care for the needy will take at least two things: time and money. And both seem to be in short supply. Yet, we have before us a clear expectation of the Spirit. True religion is visiting orphans and widows. How shall we deal with this knotty problem? How can we find the time and money and whatever else that is needed to obey the Scriptures? This is where we bring James’ other exhortation into play. ‘Keep [yourself] unstained from the world.’ Is your assessment that time and money are in short supply based on Godly wisdom or on worldly wisdom? Is it possible that in this area you are conforming to the world? Take the area of money. Consider the themes of our culture when it comes to money. One prominent theme is fear. We are tempted to a fear of the future, a fear of what might happen, a fear of failing to plan well enough and of finding oneself in financial trouble. And what is our protection against all of this, at least according to the world? A very large nest egg. We need to save for all the contingencies. There needs to be a fund for the next car, for the children’s education, for the water heater that is bound to go sometime. And there certainly needs to be a large sum of money for that great unknown, retirement when you get old and fail in health. We hear this message of fear every day. Now, let me be clear. Am I saying that it’s wrong to save? Absolutely not! I want to be very clear on that. That isn’t my point. My point is about why you choose to save in the way that you do. Is your money management based on the wisdom of the world? Is it based in fear? Fear makes sense if there is no God who will care for you. But fear makes no sense if your God promises to provide for all of your needs throughout all your days. Saving makes sense but not as a defense against a dangerous future. Jesus is the only real defense against danger. So, my point is not that it’s wrong to have money in the bank. My point is that it is wrong to be afraid and to think that good money management will protect you. The world says that you can only count on yourself. So you had better prepare now for that uncertain future. Jesus says trust Me for the future.
Now, I went through all of that to get to this point. If you are able to set aside this fear, if you are able to trust Jesus for you future, then you’ll be freed to make wise decisions about your money. I have been moved by the plight of Christians and especially pastors who live in the former Soviet Union. I have read about them in the newsletter that we get from the mission agency Come Over And Help. Here are people who have nothing. They live in shacks and small, cold apartments. They are barely making it. Now, as you know, I recently sold my house. With the money, I paid off a few bills and bought my little car. I still have a chunk of it left. One of my prayers has been that God would give me wisdom in how to use this money. The advice of the world is clear. ‘You’d better sock it away. Retirement is coming and you don’t have enough. You never know what’s going to happen.’ That is the message of fear. Then there is Jesus’ message. ‘Trust Me for your future.’ Then I come upon our text that calls me to care about and to care for the needy. And so I’ve asked myself if maybe I should take some of that money and send it to those pastors and saints who have so little. Maybe I should share what I have with them. After all, what’s the worst that could happen to me? And even if ‘the worst’ were to happen, Jesus’ promise is firm. He said that He would take care of me.
In all of this I want to be very clear. I am not saying that you are miserly people, that you are cheap and want to hoard your money. I am not saying that because I know that it isn’t true. Also, I am not saying that saving money is a bad idea, that it is somehow sinful. And I am not saying that you should give all your money away. What I am saying is this. Could it be that you have been fooled into believing the world’s message about your future, about what it should look like and about the fear that it might turn out badly? Are you motivated by fear as you consider how to manage your money? Or is your hope securely rooted in Jesus when it comes to this area of your life? We have before us a word from the Spirit. It tells us what true religion looks like. True religion is caring about and caring for the needy. We can’t ignore it. We need to obey it somehow. The only way that we will be able to even think about how to obey our text is by first taking Jesus at His word. ‘Yes, Lord, I do trust You. I have no clue how my future will all work out. I know that there will be bumps in the road. But I also know that You will keep me in Your care.’ It is only when we do this that we will be freed to look at our money and make wise choices about how to use it. We may make very different choices but at least in this we will be the same. Our choices won’t be rooted in fear. Instead, we will be confident in the loving care of our Savior, Jesus. In that we will be able to rejoice together.
No comments:
Post a Comment