The Sabbath Oven

        There is a “religion” for everyone. You can get any flavor of religion that you want somewhere in the world today. It also seems that anyone can get involved with religion in one way or another. I recently purchased a new kitchen range manufactured by General Electric. In looking at the manual, some models come with a “sabbath” feature. When the sabbath feature is turned on, the stove will not beep as all of the alarms are silent and certain features are turned off. The manual says, “Sabbath mode disables all sounds (the control will not beep when a button is pressed), Convection, Broil, Cook mode can only be used with Bake. This feature conforms to the Star-K Jewish sabbath requirements.” I don't know all that his entails but apparently the stove will only cook a certain way and no sounds will be allowed. I don't think my model has this feature which is probably a good thing for me. I am so glad that the beeping of my stove will not affect my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. James 1:26-27 says, “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.”

        James points out what true religion is. The first one would be easy to do as it simply involves visiting two classes of people that perhaps are often forgotten in the world, the “fatherless and the widows in their affliction...” The second one while sounding easy is perhaps the most difficult of the two requirements. You need to keep yourself unspotted from the world. This is a great part of the epistle of James. This is the practical side of your faith. It is one thing to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and then it is necessary to live the Christian life which is keeping yourself unspotted from the world. Simply said, to be unspotted, is to be free from stain or spot, which comes out to be unblemished in any way. In speaking about the church in Ephesians 5:27, it is the Lord Jesus Christ that presents the church to Himself completely unblemished, or without spot. At this point in our physical lives here on earth, we can still be affected by the world around us. James exhorts to be unspotted or without blemish in our own personal lives which is a life long process of sanctification. One slip of the tongue or one wrong “rolling of the eyes” can place a spot in your character in a moment. You may wonder at the time, “Why did I do that, or Why did I say that?” The world is ever present all around us to throw as many spots as it can. True religion is a life long process of spiritual growth and will never be perfected until we step into glory when God calls us home to be with Him for all eternity. At that time, your profession and your possession will be at the same level. While your oven may not beep during the sabbath doesn't really affect your religious state. We do however, live out our faith in our daily lives and it does involve visiting the fatherless and the widows in their affliction and keeping ourselves unspotted from the world. James said that this is true religion. Praise God for His Word.