Our sermon, Texas Lord's Day, is James chapter one, verse 26, and we'll be reading through the ninth verse of the second chapter, James chapter 126 through 29. This is God's inspired, holy, inerrant word. If anyone thinks he's religious and he doesn't 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, to keep oneself unstained from the world. My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing, and you say, sit here in a good place, and you say to the poor man, you stand over there, you sit down on my feet, have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith? heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him. But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, the ones who drag you into court? Are not they the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? So if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. Father, we thank you that your Word reveals to us what true religion is. The world around us has their own foolish designs, their own foolish devices. But Father, help us to be those who come before your Word this morning ready to learn what it means to truly practice the religion that you call us to do as your people, so that you would receive glory and honor. We thank you for the Holy Spirit who wrote these words, the one who indwells our hearts. We pray that he would be our good teacher. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Please be seated. Many of you are probably aware that when Martin Luther, the great reformer, came to the epistle of James, he really struggled to accept the epistle as part of scripture. It seemed to go against his signature doctrine, of course, and that is justification by faith alone. And he didn't know how to reconcile James 2.17 Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. And especially, verse 24, you see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And so many of you probably have heard this. Martin Luther at once said that this epistle of James is an epistle that's just made out of straw. But in fairness to Luther, I have to tell you, he did reach the right conclusion as a Holy Spirit-led member of God's kingdom that indeed, even though he didn't have it all figured out, the book of James actually did belong in scripture. Well, I bring that up to you because it's worth noting that there's another quote of Martin Luther about James that we're probably not as familiar with. But as Martin Luther was commenting on this portion of James, he said this, quote, a religion that gives nothing, A religion that costs nothing, a religion that suffers nothing, is worth Nothing. And I think Martin Luther has summarized for us then everything that we want to say this Lord's Day. Ours is not an easy religion. It is a costly religion, but it is the one true religion. Well, as we consider then the Holy Spirit-inspired words of James this morning, we want to note the source of that true religion, the elements of that true religion, and the basis of that true religion. And we will also contrast that true religion with an example that James gives us of false religion in practice. That is, at the time of his writing, he had to admonish the people of God not to show partiality to the rich over the poor. Well, as we begin, I'm going to start with the basic fundamental truth that we all, of course, would readily acknowledge in this room. Sadly, the world around us would not do so. And that is there's only one true religion in the world. And this religion is not developed by man. And there are so many of those in our day, are there not? God made man to worship him. God made man to glorify him. So God is the ultimate source, the only source, the only proper way to turn to discover the true religion in the world. And James more specifically identifies true religion as that which comes from the first person of the Godhead. Note with me verse 27, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this. And of course, throughout Scripture, we know that God the Father is often identified as the divine source of all things, and James has already done that for us. In James chapter 1, verse 17, it's been a while, but a few weeks ago we considered this truth, every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. We said the Father, the lights that are referenced there, we're talking about God's creation, sun, moon, stars. So God, of course, is the source of creation, and no surprise then, he's also the source of true religion, God the Father. But we also said that God the Father was not just the creator, he was the one who also is the source for our new birth. Verse 18, of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth. It was God the Father who elected us to be his people and to bring us forth and cause us to be born again and cause us to accept the word of truth, which we identified as the gospel of Jesus. And so we recognize then that God the Father is not only the source of religion, but he's also the only creator, and he is the re-creator of his people. And why do we emphasize that? Well, we emphasize that because since God made you, and since God graciously re-created you when you were dead in your trespasses and sin, as God's people now, you are called upon to, as his children, to practice only is true religion. And it is interesting, James does not invoke the names of Jesus or the Holy Spirit in verses 17 or 18 or 27. But we recognize, of course, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit always work in concert with one another in all of their actions. And we learn from scripture that somewhat mysterious truth for us, that is, although the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equal in power and in glory, the Son and the Holy Spirit do perform subordinate roles to the Father. And we recognize then that all three were present at creation, and that is absolutely true. But let me also emphasize that even though the Father is the one who chose us before the foundation of the world, it was the Holy Spirit who applied to us the redemption accomplished on the cross as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit brought about our salvation particularly even our regeneration. So it's perfectly proper for us then to say that the source of our true religion, the true religion emphasized by James in our text, is our triune God. Our religion is the religion of three, all three members of the Godhead. And I trust that you recognize, brothers and sisters, sometimes you may have Jehovah's Witness come to your door and try to convince you otherwise, that you are indeed practicing blasphemy to say that there is more than one person in the Godhead. And I don't know if any of you traverse the 57 Freeway as often as I do. I don't know if you've noticed a sign, but I also, I looked it up, of course, in the day and age we live, Google. I assumed that Jehovah Witnesses were the source behind it. Apparently not, but there's a group out there that doesn't just have this sign up, but apparently it's out nationwide, and here's what it says. In big, bold letters, are you committing idolatry? Sounds intriguing, right? And right below it, it says, scripture says God is one. So far, so good. The next point, he's not three in one. But you know what? Yes, he is. And I pray that those who drive by that sign and any other sign are not deceived by that. And we need to be praying for those that are so deceived as well. Because we worship and we practice the one true religion in the world, the religion that says and acknowledges there are three persons in the Godhead. It's interesting to note, as well, when James talks about our true religion in verse 27, he uses two adjectives that are pretty synonymous. Religion that we practice is pure, and it's undefiled. Pure, of course, states things positively. There is nothing impure. It is a wholly, morally right position. Undefiled, speaking negatively, there's nothing wicked or sinful about the religion that our God establishes. And why is that? It's because our God is holy. He's pure. And He also is undefiled. Our pure and undefiled God has given us a pure and undefiled religion. And as a source of our true religion, it is in the presence then of the triune God that we fulfill our religious duty. as we worship him and as we serve him. Notice verse 27, religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this. So we must put into practice his true religion as he observes us in worship and then as we serve him throughout the week. The one before whom we practice this true religion is indeed our triune God. And this teaching of James is reflected in the Psalm of David as well. And in Psalm 24, we didn't turn to it earlier, but you're familiar probably with these words in verses three and four. Who is it? that ascends to the hill of God, who will stand in his holy presence, the one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false. He doesn't swear. deceitfully, words and actions reflect that we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, been made new by the Holy Spirit as God, the Father throughout eternity planned for us. So very clearly, no surprise, the source of true religion, the triune God, the holy, pure God, the one before whom we exercise our religious duty. And then as we consider, then, the elements of true religion, let me say, James may not be fully exhaustive at this point. He does give us the important elements of worship. We could turn to other portions of scripture, perhaps, and see other elements. And let me also say this. I know many in our day rebel against the word religion. Have you ever heard anybody say, I'm not religious, I just hate that term? It's in the Bible, it's right here, but let me tell you as well, some of you may remember that we considered verse 26 when we talked about the tongue earlier, and we said the word religion there really does have as its root the idea of rituals or practicing ceremonies. And so we can read two other times in scripture when that word shows up. We also see it in other non-scriptural contexts where it does reference the outward rituals, the outward practice. And I understand why people rebel because sometimes we think of religious people and we think of religion as cold-hearted folk just going through the motions, just doing the rituals every week. on the Lord's day and then not having it affect their lives. Of course, James is condemning that, and we'll consider that in a few minutes. Jesus, of course, condemned that. How often did he tell the religious leaders of their day how hypocritical they were to go through all the right motions in worship and yet not let it affect their lives? The prophets of old so often confronted the people of Israel. We saw that in Isaiah chapter 1 earlier. But I do want to emphasize this. The first true element of religion is performing God's ordained religious rituals, performing God's ordained religious rituals. This is an important part of God's established religion. And it was certainly proper for the people of Israel to bring their sacrifices. It was certainly necessary for them to circumcise their eight-day-old. It certainly was appropriate for them to observe all the feast days that God mentioned in reference to them, as long as they did it with pure hearts. And as long as a result of that, they lived in obedience to God's law before him. And God does still call his people to religious worship services each Lord's Day. That's why we're here. the highlight of our week, hopefully, right? That's why we were baptized. He calls us who repent to be baptized in the name of the triune God. That's why we feast each Lord's Day at this table. That's why we ought to listen faithfully to the reading and the preaching of his word each Lord's Day, to bring our tithes and offerings cheerfully, to pray with and for one another as we're led in worship. Yet all of these religious practices, rituals if you were, are in vain. if they're not done wholeheartedly, and if they're not accompanied by a lifestyle of religious devotion to God. And that's the emphasis of the rest of chapter one and then the beginning of chapter two as well. So let's take a brief reminder, for those of you who weren't with us a few Lord's days ago, what we already said in chapter one, verse 26. Hearts are deceived, James tells us, if we have unbridled tongues. Uttering godly speech really is a necessary worship or element of our triune of our proper worship of our triune God and practicing the religion of our triune God and very strongly James says our Worship is our religion is worthless and that word for worthless. We said has as its root idolatrous We're no better off Proclaiming that we love Jesus, if we don't have a lifestyle that demonstrates it in the way we speak, then those who practice idolatry is what James tells us. It's a false religion if we talk in a non-godly, unrighteous manner on an ongoing basis. James is gonna come back to this later in chapter three, verses one through 12, as will we as well. But along with godly speech must come a godly interaction with others. Particularly, James emphasizes those who face heartaches, those who are alone, those who are unable to care for themselves, those who are hopeless and helpless. He specifies them as orphans and widows in our text, the afflicted ones. Remember, in those days, there were no government handouts, no social welfare program. In those days, no father, no husband meant the rest of the family had to step up. And James is saying, as members of the household of God, that's our responsibility as well to care for the afflicted. And that word visit, you know, you immediately think of visit, you think, well, I went to their house and I spent 15 minutes with them and then I left. The word visit in Greek has a lot stronger connotation. The idea is you do whatever you have to to take care of their need. Remember Mary said, the Lord has visited me. That is, God gave me the great desire of my heart. He took care of all of my needs, obviously, in a special way with the birth of Jesus. But the idea of visiting the Bible, what we need to see is not just a one time, spend 15 minutes and we're done. We need a lifestyle of caring for the afflicted. That's true religion. That's what James is telling us. John Calvin summarized this idea of caring for the widows and the orphans and the poor In this way, he used three adjectives and I think they're wonderful for us. Three verbs, rather. I'm sorry, three nouns. Self-denial, mercy, and benevolence. We need to be those who live a life of self-denial and mercy and benevolence when it comes to those who are afflicted. Christian charity does need to be on display. And all of chapter two is gonna emphasize that, but notice with me just verse eight. If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, and then he quotes what we read in Leviticus 19.18 earlier, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Then you're doing well. In the context of Leviticus 19 was taking care of those afflicted, not being unjust to the poor. That's a frequent theme of the Old Testament. And I know we read three passages, or four passages. We barely touched the surface of so many others that we could have turned to. Let me just remind you, in Deuteronomy 24, 19 through 21, we were told that they had to leave the Israelites excess grain, olives, grapes on their land so that the poor and the afflicted could glean them. In Deuteronomy 20, 17, 19, it was such a strong statement. Curses were placed upon people who committed idolatry and adultery. But that curse came upon all the people, and Israel gathered together at Mount Ebal, pronounced that curse, saying, our God anticipates that we will be those who don't pervert justice. We are the ones who will take care of the sojourners, the fatherless. and the widow. And it's interesting, the Old Testament word for orphan almost always is fatherless. God the father cares for those who have no earthly fathers here on earth. Well, God in his loving kindness to his people tells us, ultimately, when we practice that religion, when we take care of the afflicted, we are reflecting who he is. Notice with me again what we read earlier. in chapter 10, verses 17 through 19. For the Lord, that is Jehovah, your covenant God, he's the God of gods, the Lord of lords. He's the only one true God. He's the great, he's the mighty, he's the awesome God, and he is not partial. He doesn't take bribes. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow. He loves the sojourner. He gives them food and clothing. And so the conclusion is then you need to do the same thing. Let the sojourner, therefore, be taken care of for you or sojourners in the land of Egypt. And we did not read Psalm 68 verse five, but let me just read it for you now. God says, the psalmist says, he's the father of the fatherless, he's the protector of widows, our God in his holy habitation. And yet, as we read in Isaiah 1, 12 through 17, as Jehovah looked down from his holy habitation of the people of Isaiah's day, he saw that the widows were being oppressed. He saw injustice being done to the fatherless. True religion was not being practiced. Yeah, the people were still making their sacrifices. They were offering prayers. observing new moons and Sabbaths, but God cries out in verse 13, I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. It doesn't work. Religious ceremonies without religious practice are abominable in my sight. So what's the solution? Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Correct oppression. Bring justice to the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause. Repent of your sins. Have clean hands, pure hearts. And beloved, that's who we are in Christ. And so it ought to be true that, yes, we practice the rituals. but we don't practice the rituals unless they're heartfelt on our end, and then we go forth and we practice true religion. And let me just remind you what the psalmist said is still true. Our triune God is still in his holy tabitation, and he is still looking upon the religious practices of his people today. He's watching our worship service even now. And He knows, of course, what no pastor, what no elder, no other fellow worshiper could ever know. He knows our hearts. So let me ask you this. Are you just going through the motions, the rituals this Lord's Day? Are you coming together with a heartfelt desire to worship the true triune God and then to go forth and live for Him? When God observes you from heaven this week, Will he find you, and let me give you an extreme example, because I just don't think it's true for us as God's people in this room, will he find you exploiting the poor in shady business dealings? By God's grace, I don't anticipate we're gonna do that. But I think it's significant for me to remind you, brothers, that our holy religion calls us in Christian charity to live, again, in Calvin's words, live lives of self-denial, life of mercy, life of benevolence to others, And I don't think there's an orphan in our congregation this Lord's Day, there are widows. And you may know some that are afflicted outside of our congregation. You may need to look further for others. But it is part of your Christian duty to visit, that is, do what you can to help the afflicted. And let me broaden things a little bit here, because I think it's important for us to expand on this. The sick count here, when one of us is sick and others help one another when we need meals, that's the kind of thing that we're talking about. If we know of people that are economically distraught, emotionally distressed, weak in body, weak in spirit, emotionally, finances, needing help, those are ways that we demonstrate that we care for the afflicted. Let me also address some of you. Some of you at the stage in life where you are the afflicted and you need help from others. And it's good for you to get that help from others. As I think of some of you here, and I'm not looking at anybody in particular, but I think of some of you who've spent life longs of sacrifice for others and for the good of God's kingdom. It is our joy, it is our privilege, it is our responsibility to help you in your affliction. Please rejoice in that and please be accepting of that, all because that's what our God in heaven wants us to do. That's who our God in heaven is. And let me also remind you, God tells the people of Old Testament times, you need to do this because you were a sojourner in Egypt. You used to be in bondage to slavery to sin. All of us used to be in bondage in slavery to sin. We were spiritual orphans, if you will. And our loving heavenly father has adopted us as his sons and daughters. We're not widows. We're members of his holy bride. the bride of Christ. And so we ought to demonstrate the self-sacrifice, the self-denial, the benevolence, the mercy of Jesus to one another as we practice the true religion of caring for the afflicted. Well, verse 27 gives us one more element of true worship. Not just the rituals, not just the speech, not just the caring for others. But notice verse 27 ends with this. True religion means you keep yourself, oneself, unstained from the world. Christian piety, personal sanctification is just as important as Christian charity. It must be true that we're going to be in the world but not of it, as we so often say. We are to live holy lives. Being unstained from the world, interesting, too. Of course, the world there doesn't mean the Earth itself, but rather the system of order that goes contrary to the heavenly order. I love that definition of worldliness. And that is the system of order that is contrary to the heavenly order. That's what worldliness is. And James is going to have so much more to say about this after he addresses charity in chapter 2, after he addresses the use of the tongue in the first part of chapter 3. 3.13-5.6, a big part of this whole epistle focuses in not being like the world around us. But if you want a summary verse for that whole section, we can look at that this Lord's Day. Notice chapter 4, verse 4. 4.4 says this, you adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. We must be those who are unstained from the world. And it'll be a while before we get to that portion of God's word, but let's just be reminded until then, it is part of our responsibility as we practice true religion to demonstrate Christian piety as well. We could stop there, and that would have been a 25 minute sermon, but you know me better than that, right? That's where the chapter division is. But it's interesting, as we all know, chapter divisions are not part of the original divine-inspired word. And I would tell you that I really believe that as we look at the next three verses of chapter two, we're going to see not only the most important element of our religion, the basis of the Christian religion, but then we're also going to see false religion on display. But what is the center, what is the great central element of the Christian religion holding the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory? We're coming back to that in a minute, but let's consider the rest of verses one, two, and three as we consider this false religion that's on display. And the reason I want you to see that is because I really think what happens with this false religion on display is an example of the exact opposite of what we learn true religion is all about in chapter 1, verses 26 and 27. Pastor James, as he does throughout the epistle, when he wants to get his readers' attention, when he wants them to know he is being pastoral at this point, expresses his great concern when he says, my brothers. Brothers and sisters in Jesus, you need to listen to what I'm about to tell you. And here it is. Do not show any partiality. in your faith in the Lord Jesus. It's so important. He reiterates it in verse 9. If you show partiality, you're committing sin. I mean, that's pretty straightforward, right? If you show favoritism, if you practice partiality, it's sinful. And you're convicted by the law of God as transgressors. And it's right in verse 8 that he said, from Leviticus 19, Love your neighbor. Demonstrate that by the way you treat them. But if you show partiality, you're not loving your neighbor. You are not keeping God's law. Some of you for the word partiality may have showing favoritism. The Greek word is really interesting. It literally means to receive a face. To receive a face. Now that's kind of odd. But it means basically you're making a judgment based solely on outward appearance. You see someone and you say, ah-ha. I've formed all my opinions about you and I've determined who you are already. And as James describes then the folly or the wickedness of favoritism, he mentions three things that stand in direct opposition to the true religion of God's people as listed for us in chapter one, verses 26 and 27. And that's the reason we want to consider these verses this morning, even though they're not in chapter one. To judge someone solely by their outward appearance is to be stained by the world. And we've been told not to be stained by the Lord. Do you remember what our Lord told Samuel? Samuel was commissioned to find a replacement for Saul, and he has Jesse's sons coming up to him, and Eliab apparently happens to be a pretty tall guy, and he thinks, He's tall, he's good-looking, he's the one. And what does God say to Samuel? Man looks on the outward appearance, the Lord looks on the heart. And David, of course, was the man after God's own heart, the one that God had determined would be his king, not based on physical appearance. We make decisions based on physical appearance, whether it's racial prejudice, discrimination of any kind, based on how one looks, apart from God's true religion. Whether it's partiality to the rich or to the poor, that really is practicing a false religion. And that's the principle. But James doesn't want us to miss it. And it's very possible that what he does next is a scenario that has been going on in some of the churches that have been spread out throughout the Roman Empire. And he's heard about this. And so James, in chapter 2, verses 2 and 4, gives us this very practical situation. He says, that first man that comes in, and he doesn't even say he's a rich man. You know why? He doesn't have to. You can tell by the way he dresses. He's got a gold ring on, and he's got that fine apparel. The word there is shiny apparel. It's the same word that's used in the Bible for angels and for those in heaven. So really, this guy's looking great. I guess to put it in modern terms, he's got a Rolex watch on and he's wearing an Armani suit. And who comes next? A poor man dressed in shabby clothes. And that's the same word that James used to describe our moral filthiness in verse 21 that we're supposed to get rid of. Our sin is seen as shabby. Well, this man is dressed in dirty clothes. I mean, let's just get the scenario here. A rich man comes with a Rolex watch and an Armani suit. And then next up comes a homeless man with his little shopping cart. and his smelly clothes, and he stinks too. And Kenton now is the usher next week. Has these two guys come in? There it is. We should not, and I know Kenton would never do this, we should not pay attention to the one who wears the fine cloning and say, you sit here in a good place, and then you say to the poor man, you stand over there, or you sit down on my feet. that we're to pay attention, pay attention with favor. It's not just, you know, I'm gonna talk to you, but I'm gonna give you special treatment. And I'm interested in this, especially in our church, what the prime seat would be, you know, if this guy came in. Now Kenton, you know, the whole front pew would be available for him. That doesn't seem to be a prime seat for us. Some of us think the prime seats are further back. Whatever, the prime seat was offered to this guy that came in with the Rolex watch and the Armani suit. What happens to the homeless guy? Literally the phrase is, tell him to sit under my footstool. Sit on the floor, or if you must, stand in the back. That's the mindset. That's the attitude. So what's going on here? Clearly, it's the exact opposite of what our Old Testament passages are telling us. Instead of caring for the afflicted, they're caring for the affluent. Now, of course, this is not telling us to be mean to rich people, but caring for the affluent instead of the afflicted is turning what we've learned from scripture on It's in its head. It's interesting, God says, who sits at his footstool? His enemies, right? And so that imagery might also have what James has in mind. The poor, the afflicted, should not be seen as our mere servants who sit at our feet or as our enemies. Remember, the church is supposed to be a family, not a club. And I don't know if you know this, but even in our country, historic tradition was that rich people in colonial America paid for their pews or boxes in church, and there was actually a sign in the back that says standing, for standing for those who couldn't afford a pew. Aren't you glad we don't do that? We'll never, never do that anymore. But we need to make sure, too, though, that we are not being those who look only at faces and receive faces without receiving entire human beings. Notice also the third thing, of course, we were told is to bridle our tongues and not deceive our hearts. Well, these tongues aren't being unbridled. They're not uttering godly speech. They're uttering ungodly speech, flattering the rich, belittling, demeaning the poor. We'll have more to say about the folly of favoritism and the sin of partiality next week, how to treat the rich, how to treat the poor. Verses 4 through 13 need much more further explanation. But I want us to end now, as we do each Lord's Day at some point. Here's the most important truth of the Christian religion. The whole basis of our religion is our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is that relationship which will prompt us to perform God's ordained rituals with all of our hearts. It's our relationship with Jesus. that will affect the way we utter godly speech. It's our relationship with Jesus that will keep us unstained from the world and to have a godly, caring relationship with the afflicted. And twice only in his entire book, 104 verses, only twice does James invoke the name Jesus. We have one of those few times here. Both times he doesn't just say it's Jesus, his given name, but he gives him that dual title of Lord, emphasizing his Godhead, emphasizing he is indeed divine. and also Christ, the anointed one, Messiah. He uses that combination in the very beginning of the book when he reminds us and identifies himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. And now he appeals to his brothers and he says to his brothers, hold on to the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We might say it this way, keep the faith. Those who profess the true religion possess a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that's ongoing. We're holding on. It's not something that we say, well, once in the past I trusted in Christ upon my conversion to save me from my sin. No, we take seriously that our faith is an ongoing faith and we take seriously God's James call to hold on to that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter uses similar words when he ends his epistle. Remember how he ends it? grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And as we do so, we're reminded that James also identifies our Savior, interestingly enough, not just as the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice he also says he is the Lord of glory. Literally, it could be translated, the Lord who is glory, glory is the Lord. Think of the Old Testament, Shekinah glory, emphasizing God's presence and his care for his people throughout the world. the times when they were wandering the wilderness above the Ark of the Covenant. And our New Testament reading really reinforced that for us. Listen to 2 Corinthians 4 again. Satan, the god of this world, has blinded unbelievers from seeing, here's the word, the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. But Christ and his glory is the image of God. Praise God, our eyes have been opened. Verse 6 tells us in 2 Corinthians 4, that light has shone forth in the darkness of our hearts and it's given us of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the glory of God, and we acknowledge that to be true for us as well on an ongoing basis. Our faith is in the glorious one, the fully revealed eternal Son of God. So why wouldn't we follow his true religion? He's the one with whom we have an ongoing, growing personal relationship. Let me remind you finally, my brothers and sisters as well, Jesus became poor. He became afflicted for us. And we now need to care for others who are poor and afflicted. Your glorious Savior gave up all of heaven's glory to die for you. As we read earlier, he became sin for us who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. gladly proclaim our hands are clean, our hearts are pure because we've been dressed in the righteousness of Jesus, then should go forth and live like those who have seen the glory of God in the face of our Savior. Remember, you do know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for our sake he became poor, so that you, by his poverty, might become rich. And John tells us the same thing in his great prologue, The Word became flesh and had His glory among us. We beheld His glory, the glories of the Father, full of grace and truth. So this week, go forth, continue in your life of faith as you practice then the true religion of your Heavenly Father, of His blessed Holy Spirit, and of your Lord Jesus Christ, your Lord of glory. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, we do begin as we must do, and that is marvel at your love for us as sinners. We were blinded by Satan, the God of this world, until you revealed to us through your blessed spirit the glorious face of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. So with eyes of faith, would you help us then to live the true religion, practice true ongoing faith in Jesus, never coming each Lord's Day just to go through the motions, Never wishing to speak or to act like the world around us, but rather to demonstrate that the love of Jesus abounds in our hearts because we demonstrate our love for those who are afflicted. Father, if we are among those afflicted, would you be especially a God of comfort? Would you use your people to help us, to bless us? And Father, we desire these things so that you would be honored and glorified in our lives. And we do pray in Jesus' name, amen.