- 8/22/2007 11:41:07 PMWhat does James 1:27 Really Say?In recent weeks, it has come to my attention that some people who know my family and I are in critical disagreement with us regarding the adoption as it pertains to the church. I have been told that this is a personal and private matter for my family and it was wrong for me to involve my home church or for them to be involved in this. In particular, I am being accused of:
1. misinterpreting scripture (James 1:27) and
2. by making a presentation to the church, showing a video featuring Yuri and other orphans and praying at the pulpit I have used emotional black mail, coercion and guilt to motivate people into giving their time and resources.
Both of these have caused a communication wall to be developed and some distance created. Although I don't know who these people are, I would like to take this opportunity to state very clearly my position regarding James 1:27 and what I believe the church's responsibility is towards orphans and widows is.
It is not my goal to ram my agenda down the throat of anyone but rather as I become more aware of what God's will is - both for my life and the church body, it is my responsibility as a church elder to identify and state very clearly and bring to light what scriptures are saying on a particular issue. In short, it is my duty to hold fast to God's word not with "the grip of death" but rather a grip of life.
Before we take a closer look at this passage of scripture, it is important to take a look at the surrounding scripture and the context in which it was given. James is fairly aggressive and very upfront of with the point he is trying to make. This particular passage of scripture comes wrapped in a section entitled "Listening and Doing". Some of the controversy comes from the wording the various versions available today. In particular the NIV and King James.
[NIV] Listening and Doing
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27Religion 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.
So the NIV is saying we are to "look after" orphans and widows. Let's examine the King James version of the last verse:
[KJV 1:27]
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to [visit] orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
The question then arises, "what are we to do? Visit or look after?" The implication is that these words have different meanings and that translates into a different response. Are we going to visit grandma in the nursing home or are we going to look after her in our own home? This is the controversial question of our time.
Another Passage
The term that is used here (whether "visit" or "look after") is also referenced in Matthew 25:31-46 in a section entitled, "The Sheep and the Goats". Again, let's look at the passage in context:
[NIV Matthew 25:31-46]
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you [looked after] me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not [look after] me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Let's compare this with the King James Version
[KJV Matthew 25:31-46]
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye [visited] me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye [visited] me not.
44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Yet Another Passage
Before we address the meaning behind "visited" or "look after", lets consider another passage of scripture :
[NIV Luke 10:25-37] The Parable of the Good Samaritan
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
A Closer Look
Jesus is asking the law student some fundamental questions. Namely
- "What do you think the law means?"
- "Who is your neighbor?"
- "What are your responsibilities to your neighbor?"
And also a command:
- "Go and do likewise."
Also notice in the story, the Good Samaritan did not say to the injured man, "I'm on my way to work right now. Stay here and when I get to work, I will contact the property authorities and have them send some assistance for you."
No - rather, the Good Samaritan took initiative and did something about the situation. This implies that there is a responsibility on our behalf to do something, to show mercy and take action. Not stand on the sidelines and be an observer.
Back to the original question
Let's get back to James and the definition of "visit" and "look after". Does anything in the above passages imply that my only responsibility is to swing by the orphanage on my way home from work, stop in and ask, "how is it going?" I don't believe so.
Matthew says:
- I was a stranger, and you took me in
- I was naked, and you gave me clothes
- I was sick, and you cared for me
- I was in prison, and you came to me - in the prison
You would never call yourself hospitable, if you saw someone new and did not say "hello". You would never call yourself compassionate and yet refuse to provide cloths to someone who had none. You would never go to a sick friend and say, "It looks like you collapsed on the floor and puked all over yourself.. Gotta run - bye!" You would never say to a friend, "I'd like to visit with you but I don't do prisons". Doing these things is the exact opposite of Christ like behavior.
Commentary
Intervarsity Press says in regards to James 1:
In this first chapter of the biblical text we have found the thrust of James's entire letter: calling upon Christians to live with moral urgency, serious holiness and unconditional obedience to the word of God. By putting the two halves of the chapter together we also establish the context for the moral earnestness of the entire letter: complete confidence in and reliance upon the grace of God. James is so earnest for moral purity in 1:19-27 because of the theology he has taught in 1:1-18.
The instruction to look after orphans and widows in their distress can be examined in three parts.
First, the verb "to look after" (episkeptomai) is a compound verb in which the prepositional prefix epi- places an emphasis on the act of looking. The basic act "to look" becomes intensified for a possible meaning of "looking at observantly" or "examining," though this meaning would not fit the present context. It is used elsewhere to express the awe with which one describes a visitation from God himself (Lk 1:68, 78; 7:16). In the context of James's instruction, the verb would carry the connotation of giving active care or help.
Here, then, it is proper to translate this verb not merely as "visit" (KJV, RSV, NASB) but as "look after" (NIV). It is the same verb used by Matthew in Jesus' warning about the future separation of people for blessing and cursing. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, some will be welcomed into blessing because "I was sick and you looked after me," while others will be sent into the eternal fire because "I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me" (Mt 25:36, 43).
Second, in specifying "orphans and widows" James is prescribing nothing new or innovative for the church. He is recalling an explicit theme in God's Old Testament revelation of his will, so that there should be no disputing that this is indeed what God accepts as pure and faultless religion. Psalm 146:7-9 describes God's commitment to care for the needy such as the fatherless and widows. Jeremiah 7:1-8 warns against placing trust in the presence of the temple while oppressing the fatherless and widows--an example of religion that is "deceptive" and "worthless."
Third, "in their distress" refers literally to a pressing or a pressure, or figuratively to an affliction or oppression. In keeping with the Jeremiah passage, James has regard for the powerlessness of these people, their inability to protect or care for themselves.
Altogether this is a biblical view, not just James's own thinking. Scripture says that God is committed to caring for the powerless and defenseless, including the poor, the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Since the needs of such people are on God's heart, he expects that same heart to be in us. Further, Jesus himself so identified himself with needy, oppressed people that when we care for one of his people in need, we do it unto him. Any practice of Christianity that does not exhibit this concern in action is deceptive (it misrepresents the truth about God's own heart) and worthless (it is of no value before God). We have to conclude, then, that this first example of pure and faultless religion is a matter of serious obedience required of the church.
Read the full summary here.
Conclusion
I could have made this entry much shorter by asking the following questions:
What do you think the scripture is saying?
What do you think the church should be doing?
More specifically, what do you feel your responsibilities in the church are?
And more critically, Are you doing them?
Do you feel it is your responsibility to comment on the way others serve while you only take? Is there some evidence about you that says otherwise?
James 2:14-17 says:
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
This is what James is saying: Your faith and your works go hand in hand and the presence of each is evidence of the other.
But perhaps your still saying something like, "I still think this is a private matter and not a church matter."
How would you respond if James himself came to you and said, "don't just stand there - do something!" How would you respond if the Lord himself were standing over you watching you reason out whether or not to respond to a person in need? Well my friend, the Lord is watching and your actions will be duely noted.
The Jews thought of themselves as holy people, entitled to their privileges by right while they were unthankful, rebellious and unrighteous. All of us who act like this regardless of our age or position must be reminded that God judges according to your real character, your own thoughts. In every sin, there is contempt for the goodness of God. All of our sin, though there are many branches, share the same root. Are your motives for opposing the church's involvement in this adoption pure? Have you thoroughly examined the scriptures and sought God's will on the issue? Consider these questions very carefully and prayerfully.
