Unstained

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
James 1:27 ESV

Almost every Christian knows this verse, or has heard it at some point in thier lives. This verse should be a reminder to us of the calling God has placed in every Christians heart. When your heart is tugged on when you see the homeless. When your heart breaks at the sight of a funeral precession. These are normal feelings. Because God has placed the undefiled presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Over time we train ourselves to become blind to what is around us. We train our heart strings not to tug on us as much depending where in the city we are.

The problem is not necessarily the widows and the homeless. The problem that we Christians have is being unstained from the world. This is one of those verses we will preach and preach the first half but we need to stay away from the second half. Not many pulpits today preach on being Holy. I Peter 1:6 ESV for I am Holy, Ye be Holy. Because when we do that we might hurt someone’s feelings. We can’t step on toes when it comes to mingling with the world. Oh but Jesus hung out with the sinners and drunkards right? Yes he did but we are not Jesus!

Jesus walked into a bar and he brought the kingdom of God in with Him. Jesus walked into a parlor and He changed people’s hearts. Can Jesus do that through you, yes He can if you are Holy. The problem doesn’t lye with Jesus the problem is us. We are stained. We can walk into a bar by the power of the Holy Spirit and with in 10 minutes what makes us different from anyone in there?

The problem is we are taken from the world and grafted into a new tree (Romans 4). We don’t realize that being in a new tree means we must be new. I believe we don’t grasp the concept of newness. We struggle so hard with being in a new place acting new and being around new people. Oh my gosh the stress!! Men we struggle with this more than women. I believe the Jews in thier own way in the time of Paul was struggling with this as well with new gentiles coming into the church. Why do we not get it why do we keep struggling why do we fail why do we crumble at the thought of our past? Failure after failure; because we allow our past to dictate our present.

Shoot God tells us He throws our sins as far as the east is from the west psalm 103:12. So if he removes our sins then why do we still fall into the traps of the world? If we struggle with the things we have done how can I not be stained from the world? I can never be “unstained” I can never be Holy. Your right specially if you are living like the world even in your closet.

Yes God throws are sins as far as the East is from the West. The issue is we don’t. If you had done the disgusting vile horrific things I have they would haunt you as they do me. So, it is easy to fall back into the shame the sadness of life because that is where we think we deserve to be, it is who we believe we are. We say God made me new, that He created this new life, but deep down do we believe it?

Unstained means to be Holy to be set apart from the world. We are to look different act different walk different talk different. What separates you from your unsaved friends? Is it that you go to church? Is it that you read your Bible more than them? What separates you from the secular world? Or are you the one secular friend that needs Jesus? How are you different?

True undefiled religion is to be unstained from the world. God pulled you from the pit. He grafted you into His family tree. 1 Cor says that those in Christ are a new creation, the old has passed away look see the new has come. We can be owned and chained to our past. But why would we when Christ has already freed us from those chains? I have a hard time with this myself so I am preaching to me as much as to you. But to be unstained we must truly believe in the word He gave us. That we are new in Christ. That he has washed our sins as white as snow. For nothing can wash away our sins nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Do we believe? Do we truly deep deep down within our souls believe that He made us new and washed us clean. If we do then it is up to us to stay unstained by the world.

How will the authorities know that you are a true follower of Christ?

Many blessings