//James 1:26-27 | Andrew Lundy

To be religious means a lot of different things in today’s world. Some people see it as being good more than you’re bad, superstition, or being legalistic. This past Sunday we learned it’s our system of organized belief centered on worshipping God, driven by relationship with Him. Pastor Andrew talked about three characteristics of a pure religion. The first is sincerity. The world craves people who are authentic and honest, not people who are trying to hide their brokenness. Covering up your flaws may seem useful (at least to ourselves), but is actually useless. Religion needs charity, or love. God’s love for us and our love for others are intertwined; God’s love should produce love IN us and FROM us, toward the broken and oppressed, the widows and orphans. There should also be purity in our religion. Jesus makes us clean by His own blood; we can maintain this cleanness by confessing our sin and keeping ourselves unspotted by the world.