All right. What a privilege and how unworthy. If you'll turn in your Bibles to James chapter one, we'll be starting in verse 21. James chapter one. Verse 21. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man, beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction. and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Entitled to message tonight, is your religion pure or is it vain? Your religion, is it pure religion or is it vain religion? There is no in between. Your religion, Is it pure religion, what God calls pure? Or is it vain, empty, and worthless, man's religion? Is your religion dependent upon what you do? Or is it all of God's free and sovereign grace in the Lord Jesus Christ?

Do you come to the temple as the Pharisee and pray with yourself. Let's look over in Luke. You know this very well. Luke 18 and verse 10. Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. Or do you come into the temple to pray as the publican? And the publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven. but smoked upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And the Lord tells us, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

If you turn over to Romans 3, we just heard. Romans 3 and verse 20, as we've just heard. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

The Pharisee, just as that publican had heard the word of God, yet it was not mixed with faith, that God-given faith for that Pharisee. He may have had a zeal for God, but it wasn't after knowledge. He was full of pride, self-righteousness. And Christ said in Matthew 15, verse 10, he said, hear and understand, not that which goeth out, I'm sorry, not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man. But that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. So if Christ be in you, if you are born again of God, by the will of God and the power of God, if the Father has chosen you and his Son before the foundation of the world, and Christ has redeemed you with his blood. If he's called you by his gospel preached, quickened you by the Holy Spirit, sanctified in regeneration, given life and faith to believe on his son, by God's effectual calling, by his grace, you're saved. then you will be brought down low as that publican. You will. At Christ's feet, and you'll beat on your chest, and you will pray, God be merciful to me, a sinner. Because that's faith. That's God-given faith. And God said that man went to his house justified. It wasn't because of his faith. It was because of the one who gave him that faith. Because faith is an evidence.

Hebrews 11, one tells us and says, now faith is the substance of things hoped for. And it's the evidence of things not seen. And God only gives that to His elect. Only gives it to His chosen people. So is your religion pure religion or is it vain? Let's see what the scripture says. And there's four things, Lord willing, I'd like to declare. First of all, in verse 21, the first part, Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. God says to lay apart, set this apart from you, filthiness and superfluity, that word means excess, of naughtiness. Put away the filthiness of your self-righteousness and the excess of your sinfulness. Because God looks at the heart. He is not a respecter of persons. And what is in natural fallen man's heart? What makes natural man so totally depraved? It's that filthy, excessive sinfulness. Our sinful nature, our fleshly nature that we're born with, our sin, we are born hating God at enmity with it. It's our nature. It is our natural born hearts. It's in it to hate God, to hate your brethren, the brethren, and to hate all forms of godliness. It's not a natural man to love. He got his own idea of what it is. And we all may be fooled and deceived by it. But he doesn't know how to love. It's not in our nature. We are full of pride. And we're full of dead works. We're full of self-righteousness. And there is no good in natural born man. We continually sin in our flesh.

And the second part of this in verse 21, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. Still not talking to the natural man. Because how can a natural sinful man cast off the flesh of his heart? And receive, that word receive with meekness, humility. The engrafted, which is implanted, has to be implanted. That's engrafted word. which is able to save his soul. And you can graft something into something else, it wasn't its nature, it wasn't natural for it to be there, it was engrafted. Man can't put that in his own heart. So what did Christ say? He told his disciples, he told us, with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

And look in verse two, of this same chapter. For if there came unto your assembly a man, oh, am I in the wrong place? Yeah, I'm in the wrong place. All right, in James one, chapter two, or verse two. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect work. That she may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally. And it braideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, not wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Who's James talking to here? He tells us we don't have to guess. He's talking, he says, my brethren, my brethren in Christ. Those are the ones that God gives faith to. God only gives it to his elect. Those are the chosen by God in Christ. If you look over in 2 Corinthians chapter five, 2 Corinthians chapter five and verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's dead be reconciled to God. Quit fighting God. For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. There's how You have the engrafted word put in your heart. That's the only way you can lay aside your filthiness, your superfluity, excessive sinfulness, naughtiness. Only God can make you to differ. Because only God can give life and faith in his son and only God can make a new creation out of something that wasn't there before. He didn't take your flesh and perfect it. He made you a new creature in Christ.

Because God demands perfect holiness and he demands perfect righteousness that we men and women, humans are not born with. It's not in our nature. It's in Christ Jesus. And in him, we are taught of God because he's given us his spirit. He's given us in spirit, in that spirit of God, that Holy Spirit, and instructs us, He convicts us, convinces us of sin, our sin, of righteousness, Christ's righteousness, and of judgment, accomplished in full by Jesus Christ on the cross. And he comforts us with that. That's the comforter. He said, I will send the comforter to you. He sends trials and he refines us. He endures us. Isn't that what we were talking about, what James talking about? He who continues, who hears and continues. Stand fast in that faith that he's given you. In that gospel, he's preached to you because it's Christ Jesus crucified. And in by doing that, he shows us how sufficient his grace is for us. He shows us his love. He preserves us.

And even though we have those two natures now warring in us, the war is in us. There's a lot going on out there. But the war is in us. There's two natures, flesh and spirit. They war in us yet. Christ in you. That hope of glory. That new man he's created in you after his own image. Given his divine nature. He's greater than the world and everything in it that He created for His purpose and for His glory and for your salvation. He's conquered the world. He has given us the ministry of reconciliation. His word is written and grafted in our hearts.

If you turn over to Jeremiah 31, Jeremiah 31, 31. It said, behold, the day come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. What did they say? Give us a law, tell us what you want us to do, and we'll do it. We'll do it. Which my covenant, they break. They couldn't do it. Although I was in husband unto them, saith the Lord.

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts. my word, my gospel, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. Did they have a choice in this? No, he said, I'm gonna be their God, and they're gonna be my people. Didn't say you're gonna choose to be. He said, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they shall know me. From the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Brethren. And there's no male, there's no female, there's no bond, there's no slave in Christ. We're all one. Brethren, brethren, God has borne us again and he gives us everlasting life and faith in Christ Jesus to hear and to believe on his son. The blood of Christ is applied by the Holy Spirit. It's sprinkled on your new heart. It's sprinkled on your conscience. Freeing us from the dead works and self-righteousness to serve the living God. We belong to God. Christ has paid the ransom. He's paid it in full. And he paid it with his own sin atoning blood. And there is no sin in Christ. There is no sin. He never sinned. He's God. Can't sin. He cannot sin. He never sinned. And in Him, we are righteous. In Him, we are holy. It's a new creation in Christ. No sin. He is your righteousness. And he is your holiness. You're righteous because he's righteous. You're holy because he's holy. And you can never be anymore. Sanctification is not something you do or work on. He's sanctified in him. You're perfect in him. That new man in Christ. We are pure and perfect in Him. We are not of this world. And He has made us one with Christ. He's reconciled us to Himself in Christ. Be reconciled to God. Quit fighting God.

And secondly, let's look in verse 22 of James. But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Be ye doers of the word. Now we know it's not by our works. We know that. That's not what he's saying is. He wouldn't contradict himself. He's not gonna, he can't lie. But he tells us, he commands us, be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.

Brethren, we know because the Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God. We know that by faith that he's given us made new creatures in Christ Jesus. Christ has revealed in you the hope of glory. And we know that the flesh cannot please God, but we're in the spirit. Yet sinners still. It's two natures.

Now let's go to Romans 8, which was already read to us wonderfully. Let's go to Romans 8. This has already been told. Let's hear it again. Romans 8, verse 10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead. That old man that is dead because of sin. But the spirit, that new, new man, is life because of righteousness.

But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if we live after the flesh, you shall die. But if you live through the Spirit, if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. He predestinated us to be the children of God in Christ Jesus, and we're made joint heirs. One, we're made one with Christ, our mediator, our substitute, Our surety, our representative head. The firstborn among many brethren.

God chose us in him before the foundation of the world. We are sanctified in Christ Jesus. When Christ Jesus came in the flesh to save us from our sins, we were in him. From eternity. When he obeyed God's law perfectly for us, as he walked as a man on this earth in the flesh, when he brought in a perfect righteousness that we don't have, obedient unto death on the cross, sin of God voluntarily came for the glory, for the glory.

When He became a curse for us, when He suffered, when He bled, and when He died on that cross, our old man was nailed to the cross with Him and we died in Him. He put our sins away. He died that we have life. It's the only way. He is the way. That's why it's called the way. It's the only way.

When he, when he arose again for our justification, we were in him and our life is hid in him and forever we shall be. kept him, then at that appointed time of love, because we didn't know this, at his appointed time of love, and I just cannot get over that, though we outnumber the grains of sand, I mean, I just went to the beach, can you count the grains of sand? Though we be that many, each and every one of us, He has an appointed time of love where He reveals Himself to us in the face of His only begotten precious Son. It's personal. He loves you. He loves you in Christ. He reveals Himself in the face of His only begotten Son

Because He has predestinated you to be conformed to the image of His Son and unto the adoption of children by His Son to Himself. Isn't that beautiful? There's an appointed time of love for you.

Christ came and he finished the work that the father gave him to do. What did he give him to do? He came here and glorified his father. He took the sins away of his people, his elect chosen people, by dying on a cross, shedding his blood for the forgiveness of sins. all to the glory of God and to save each and every one of his elect. That's the reason the world, that's the reason he created it. It's the reason it still exists right now. He tells us don't worry about whatever thing is going on out there, because just like we talked earlier, who's in control of it? That's the truth. That's the truth. He is in sovereign control of everything because he created it all for his glory. And he created it all for the salvation of his elect. That's it. When he's done with it, you're going to burn it. When he gathers all of us, all of his elect together, that last one has that appointed time of love. to be no more use for this world. All he did, we did in him. And we are his workmanship. We're his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works. He's the vine. We're the branches. All we do is hang on, we're grafted in. He put us there. We watch him make fruit. He said, I'll make you fruitful. But it's him that does it. He uses us. He uses everything to his glory and to the saving of his leg. He uses his people. But it's all of grace. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus under good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Walking in the spirit, walking in Christ. He keeps us, he's the faithful one. And it's all of grace. It's all of Christ. He did it all. He did it all. Salvation is God's work. Start to finish, eternity to eternity. For by grace you are saved, through faith, at God-given gift of faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. We glory in Christ Jesus' notorious finished works, that He alone accomplished for us, and we glory in his person and we glory in his work. We don't have anything else to glory in. There is nothing else that deserves any glory or gets any glory.

For we are unprofitable servants doing our duty and we are just doing our reasonable service and he makes us willing and he makes us He gives us that faith that works by love, that faith of Jesus Christ, and we rest in Christ. His yoke is easy, and his burden's light. Look over in John 13, we read there tonight, John 13, 34. John 13, 34. Says a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another. as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. If Christ be in you, and your brother, your sister, and Christ be in you, you're gonna love your brothers and sisters. We may not like the flesh too much, but you're gonna love what's inside your brother and sister, because it's Christ in you, the hope of glory. And we're all in the same boat. We're fellowship as fellows in a ship. We're all in the same boat. We're sinners saved by grace. And that's all we are. It is all we are.

This all believers do in Christ Jesus. We who were born dead in trespasses and sins, but now are born of God, born from above by the will and the power of God. We are made partakers of the divine nature in Christ Jesus. We are affectionately called by God, by the preaching of his word, because that's the means he says he uses to do it. It pleases God to do it that way. And we find ourselves, who once did not believe, believing. Repenting, turning, a change of mind. Not on our own, we can't do it on our own. But God gives us repentance, gives us faith. And we have a change of mind On the remission of sins. We know. Where to look to and who to look to. We know who to look to. For the forgiveness of sins now. The one who put him away. The one who's been exalted. Believing and loving and trusting God in Christ, it's all of grace. All in his son, our Savior.

Let's look at verse 23 in James 1. But whoso looketh into the perfect... Oh, I'm sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is likened to a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Christ Jesus is the power of God unto salvation. When we look, when he calls us to hear his word and we look to his word, we look to Christ. It's like a mirror. He shows you what you are and who you are. The gospel is powerful. And a person can sit here and hear it. He ain't even get excited about it. But then he goes his way. And he forgets. He forgets who he is. And he forgets who Christ is. And he goes his way.

All of God's elect, we also, we look into that mirror, don't we? We look into God's gospel, don't we? We've heard it. And we've looked. It's an effectual calling of God. Only he can make you hear his word and continue in it. That gospel of God, we look at it as sinners. Not with self-righteousness. Not of any works, filthy works that we have of our own. We look at it because God has shown us we're the sinner. He's the one that told us. And God causes us to remember how Christ found us So we didn't go searching for him. He came to seek and save. And he found us in bondage. Dead in trespasses and sins. Totally depraved in our nature by the fall of our first representative, Adam. Polluted in our own blood. And he said live. He's the only one that can raise you from the dead and give you life and faith and make you a new creature in him. He said live.

Now we look by faith because every one of God's elect that he borns again, he gives them faith and eternal life. And we look continually to the object of that faith, which is Jesus Christ. By the grace of God, we look into that perfect law of liberty. The gospel of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ in him crucified.

He who laid down his life for us that we may have eternal life in him for the glory of God. He was delivered for our offenses. He was raised again on the third day according to the scriptures for our justification. He bore the curse of the law for us. He bore all the sins of his elect that God gave him. And he bore the wrath, that wrath of God that we deserved. He bore it all. Yes, Christ bore it all in his own body alone on the cross that God prepared for him.

Sin of God, he with his own blood purged away all the sins of all the elect that God gave him. He, with his one-time sacrifice of himself, he satisfied the holy justice of God. He declared God righteous, the righteous judge, because when he saw sin, when he made him, his son, sin for us, He killed him. The wages of sin is death. We all deserve it. God sent his son to take away the sins of his people. And that's exactly what he did on that cross.

And he had to bear all the wrath of God that we deserved for every sin that we have, that we do, and we ever will commit. Every one of his elect. He bore all that wrath. Because it takes an eternity in hell, and you still don't pay for one sin. He did it. He did it one time. God bore his wrath on him. Killed him. And that blood put away your sins because God was satisfied. The Father was satisfied with his sacrifice for you. That's your substitute.

We have a need for Christ. We have a need for a substitute. It takes one who's perfect. A perfect and spotless lamb. That's what God requires. It's got to be holy from birth to death. We're born sinful. There was only one. There was only one ordained and only one that could ever. That's the lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. God chose his lamb. He chose his sacrifice. And he came and he accomplished it and God was satisfied. That's how he can call you and me his sons. That's how he can look on us through the blood and the righteousness of his son. It's for Christ's sake.

He died and he rose victorious. He conquered all his enemies. All his enemies are our enemies. He justified us. He saved us to the uttermost. He made us righteous in him. And God highly exalted his son. He sits now on the right hand of the throne of God on high. And he rules and he reigns with ease. He's sitting and resting and ruling. "'cause his work's finished "'till all his enemies be made his footstool. "'And when he ascended, he led captivity captive, "'and he gave gifts unto men, "'all his elect. "'We were given his spirit, "'all the promises that are in him, "'all blessings of God are yes, in Christ Jesus, and he gives them to us, his elect, as it pleases him. He said, I will never leave you, and I'll never forsake you. And he keeps us. And he said, what? I will raise you up at the last day. We ain't gotta worry about it. By his power, He saved us by His power, He keeps us by His power. When He comes in all power and glory, He gonna raise us up. He said, I'll raise you up at the last day. And He won't fail, He can't fail. We rest in the person and in the finished work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, because He did it all.

Let's look at the verse 25. But who so looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth there. He being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. He makes us doers of the word and not hearers only. By faith in Christ, we believe God. We believe on his son whom he sent. We believe the gospel of God. Christ crucified, Christ came to save his elect, and he did it. He accomplished it all of his own. His blood shed for us, purged our sins away, and our only righteousness, our only holiness, and our only acceptance before God is Christ Jesus. That's it.

By faith, we believe that God-given gift of faith, and we obey God. That new man in Christ obeys God. A faith given by God, that faith of Jesus Christ that works by love. Christ's love restrains us. Sometimes we need to be snatched out of the fire. But just think about that. That loving, constraining grace. That loving. His love constrains us. It like holds us tight. You know, God loves you and he loves you on purpose. Isn't that something? A sinful wretch like we. Why us? God has chosen you before the foundation of the world in Christ Jesus. He didn't look out and see if we were going to be something, that we were going to believe. There's nothing good in us. No. It's because it pleased him to choose a people and his son to save.

If you're one of his elect, shouldn't we be on our knees praising him? Continually? He keeps us there, doesn't He? He keeps us there. It's not what we do. It's not what we say. Although His saving power has an effect on what we do and say. But it's not what we say or do that has any effect on Him. It's not contingent on anything that we do, nor many of our merit, because we don't merit anything. All we do is sin. But he keeps us. His love constrains us. Keeps us looking to him alone. He endures us through our trials that he sins. And we're made perfect in him.

God tempts no man with evil. And God cannot be tempted with evil. Your sins are all your fault. If you look at verse 16 of this chapter, it says, Do not err, my beloved brother. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Such a light that there's not even a shadow. He's omnipotent. He's sovereign, he's powerful. Of his own will, begot he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of the first fruits of his creatures. And that's another sermon all of its own.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. He said, you're going to be angry. That flesh is going to show itself. But don't let the sun go down on it. Don't dwell in it. Don't stay in it. Love your breath as Christ loved you. We can't do that. It's not by the power of God that we do that.

And thirdly, is your religion. Let's read verse 26. If any man among you seem to be religious, and browleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. It's empty, it's worthless. So if anyone among you professes to be religious, and has not the spirit of God in him, but pretends to be righteous before man, he deceives his own heart. For he has not the faith of Christ. His religion is vain, it's empty, it's worthless. He can't worship God, the spirit and truth, and he can't bridle his tongue. He boasts of his self-righteousness. He boasts of his dead works. Kind of reminds you of the publican, or the, I'm sorry, kind of reminds you of the Pharisee. That's what God says the Pharisees do. Oh, don't it remind you of yourself? That old sinful nature? He speaks evil of others, judges others, causes strife and confusion, is malicious, backbiting, gossips.

Now, if you didn't do any of the rest of them, you're a lot better person than I am. He is a hypocrite. He dishonors God. His vain religion will do him no good. He is a glory stealer. He seeks man's praise. But he only deceives himself. Because God looks at your heart. God knows the thought and tense of your heart. He knows everything.

And Christ, don't ever forget Christ is coming again. In all his power and glory. We are solely dependent on God's free and sovereign grace and mercy in his son. Don't ever forget that. God must have mercy on us, the sinner, or we'll die. He must make us to differ because we fit, we fit that perfectly. He cannot, we cannot save ourselves, we can do nothing. Only God can give that eternal life and faith in Christ Jesus. See, if your religion is vain, you will receive the just reward for your works. Because God, that great righteous judge, he gives what is right. And the wages of sin is eternal damnation, eternal death, separated from God. and only you are to blame. Because God demands perfection. He demands perfect righteousness and holiness.

You look in verses 13 of this chapter, it says, let no man say when he is tempted, I'm tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted any man, but every man is tempted when He's drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it's finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. All of this makes the natural man, all of this makes him angry. The natural man is angry. He might put on a good show, but inside he's angry.

You mean there's nothing that I can do? No, there's nothing you can do. It's all of grace. It's all of God. It's all of Christ. God's law was added to expose your sins. You want to keep the law perfectly? You can't do it. But you're going to have to stay in it. And you're not justified by the law. Righteousness doesn't come from the law. Salvation doesn't come from the law. The law was given to shut man's mouth and to show your sin.

But this gospel, this gospel makes the child of God run to Christ. For we know God's elect are shown that we are guilty and that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And this makes a child of God look to that perfect law of liberty where Christ has made us free. And this makes us bow down and submit continually to him and pray as that publican, God be merciful to me, a sinner. Be propitious to me. For I am sin, and only you are holy, and only you can save me, if you will.

Only God can bring you to repentance, give you that change of mind regarding the remission of sins, because it's a gift of God's grace. And lastly, and quickly, 27, verse 27, pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

What God requires, God has provided in his son. In Hebrews, turn to Hebrews chapter two, Verse nine. But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things and bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering. For both he that, here's that every man, this will answer this, for both he that sanctify and they who are sanctified are all one. For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.

It's all of God's grace for his glory. We don't touch it. We don't pollute it because everything we touch, we pollute because sin is always present with us. It's all of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ. We don't mix anything. We don't add anything and we don't take anything away from it. If we do, it's not of grace.

It's not of God to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction. Simply this, these are those sinners that cannot repay what's been given to them. They have no means of repaying. That's you and me. That's God's elect. You come without price. You don't buy anything. You don't give anything. God doesn't need anything from you. What God gives, you cannot repay. Christ paid it off.

Turn to Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61, verse one. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn. to appoint unto them that morn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for morning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

God did it all in his son by his grace for his glory. His word is written in our hearts and we preach Christ crucified, that perfect law of liberty, the gospel to all creatures. All for his glory and all for the saving of his elect for the furtherance of the gospel. Salvation is God's work alone.

and keep himself unspotted from the world. Let's turn to first Peter real quick. First Peter chapter one, verse two. elect according to the foreknowledge of God the father through sanctification of the spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy have begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance. incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

We are not yet, brethren, what we shall be. But in Christ, we are kept by the power of God. We're under grace, not under the law. And the just shall live by faith, believing that Christ is all my salvation. He is all my righteousness. He is all my holiness. He is my only acceptance before God the Father. And if I am in Christ, and if Christ is in me, then my religion is pure and it's undefiled. Amen.