コミュニティと弟子訓練

Orphan Justice (Jam. 1:27)

2013.11.03Rev. Eddie Byun

True religion before God is to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep ourselves unstained from the world. Orphan care is central to discipleship because it connects us to God's concerns, his character, and his kingdom.

True religion visits the orphan and keeps itself unstained from the world (v. 27)

James 1:27 calls pure and undefiled religion to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. The verb 'visit' means more than a casual stop-by; it means coming to meet someone's specific needs and bringing justice to them. Keeping oneself unstained means refusing the self-centered values of the world and using our goods to do good for others. Caring for the needy is the church's own calling, and it should not be handed off entirely to governments or NGOs.

Orphan care is a concern of God's heart

Throughout Scripture, God's heart for the fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner is clear. Deuteronomy 24 tells Israel to leave parts of the harvest, the olive trees, and the grape vines for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that God may bless them. The abundance we have is given so that we can meet the needs of others. Orphan care is not just a good thing; it is a God thing.

Caring for orphans displays the character of God

Deuteronomy 10:18 says God executes justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves the sojourner. Psalm 68:5 calls him the Father of the fatherless and the protector of widows. To love the orphan is to love like God, and to care for the orphan is to display his character. Davian Henry once stood in a Florida church and asked for a family to take him in, and no one responded. That is not what the church is supposed to look like.

Adoption reveals the kingdom of God and the gospel

Ephesians 1:5-6 says God predestined us for adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. No one is born into God's family; we are adopted into it, so adoption was God's idea from the beginning. Because adoption displays God's glorious grace, the sermon says Satan hates it, and this is a spiritual issue, not only a political one. The gospel is the solution both for those who hold the status of orphans and for those who have the spirit of an orphan.

Korea's orphan crisis calls the church to act now

In Korea, about 17,000 homeless children live in 280 institutions, and only 1.5% of special needs children are adopted domestically. After a law requiring birth mothers to register a child in the family registry took effect in 2012, abandoned babies at the Dropbox rose from 37 in 2011 to 79 in 2012 and 202 in the first nine months of 2013. Many of these mothers left notes saying the law was the reason they gave up their children. The church must pray for changes that protect these young mothers' privacy and end the international adoption quota.

Apply to Life

  • Let us pray for the orphans of this nation to find families soon.
  • Let us pray for the church to awaken to God's heart for the orphan.
  • Let us pray about our own role in caring for orphans, whether through adoption, foster care, mentoring, or giving.
  • Let us use the blessings God has given us to bless the fatherless and the widow, and keep ourselves unstained from the self-centered values of the world.
  • Let us sign and pray for the petitions that seek to change Korea's family registry law for young single mothers.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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