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Elder Bruce Case, James 1:27, January 22, 2012, Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.
Manuscript:
On January 22nd, 1973, exactly 39 years ago today, the Supreme Court of the United States of America handed down their decision in Roe v Wade, a decision that, tragically, legalized abortion in America.
Ten years to the day after that decision, on January 22nd 1983, then president Reagan decreed that this Sunday in January would henceforth be honored as “Sanctity of Life Sunday.”
Since “Sanctity of Life Sunday” was established as a direct result of, and as a protest to, the Supreme Courts decision on abortion, this day is traditionally used to deliver a sermon on abortion, on what the Bible says about life in the womb and the impact that should have on how we regard unborn children.
That is good and right and I applaud those who faithfully preach such a message and stir God’s people to action and compassion.
But I want to do something just a little different today. I want to help us to think about the sanctity of life once it is outside the womb. My conviction is that the Bible calls us to treat human life at all stages, embryonic, infant, child, adolescent, adult, senior, right up to the point where a person draws their last breath… at all stages life is sacred, holy, it belongs to God (that is what sanctity means), and therefore to be respected and dignified and protected.
To that end lets begin today with just a quick overview of what Scripture says about human life, because I think this will help us understand that sanctity of life really is a broad and not a narrow issue.
First, Psalm 139 tells us that God is involved in our creation in the most intimate of ways:
Psalm 139:13 For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb.
It is interesting that the Psalmist does not choose a farming metaphor, dropping a seed in the ground and coming back months later to find a living plant. He chose a weaving metaphor, which is just about one of the most “hands on” illustrations available, the weaver involved with every thread of the tapestry from beginning to end.
We are told in Scripture that God owns everything and everyone. All life ultimately belongs to the Lord:
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.
Now, this only makes sense. When you make something you own what it is you make. But apparently that was not equally evident to all, because the Psalmist employs a kind of teaching and correcting tone when he says:
Psalm 100:3 Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
It would appear that even in the Psalmists day, some people had lost sight of the fact that we all belong to the One who created us.
What He has created and owns, He also has specific purposes for. He said regarding Jeremiah that He knew him and had plans for him before he was even conceived in the womb:
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Likewise David writes in Psalm 139:
Psalm 139:16 Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
And it is not just His kings and prophets that He has special purposes for. Paul writes to the everyday Christian at Corinth:
1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
So God “fashions” us in the womb, He lays claim to our lives, and He has purposes for each of us, whether we are small or great.
But Scripture says something even more remarkable about human life. In fact, the very first thing we are told in Scripture about human life, about men and women is that they are made in the image of God:
“Genesis 1:27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1 is the story of the creation of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, plants, animals, fish, birds. And it is all good. It all reflects and tells of the glory of the Creator. The heavens are telling the glory of God.
But among all this good, even perfect creation, only of men and women is it said, “They bear His image.”
That doesn’t mean that God has arms or legs or feet or hair. It means that just as He is a person, so also are we. Just as He lives in relationship with other persons, so also do we. Just as He loves some things and hates others, so also do we. He has thoughts and a will and makes judgements and shows mercy and creates and laughs and, in His incarnation, even cries.
All this and more He has willed to “weave” into all of humanity. We all bear His image, and though the image is tarnished badly by sin in each one of us, it is still there. Even after the fall, and after the judgement of the flood on mankind, God tells Noah, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.” Genesis 9:6
The image of God is still sufficiently present in fallen man that murder is declared by God to be a capital offense.
That is probably the single most important thing that can be said about mankind, is that we are image bearers of the living God. Combine this with the fact that He made us, He owns us, He has purposes for each of us… and you cannot help but conclude that “sanctity of life” issues are not confined to respecting and protecting life in the womb. As crucial as that is, as wonderful as that is, as God-honoring as the fight to protect the unborn is, it is simply not the only sanctity of life issue we are called to address.
In fact, if I may, let me press the boundaries a bit on what sanctity of life issues are.
The epistle of James, as you know, has a lot to say about the tongue, how difficult it is to tame it, how much damage it can do. Every person in this room has been embarassed by things they have said, and wish certain words could be taken back. In James 3, as he is addressing the need to tame the tongue, he says this about the tongue:
James 3:9 With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God…
Did you hear it? Did you hear the bottom line reason why it is wrong to curse someone? It isn’t just that course speech is prohibited or that it is unloving or disrespectful to the person you are cursing.
The bottom line reason it is wrong to curse someone is that when you curse them, you are cursing the image of God.
God weaves someone together in the womb, He owns this person, He has purposes for this person, He has made this person in His image… and we curse that image?
Do you see how the “image bearing” reality that is behind and upon every last human being makes sanctity of life issues touch almost every area of human interaction?
It doesn’t take any imagination, only a sound Biblical definition, to understand that racism is a sanctity of life issue. Regardless of skin color or native language or country of origin, we are all image bearers of the living God.
Sexism is a sanctity of life issue, as Genesis declares that both male and female are made in His image. For men to look down on women or women to look down on men with disregard or disdain is to say, “I don’t like that particular aspect of God’s image.”
Poverty and economic oppression become sanctity of life issues that speak volumes concerning how we understand the connection between the Creator and those who bear His image.
Proverbs 14:31 He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.
We can reproach God or we can honor God, and it all hinges on how we treat the poor man that is also made in His image.
And that is the lense through which I want us to consider the sanctity of life this Sunday, the reality of poverty and how the people of God are called to respond, and how this is at heart an “honoring of God issue” and not merely an issue of compassion or pity for our fellow man.
Turn with me to James chapter 1. James 1:27 reads as follows:
James 1:27 This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
This is one of those texts that is so rich in content that we will be well served to read it slowly and carefully, working hard to see all that James would have us see.
The first thing we need to see is how God centered the text is. What we do, whether it is an outward “works” sort of thing (visiting orphans and widows) or more of a personal, inward thing (keeping ourselves unstained by the world), we do it before God. All that we do or do not do is done “in His sight” according to James.
Likewise, the writer of Hebrews reminds us: And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Hebrews 4:13
This is one of those concepts that is so central to the Christian faith that theologians have a Latin phrase for it, “coram deo.” It simply means, “before the face of God.” That is where we live every moment of our lives, in the sight of God.
Every decision we make to act or not act, how we relate to others, how we seek to be pure in an impure world… James reminds us that all of this is done before the face of God. It is a good thing to remember.
Note also that James is giving us a definition. He begins by saying “This is…”
Why does he do that? Why is he defining what religion should look like?
It would appear the answer is that people are confused about these things.
James 1:26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
You can hear the confusion in that verse, a man who “thinks” himself to be a certain way but is “deceived.” James is writing to clear up this confusion, to give clear and unmistakable definition to what is “worthless religion” and what is “pure and undefiled” religion.
He is nothing if not blunt, but he is simply trying to help his readers understand that how people act reflects back on the nature of their religion, their faith. Genuine faith, saving faith, acts in certain ways. It bears certain fruit.
Now, because James is so blunt, because his letter is so filled with warnings, I want to make sure that we see that James is not “flogging the sheep”, scolding these no good lazy pretend Christians who never do anything worthwhile. That is not what he is doing. 14 times in this letter he addresses them as “brothers” or “my brothers” or even “my beloved brothers.”
He IS concerned that their lives are not being lived consistent with their profession of faith. That concern marks this letter from beginning to end, and he uses some strong language to call attention to this fact. But I truly think that for most of his readers, James sees this as more of an issue of ignorance than hard-heartedness, and his letter is more plea to a beloved brother than scolding to an unrepentent sinner.
For example, in James 2, he warns them very bluntly about giving preference to the rich over the poor. If you do so, he says, you become judges with evil motives. Tough words. But he begins that warning by addressing them as “my brethren” and as his warning progresses he says, “Listen, my beloved brethren…”
So despite the strong language of this book, James is not angry with them. He is “up front” in his love for them, and he is “up front” in his concern for them, and the 2 come together in clear words about what is worthless and what is pure and undefiled in the hope that they will understand and repent and respond.
Along these same lines note that there is no command in vs. 27. James is not ordering them to visit orphans and widows, he is not ordering them to remain unstained by the world. Now, apostles have the right to make such commands, and often they do.
But not here. He is simply defining, illustrating for them what goes into pure and undefiled religion, reminding them that they live this out before God, but not actually commanding them to do anything.
Now, I say that knowing that some person might say, “Great! I can hear what James has to say but I don’t have to do it.”
Brother, you are in the wrong epistle! James is the LAST place you want to go to say, “Is it OK if I just listen to the Word but don’t act?”
James 1:22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.
James offers them a choice: be self-deluded (vs. 22) or be blessed (vs. 25). I recommend you go with the “blessed” option, which means you need to act on what you hear.
I would also like you to note the promise that is in this verse. The promise is this:
Despite all our failings, despite all our weaknesses, despite all the sin that yet remains in our lives, James says that if we minister to the poor and attend to our own spiritual growth, God will see this and count it as a pure and undefiled expression of your faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
As blunt as James is, don’t miss the glorious promise in this text!
It is also important that we see that “orphans and widows” are representatives of a larger category, that category being all those who are in distress.
If we read just a bit further in James we see this clearly:
James 2:15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
The concept is the same, meeting the needs of those in distress as part of what it means to have genuine faith, as opposed to a “what use is that” kind of faith, but here it is simply a “brother or a sister.” No mention of orphan or widow, simply those in need of the most basic things in life.
Now, if we were correct in our introduction, that sanctity of life is an issue that affects all of life, this is exactly what we should expect to find. Orphans, widows, a brother or sister in need of food or clothing, a man beaten by robbers and left to die on the road to Jericho. Pure and undefiled religion sees in all people the image of their Creator and therefore when they see people in distress they act. They don’t need a command, they don’t try to see how narrow and exclusive the category can be made, they don’t ask self-justifying questions like, “Who is my neighbor?” in an attempt to help as few people as possible.
Has it ever struck you that Jesus never answers the question that led up to the parable of the Good Samaritan, the question of “Who is my neighbor.” He simply says, “Go be a neighbor, and this is what it looks like.” Pure and undefiled religion in God’s sight is that religion that embraces the opportunity to honor God through honoring those who bear His image.
And would you also note with me that little word “visit.” We all know what that word means. It means you go to them. It is a word that tells us that pure and undefiled religion is an initiative-taking religion. You make plans to visit, you set aside time, you set aside resources.
Waiting for the need to come knocking on you door is not what is in view here. You knocking on the door where the need is, that is what is in view here.
Finally, while I’m not usually in the habit of making too much of conjunctions, those little words that join together separate thoughts or phrases, in this case I need to make an exception. That little word “and” that begins the final phrase of vs. 27 is absolutely crucial, in James’ day and in our day.
This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
“And.” Not “or”, but “and.” That is, pure and undefiled religion is not defined by the presence of one of two things, either good works or personal holiness. It is defined by the presence of both things.
This was huge in James day. His epistle is perhaps best known for arguing that you cannot separate personal faith in God from good works done to others.
James 2:14 What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
James 2:18 But someone may well say, “You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
James is addressing people that are trying to put an “or” between faith and works instead of an “and.” If we are going to get it right in God’s sight there has to be an “and” between works and faith.
I recognize that in our particular text, vs. 27, the contrast is not between works and faith but between works and personal holiness. But that is almost a distinction without a difference. The tension has always been between people who see Christianity as a personal matter between them and God and those who see it as a matter of showing justice and mercy and love towards others.
James is simply saying “yes” to both. Not “yes” in that both are good, but “yes” in that both are necessary if one wants to have pure and undefiled religion.
That battle raged in James’ day, and it rages in our day. Churches, denominations, even individuals wrestle with what it looks like to have both a personal aspect to their faith and a relational aspect to it.
We need to faithfully and continually preach a Gospel of forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ that brings individual men and women into a right relationship with God. We need to preach Jesus and repentence and imputation and adoption and sanctification and all manner of glorious truths that apply to you and me as individuals.
And we need to preach that our God loves justice and mercy and compassion and when we show these things to people that bear His image, we are honoring Him. Jesus goes so far as to separate the sheep from the goats, the blessed from the cursed, in Matthew 25 by declaring that when they did or did not help those in distress, they did or did not help Him. Care for those in distress is a huge issue!
The danger of being an “either/or” Christian instead of a “both/and” Christian in these matters is real and ongoing. James dealt with it, and we deal with it. Here is what I have seen in others and my own life.
As you grow in your faith, you come to understand that pure and undefiled religion involves visting people in distress and trying to relieve that distress. And so you begin to minister, and God meets you and it is glorious and you can’t do enough and you stay up late and you plan your next visit to the needy (or maybe you do something really crazy like bring some of them into your home!)… and soon you are joyfully exhausted, satisfied in so many ways… and neglecting your personal relationship with God. Nurturing your own faith and attending to personal holiness are simply not priorities anymore. Fighting sin doesn’t seem so important because, after all, you are doing so many good works. You assume this will all balance out, that there is no need to “keep” yourself unstained by the world.
But you do need to keep yourself unstained, to work at faith and holiness and growing in your knowledge of God just as surely as you need to plan visits to those in distress. Both must happen, but neither happens on its own.
To sum up what we have seen in James, we live before the face of God, a God who declares that faith in His Son can and should be lived out both by visiting those in distress and by keeping ourselves from sin. This will be counted as a pure and undefiled expression of our faith in His So. What God has joined together, “visiting” and “keeping”, let no man separate.
We have invited two ministries that this church is associated with to set up tables in the lobby. One is First Care, a Christian crisis pregnancy center. If you know of them you know the good work that they do, and you should stop by and encourage them. If you are unfamiliar with their work, stop by and learn more. They are on the front lines of the battle to see that life is treated as sacred and belonging to God. Ask them what you can do, and don’t assume it might begin OR end with your checkbook. They might need your time, they might need you to mentor a young lady going through the most challenging time of her life as she tries to imagine how she will make it as a single mom. They may point you towards foster care or even adoption. They might need help with their web site or a fresh coat of paint in the office. I don’t know all the ways you can help, but I know it will be a blessing to you and pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God.
And we have invited Passion for Purity to be here as well, a ministry that works with children in El Salvador to both teach them the Gospel and to help them develop life skills that will hopefully break the endless cycle of poverty they live in. I am just as thrilled to see Passion for Purity here on Sanctity of Life Sunday as I am to see First Care because that cycle of poverty is one of the biggest sanctity of life issue facing us.
In the time it has taken me to preach this message, approximately 500 children worldwide have died from totally preventable diseases, the most common being diarrhea, and almost all of those cases being brought about by lack of access to clean water.
Is the unnecessary death of 500 children in the last 30 minutes a sanctity of life issue? I think it is. Which makes the poverty that leads to lack of clean water and adequate nutrition and access to basic medical care a sanctity of life issue.
And that is why I see Passion for Purity and their efforts to educate children and help lift them out of poverty to be every bit as much of a front line battle for sanctity of life as the work being done by First Care.
In speaking with Wanda Kirby, who is the stateside “rep” for Passion for Purity, she mentioned so many things that people can do here to help end the cycle of poverty in El Salvador. You can tutor kids over Skype, in math, in English. You can buy the scarves and jewelry the kids make. You can pray for the ministry. Go to the blog and follow the stories Noami posts. Be prepared to rejoice and be prepared to weep. The idea is not to give handouts, but to help them gain skills that will allow them to work and earn at least a sustainable living. Tell Wanda what your skill set is and see if they can use you in some way.
I know most of you are already somewhat familiar with these ministries. But they are here in person today because I understand how easy it is to slip into the “be warm and be filled” mode that James warns of, offering kind words but not acting.
Don’t let that happen. Ask what it will mean to be a part, what the needs are, what the opportunities are. Dream big. Work hard. James says our life is so very short to begin with. Make it count. Let’s go out with a bang!
Let me end with a quote from CS Lewis:
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
C.S. Lewis
What James has to say to us today about Christianity, about pure and undefiled religion, is either false and of no importance, or true and of infinite importance, but in no case can it be dismissed it as only moderately important.
Follow us.