VALUE RE-BOOT (3 OF 8)
by Craig Smith
Scripture: James 1:27, James 2:13
This content is part of a series.
Value Re-Boot (3 of 8)
Series: Real Religion
Craig Smith
James 1:27, 2:13
Real religion leads us to be the most kind to those who have the least to offer us.
I. Introduction
II. Main Body
A. On chapters, divisions and section headings.
We're going to begin today in 1:27 because, in my opinion, this is actually the first verse in the next section of James. I realize that's not how most Bible's lay it out, but keep in mind that when God inspired the writers of the Bible, he didn't give them verse numbers, chapter breaks or section headings. Those things were added centuries later:
- Stephen Langdon divided the Bible into chapters in 1227
- Robert Stephanus divided the Bible into verses in 1551
- Section headings are added by translators and they vary from translation to translation.
My point is just that chapters, verse numbers and section headings can be helpful ways of organizing the Bible for study, but they're not inspired and sometimes those particular divisions can actually break the text in a way that's not entirely helpful. We always have to give priority to what God actually says, not to how it was divided up later. And in this case, it seems to me that James 1:27 is closely connected to what we find in the first part of chapter 2. I think you'll see what I mean:
B. Setting the Stage
27 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)
What James is doing here is setting the stage to talk about something that he knows is a struggle for his audience and that is the temptation to think and act based on the world's priorities rather than God's priorities. So he begins by drawing our attention to some people that world thinks are value-less but God thinks are valuable: orphans and widows.
James says that real religion, religion that God approves of, pays a lot of attention to orphans ...
Series: Real Religion
Craig Smith
James 1:27, 2:13
Real religion leads us to be the most kind to those who have the least to offer us.
I. Introduction
II. Main Body
A. On chapters, divisions and section headings.
We're going to begin today in 1:27 because, in my opinion, this is actually the first verse in the next section of James. I realize that's not how most Bible's lay it out, but keep in mind that when God inspired the writers of the Bible, he didn't give them verse numbers, chapter breaks or section headings. Those things were added centuries later:
- Stephen Langdon divided the Bible into chapters in 1227
- Robert Stephanus divided the Bible into verses in 1551
- Section headings are added by translators and they vary from translation to translation.
My point is just that chapters, verse numbers and section headings can be helpful ways of organizing the Bible for study, but they're not inspired and sometimes those particular divisions can actually break the text in a way that's not entirely helpful. We always have to give priority to what God actually says, not to how it was divided up later. And in this case, it seems to me that James 1:27 is closely connected to what we find in the first part of chapter 2. I think you'll see what I mean:
B. Setting the Stage
27 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)
What James is doing here is setting the stage to talk about something that he knows is a struggle for his audience and that is the temptation to think and act based on the world's priorities rather than God's priorities. So he begins by drawing our attention to some people that world thinks are value-less but God thinks are valuable: orphans and widows.
James says that real religion, religion that God approves of, pays a lot of attention to orphans ...
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