What Is Our Religion?

Introduction

In the letter of James, the Holy Spirit teaches us to hear the Word of God and do what it says. Specifically, in James 1:26-27, we read: “If any man thinks himself to be religious, while he bridles not his tongue but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

When the Word says we should “visit orphans and widows in their affliction,” it emphasizes our responsibility to help those in need. Many children suffer in this world, and numerous single mothers with children require assistance. However, it can be challenging to reach out and provide help independently unless they are part of our church community. As a church and as individuals, we can collaborate with Christian organizations that assist those in need. However, we must ensure that the support we provide is used appropriately and that the organizations reflect our belief standards and all their work is done in the name of the Trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit).

For us reading these verses, we must also think about the last part, which says: “and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” We must meditate on our religion if it is indeed pure. We might help children and those in need through various Christian organizations or through the church, but what we need to ask ourselves is, do we really keep ourselves unstained from the world each day?

In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus teaches us the importance of being doers of the Word and remaining unstained by the world. He commands us to follow Him and to keep ourselves free from worldly influences. In this blog article, we summarize several Gospel passages that emphasize the importance of the followers of the Lord Jesus actively living out the Word of God. Additionally, we discuss John 17:14-21 to understand the burden the Lord Jesus feels for His followers, so they remain faithful and remain unstained by the world.

Be Doers of the Word of God

The parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-46 teaches us that each of us has knowledge of the Creator in our souls from the beginning, and each of us is responsible for searching, building our faith, and using the gifts the Lord has given us. When someone comes to tell us about the Bible, we need to listen, link what we hear, and always compare it to what the Bible says. The talent here in this parable refers to the success of staying firm in faith. Another way you can think about it is: the talent is the gift that a person maintains in the soul; for example, the Bible tells us that the disciples could stay in prayer day and night, which is a gift to remain firm in faith. A similar way of thinking about it is: you start working on a Bible commentary, and not every day you enjoy doing it, but in you there is a whispering voice from the Lord telling you to continue, and that is a gift to stay firm in faith. The Holy Spirit, who remains firm inside of us, maintains this gift through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is like a whispering voice inside us, telling us and pushing us to do what we need to do for the Lord. The talent itself, not the amount, is a gift from the Lord to His servants. Look at it another way: each individual, who receives, does with the thing they receive differently; the first one immediately goes and makes use of it right away, while the last one goes and buries it underground; now, here you see the ability and willingness of each individual.

We cannot be followers of the Lord Jesus by name only; we must keep the faith until the end, be doers, and use the gifts the Lord gave us to grow in faith and spread the good news. If we are followers by name only, we resemble the ‘goats’ mentioned in Scripture. Conversely, if we are proactive and remain faithful until the end, we become the ‘sheep.’ (See Matthew 25:32-33).

In Matthew 12:33-37, the Lord Jesus teaches us that as His followers, we are called to bear good fruit and serve as examples through our actions and words. He emphasizes, “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37). Additionally, in Matthew 7:21-29, the Lord Jesus explains that to enter His kingdom, we must fulfill the will of His Father in heaven by following His commandments. This requires genuine commitment to being a follower of the Lord Jesus by heart, not merely by mouth.

We Are All Covered by the Lord Jesus’ Priestly Prayer

The Lord Jesus gave us the Word, and His Word condemns the sins of the world. We are not meant to go around condemning the world; instead, we should follow His Word, keeping ourselves unstained by the world. Our mission is to bring the world to the Gospel, not the world into our lives. In John 17, the Lord Jesus, the Most High Priest of all souls, “lifting up His eyes to heaven,” prays to the Father for Himself and all the true believers in the past, present, and future. We must all feel covered by this priestly prayer and also feel responsible, knowing that the eyes of the Lord are upon us to protect and watch over us. The Lord Jesus’ prayer to the Father focuses on five key requests.

1. The Lord Jesus prays to the Father for Himself to receive His glory and give eternal life to those that the Father has given Him.
2. The Lord Jesus prays to the Father concerning those that the Father has given Him, who are still in the world, that the Father would keep them from evil.
3. The Lord Jesus prays to the Father for the sanctification of those who are His and are not of the world so that they would be one just as He, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are One.
4. The Lord Jesus prays to the Father for those who are His that they would be with Him where He is, so they may behold His glory, which the Father has bestowed on Him even before the foundation of the world.
5. The Lord Jesus ends His Priestly prayer by requesting the Father to reveal the love He has for His Son to all true believers.

We specifically comment on John 17:14-21, where the Lord Jesus expresses His burden to the Father for His disciples, asking Him to protect them from evil and to sanctify them.

John 17:14 I have given them Thy word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Comments John 17:14. “I have given them Thy word; and the world hated them.” The beloved Son of God has given to the disciples and all true believers the Word from the Father, the Word which will not take a side on any man but will tell what the man should behave to gain the favor of the Father. When the world hates them, it does not hate the person, but the world hates what the person says about the Holy Word of God.

“Because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” The disciples and the true believers, because they have taken the Word of the Father as truly the teaching of God, make the world feel condemned, and the world hates them on account of hating the Word they are speaking. When you abide by the Word of God, your behavior will not be as the world is doing, and the eyes of the outsiders will consider you as if you are not like them and do not belong with them; in that way, you become out of the world for them; because of what you believe and practice, you have become different than the world. The light and the darkness are separated, because the believers are the children of light, while the unbelievers are not; the true believers still live in the world, but you shouldn’t be like the world is.

15 I pray not that Thou should take them out of the world, but that Thou should keep them from evil.

Comments John 17:15. As the verse says, the Father will not take the true believers out of the world, but if the true believers meditate and abide by the Holy Word, their souls will not be tainted by the sins of the world itself; the evil will be around, but not in their hearts themselves. Because the verse has already told who is praying, the beloved Son of God is praying for humans because He has come into the world and given the Holy Word to humans; next is the human’s responsibility to use what He has given to save their souls.

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Comments John 17:16. The beloved Son of God has come from heaven to earth; the earth belongs to Him, but He does not belong to the earth, but He is keeping the earth to go on. Therefore, all true believers should be like Him as well, keep in your heart that you are not of this earth, and do not let this earth control you, but be faithful and guide those around you, and lead them, whosoever the Lord brings in your path, lead them to come and glorify the God of Three (God the Father, God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit). Be like your master of life; do not let the world influence your thoughts, but let the Holy Bible influence your heart; when you let the Holy Word influence your heart, this world will not control you.

17 Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.

Comments John 17:17. When the Lord Jesus speaks, He is speaking with the disciples, but He is also sending them out to the whole world; thus, the verse also holds meaning for all humans.

Being cleansed by the Word of God, and in that way, you are truly clean because the Holy Word will cleanse you from the inside out; when your inside is clean, the words you speak will be clean. When you meditate on the Holy Word, the Holy Word will cleanse you from the inside out. As the verse has told us, “sanctify them in the truth,” and only one thing is true and holy, and that is the living Word of God.

18 As Thou sent Me into the world, even so I sent them into the world.

Comments John 17:18. The Father has sent the beloved Son into the world to lead all humans to glorify the Father. In the same way, the beloved Son of God will send His disciples to tell the world to come and glorify the Father, come and worship the Most High God, with all your heart, and mind, and soul. As the verse has told us, the beloved Son has come for all; because of that, the world needs to know, and you must go out and tell them all.

19 And on behalf of them, I sanctify Myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.

Comments John 17:19. “And on behalf of them, I sanctify Myself.” The beloved Son of God is the clean and Holy God; when He says He sanctifies Himself, He talks about the human flesh in which He dwells in. Human flesh has sin on its own because the way humans are born is through sexual activity. However, the beloved Son of God was not born through that, but He is in human form and lives on earth, and there are many ways that the sin can surround the body and make the body unclean. Hence, to go back to heaven in the human body, the beloved Son needs to be clean within the body itself as well. The verse does not tell us how He sanctifies Himself, but the reader of the Bible can notice that the beloved Son has performed many fasts, which are part of His sanctification; also, the beloved Son of God stays in prayer at all times. He has offered this sanctification to the Father for Himself and the disciples, and through His sanctification, the disciples are also cleansed so that they can receive the Holy Word. The beloved Son of God has prepared for them many things to make them clean; the Holy Word of the Father needs clean vessels to receive it, and the cleanest of vessels would be through the Holy Son’s sanctification by sanctifying Himself.

When we say, “human flesh has sin on its own because the way humans have been born is through sexual activity,” we mean that the sexual feeling is a sin of uncleanness (desire of the flesh) because it is unclean for God. Even though the Lord has created humans to multiply further on, humans have used sexual activity, not with the intention of multiplying, but for pleasure; sexual lust is a sin. That is why humans need the Savior; humans have been born in sin, and the Savior will help.

“That they also may be consecrated in truth.” When humans consecrate themselves in truth, it also refers to what they talk about, eat, and watch. Whatever you are looking at, do not let it enter into your heart as a joyful time; but when you read the Holy Word, let that be the most joyful time for your heart and the way to be ready within the heart of humans. The heart cannot have jealousy or anger but must have fear; but the fear here is fear of doing things against the will of the Father, not fear about the safety of the body itself; and for that, a person must always meditate on the teaching and use the teaching of God as the shield to protect the heart and mind. For them to receive the sanctification of the Holy Son, they must always remain in His teaching and follow the directions that He has given them. In many ways, humans can keep clean and be sanctified, but the important way is to meditate and abide in all the teachings of the beloved Son of God; in that way, the sanctification of the Son can flow through your soul as well.

20 Not for these only do I pray, but also for those believing in Me because of their word,

Comments John 17:20. After the disciples’ generation, humans will also receive the Holy Word as a guide and food for their souls. Therefore, everyone must believe in the Holy Word in order to have a chance to enter heaven. As the verse tells us, the beloved Son of God has prayed for all those who later come to believe in the holy teaching, not only for the disciples who have been with Him alone, but also for all the disciples of the Holy Bible itself. Every true believer in the world, coming after, if in their hearts are completely trusting and believing in the Holy Bible, and keep themselves meditating on the Holy Word, they also become the disciples of the Lord.

21 that all may be one; just as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us, that the world may believe that Thou sent Me.

Comments John 17:21. “… that all may be one.” Every soul that believes in the beloved Son of God, and that the Holy Bible is the Word of the Father given to all humans, you come and meditate in the Holy Word and worship the Father. When you meditate in the Holy Word and worship the Father, all those will be in one heart together, different, but the same heart in worshiping.

“Just as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us.” This part of the verse also tells us of the Trinity of God: the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, are within each other. Therefore, every soul that glorifies the Trinity of God will have the part to be a true child of God. When the verse says, “in Us,” it does not mean that we are one with God but that we are one under the Trinity of God as worshipers. Worship as children of God, and the soul will benefit. When the soul has come close to God, it will receive strength beyond anything it can give, and that strength will keep the soul last for eternity.

“That the world may believe that Thou sent Me.” Anyone who glorifies the Trinity of God, changes their behavior, and follows the teaching of the Holy Bible will be noticed as different and special, because in their soul they have received the peace of God, which spreads as a radiance; the people around will not only see but can also feel within their hearts.

Conclusions

The Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples while on earth, but He sent them to tell the message to the world; therefore, what He said to His disciples applies to all humans. As followers of the Lord Jesus, we live in the world and are called to do good for others in His name. However, we also need to keep ourselves untainted from the things of the world. The best way to keep ourselves unstained by the things of the world is by reading and meditating on the Word of God, and by practicing its teachings. The Word of God can cleanse us from the inside out, allowing us to become entirely pure, both inside and out. To serve the Lord effectively in any capacity, we must aim to maintain purity and sanctify ourselves through the Word of God. This involves keeping ourselves holy in all manner of living and watching over our spirit, soul, and body so we are preserved entirely for serving the Lord Jesus (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 1 Peter 1:15-16).

Furthermore, let’s consider that while the Lord Jesus was on earth, He explicitly taught His disciples various principles related to sanctification, though we may not have all of those teachings recorded. This raises the question: what can we do to maintain our purity and pursue greater sanctification? We all must take to heart that the Bible instructs us on what we can and cannot do. The beloved Son of God has fulfilled the Old Law; in some respects, we still need to abide by it, not in everything. Mainly, one can still maintain practices that keep the body and mind clean. For example, we could omit some type of food to keep the body to be less tainted; even though the Bible has told us that all food is good if the person takes it with thanks to the Creator, but for some special requirements it will be asked for abstaining from some foods; the Lord will reveal, those specifics, to the persons themselves. Generally, humans can eat everything if, inside their hearts, they have given thanks to the Creator. However, one should eat only for the body’s needs; do not eat with the greed to fill up beyond what your human body needs to have, and make the body fatter than normal. Also, the sexual activity, which the Lord created for a man and a woman, as God created them, who have committed themselves in marriage. All sexual activity outside marriage is considered an abomination to God, so a couple must have a union only with their own spouse.

Meditation Tasks

1. Meditate on our state of sanctification, and pray to the Lord to reveal the changes we should make in our lives to achieve greater sanctification.
2. We invite all readers to consult our blog article titled, “The Lamb of God Can Cleanse Us from All Our Sins.”