*******SERMON OUTLINE*******
Righteous Or Religious?
1) Introduction...
The George Barna Research Institute
conducted a survey that revealed something
about religious life in America that may
come as a shock to you.
According to the survey:
94 percent of Americans claim to believe in God.
And out of that 94 percent,
only 45 percent said that they attend some
form of worship on a regular basis.
Regular meaning at least once a month.
Now of that 45 percent, only 4 percent said
they actually practice their faith daily.
So when 94 percent of people believe in God
but only 4 percent practice their faith what
are the other 90 percent practicing?!?
Worldly methods? Yes!
Are they trying to make it on their own
merit? Yes!
Are they practicing Sin? Yes!
The Bible tells us in Romans 14 that
anything that’s not of faith is of sin.
Rom 14:23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
I believe one of the main culprits is religion.
Church, I think we all need to examine
ourselves, and ask ourselves this
question...
Are we righteous or just religious???
2) The Good Samaritan...
a) Read...
Luk 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.
Luk 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Luk 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
Luk 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luk 10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Luk 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
Luk 10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Luk 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?
Luk 10:37 And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
b) Two options...
The story of the "Good Samaritan" is a
great illustration of the righteousness of
God verses the religious point of view.
There is a man lying in the road who has
been a victim of violence.
You can see such people on the streets of a
neighborhood near you.
People who’ve been a victim of violence or
in some other way are in need of help.
Homeless, bound up by addiction, religion.
They might even be friends or family.
Maybe it’s someone who just needs to hear
an encouraging word.
Or maybe it’s someone that God has put in
your path so that you might minister to
them.
Maybe they’ve never heard of Jesus.
We’ve all had the opportunity to be the
"good Samaritan".
The question is not if we see the beaten
man.
The question is are we willing to stop what
we’re doing and come to the man’s aid.
Are you willing take a minute out of your
day to minister to a stranger, a friend, a
family member.
Are you willing to show the love of God to
someone who needs it.
Are you willing to put self, religion, and
whatever else might be hindering you
aside, and change somebody’s life forever.
You never know. The life you change
might be your own.
It is in the moment that you face these
situations that you will find out whether
you are religious or righteous.
c) Religion and it’s excuses...
Take a look at the text.
There were three men traveling along the
road from Jerusalem to Jericho that day,
and each of them came upon the injured
man.
The first man to pass that way was a
priest,
a religious leader who must have been
fully aware of the Mosaic laws dealing
with mercy for those in distress.
Mic 6:8 He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Nevertheless, the priest passed by on the
other side of the road.
A Levite also passed by, and this lay
religious leader also looked at the beaten
man and passed by on the other side.
See, the sign of a religious person is that
they do things that leave people’s, and
even their own, deepest needs unmet.
Because they’re just going through the
motions of ritual and regulation.
They may say the right prayers at the
right time in the right way, but they don’t
address the deeper problems that people
are facing.
For example, maybe the priest in the
parable was on his way to perform some
religious ceremony.
And if the beaten man were now dead,
then the priest would have become ritually
unclean and therefore unable to perform
his "religious" functions.
It was a good religious excuse!!
Sometimes we make excuses so that we
don’t have to do the things we don’t want
to do.
Even when God requires those things from
us.
I wonder what kind of excuses do all but 4
percent of "believers" in this country have?
How do we excuse ourselves from God’s
purpose for our lives because it’s not what
we want to do.
Or because it’s not a glorified position in
the Church.
We are to be bondservant’s in Christ!
That means yielding to the master!
d) The work of Righteousness...
The work of righteousness was performed
by the most unlikely person.
A Samaritan!
There was no greater oxymoron in ancient
Jewish culture than a "Good Samaritan".
But that was the person who did not pass
by the beaten man lying on the road,
leaving him in the same condition he’d
found him in.
Instead he displayed great love, mercy,
and generosity on behalf of a fellow
human being.
He did what no religious person could
achieve by religion only.
He felt compassion that moved his heart
and ushered him into the ranks of
righteousness.
3) Conclusion...
(everyone standing)
The challenge faced by each and every one
of us is to move beyond the ease and
comfort of going to church on Sunday and
to making sure we live out the words
spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King...
"If I can help somebody as I pass along,
then my living will not be in vain".
I think that we can all agree that we’re just
passing through.
Why not help someone on the way.
Let us be a good Samaritan while we’re
here...
In hopes that we might hear "Well done
my good and faithful servant" when we get
there.
AMEN.
