The Best Church in Town

“Religion that God our
Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the
world” (James 1:27).

If you are normal, you
want to be in the best church in town, and you may be in it. However, does this
church or any church fit the definition of pure and faultless religion?

This is in the sight of
God the Father. He is paying attention to see if your religion is pure and
undefiled. There are two requirements: 1) to visit orphans and widows who are
in distress and 2) to keep yourself unspotted from the world.

Concerning the first
requirement, you may not know any widows or orphans in distress. However, they
are there in your town. Ask God who they are.

The second requirement is
not letting the filth of the world touch you at all. Jesus prays in John
17:15-17, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you
protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am
not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” “Watch
your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will
save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim. 4:16). In evangelistic
churches today, Christians seem to watch their doctrine much more closely than
they watch their lives. Timothy was told to watch both.

Written January 9, 2018.

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the To
the Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,
please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.