“Religion the Right Way”
May 31, 2009
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
James 1:22-27
Did you hear about the pastor walking across the bridge one day? He said,
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. I immediately ran over and said "Stop! Don’t do it!"
"Why shouldn’t I?" he said.
I said, "Well, there’s so much to live for!"
"Like what?"
"Well ... are you religious or atheist?"
"Religious."
"Me too! Are you Christian or Jewish?"
"Christian."
"Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"
"Protestant."
"Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"
"Baptist."
"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"
"Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"
To which I said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off.
We have pretty strong feeling for our churches and denominations and religions don’t we? This week while driving around Redding I followed a car with Arabic writing on the back. I could help wonder if the words spelled out “Allah” or if the people were Muslim – and if so, what were they doing in my country! In Mount Shasta we have just about every religion there is. It’s not uncommon to see a Monk in flowing robes and shaved head walking down the street or a ‘New Ager’ all decked out in purple or white. Christians from all the churches in our community are going to be gathering in less than a month away for, what we call, “Day in the Son”. All the churches gather together in the city park for one big day of food, fellowship and fun. Free hot dogs and hamburgers and sodas will be given away FREE! We will have face painting and games and wonderful music from Christian bands in the area. It is just a wonderful time of Christian fellowship. It starts off with a combined community worship service. This year I have been asked to preach the morning message. That’s quite a honor – and I am happy to do it. But it will be different preaching to the Baptists and Evangelical Free, Assembly of God – and all the rest. We are all so different. Is there anything we can agree on? Take a look at what religion is defined as:
re⋅li⋅gion
–noun
1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
4. the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.
5. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.
6. something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice.
I remember the definition of religion in theology class as simply being the relationship between a person and God. That’s pretty simple – and yet people have such strong opinions as to what is ‘the’ real religion. I could tell them – if they asked. It’s Nazarene. God clearly lead me to this denomination – so it MUST be the right one! And for me – it is. But you can call yourself a Baptist or Catholic or charismatic or Nazarene – and still miss it, or make it. It depends on you relationship with God.
Paul, in his journeys, ran into a group of very religious people. Let’s check it out.
“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ’For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ’We are his offspring.’
"Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." Acts 17:16-31
Notice that Paul didn’t start condemning them as false religions and telling them they were all wrong. All that does is to put them on the defensive. They won’t hear then. Paul found something in common and, in fact, complimented them on it. He said he could see they were very religious. That opened their ears and made them willing to hear his message. He then went on to share Christ with them.
God doesn’t really care about religion, per se, He cares about relationships. The most important thing is your relationship with God, the Son. John wrote,
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12
It’s that simple. Eternal life is in your relationship with Jesus. Is it one of love or hate? Hate separates. If we separate ourselves from God – we, in reality, ‘hate’ Him. If we love Him – we will strive to walk in His will. Come judgment day, Jesus said that the world will be divided into two groups – goats and sheep. Goats are rebellions, cantankerous creatures. Sheep are gentle and submissive to the shepherd. On judgment day it won’t matter what religion you are or what church you go to – the question that will determine your eternal fate is “what is your relationship with Jesus Christ”. Those who follow – will follow the great Shepherd into His joy and eternal glory. Those that rebelled against him will be separated from Him and His goodness for all eternity.
So let me make this clear. In any religion; in any Church; the number one criteria in the ‘true’ religion is that they follow Jesus Christ. You can express that commitment in many ways. Some religions dress differently. Some worship differently. Some use only one version of the Bible. Some believe once you are saved you are always saved. Others believe you always have a free will and can choose to backslide. All those things are important to people and divide people and churches. But the bottom line is their relationship with Jesus. Do they seek to follow His will or do they go their own way? True religion, that God accepts, will always have Jesus as Lord and Savior and God.
James points out another characteristic of a ‘true’ religion. 2, They take care of orphans and widows.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” James 1:27
Do you know anyone in distress? I bet you do! You may not realize it. You may have been too busy to do anything about it – but we all know people in distress. We usually think of physical needs in this context – but how about spiritual needs; emotional needs, and social needs. We may not have any extra cash to give away – but we have encouraging words. We have friendship to give. We can pray.
Do you know the main thing that separates religious people from non religious people? Do you know the thing that separates the sinner from the saint? It is ego or selfishness. It’s the big ‘I’. It’s all about me and my needs and my wants and my comfort. When we come to Christ we ‘die’ to self – and are born again to serve Him and others. James says,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
James 2:14-17
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:16-18
“We ought to lay our lives down for our brothers”. How do we do that? We can take care of physical needs, of course. That was the big need with the early church. It is not so important now with all the social programs we have. But how about prayer? When we see someone in need – can we pray for them? When someone seems lost and lonely – can we be a friend to them? When someone is grieving – we are to go to them and grieve with them. When someone has cause to celebrate – we are to go and rejoice with them. The kind of religion God approves of is the kind that gets involved in people’s lives. We don’t do that enough. People have hurt us. People have used us. It is so much easier to mind our own business and shut ourselves up in our own little world. Are you guilty of that? Get out there and make a difference in someone’s life. If you can’t get out – lift them up in prayer. Pure religion that people can’t fault is the kind that is involved in other people’s lives – making them better.
Jesus’ brother, James then goes on to say,
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: … to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27
The true religion not only has Jesus as Lord in it, it not only serves others, but it is pure – 3. and stays pure. When a person comes to Christ, his sins are all washed away. God forgives us and forgets our past rebellion. Everything is new. We are renewed and regenerated and washed clean. Do you remember how clean and fresh you felt? I remember that time. I felt light as a feather when my sins were taken from me by Jesus. The grass was greener; the sky was bluer; the bird’s sang a happier song. But I found out that Satan was still alive and well and out to defeat me. I found out I still had a fallen nature that caused me to stumble and fall. I found out the world was still evil and dirty and spiritually polluted. Have you experienced that yet? Pollution is the pure becoming impure.
The Bible says we are to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world. How do we do that? Only with the help of the Holy Spirit is that possible. James says “if anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless!” (James 1:26)
How can we control our tongue? By giving control of it to Jesus. Do not let anything come out of your mouth unless it is first approved by Jesus. That means we need to think before we speak! What a novel idea! James says, “Do not just listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. DO what it says!” What a concept! We are to be obedient. We are to be ‘doers’ of the Word.
Pure religion not only has Jesus as Lord, but it has the Holy Spirit as enabler and helper. We can’t do these things without the Holy Spirit’s help. But with His help – “I can do all things”. (Phil 4:13) So how do I get His help? How do I receive the Holy Spirit?
Believe, ask, and receive. Jesus said
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[f] a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:9-13
I remember, as a new Christian, trying to live the Christian life without the power of the Holy Spirit. It was impossible. But I didn’t know there was power available. No one told me. But one day when I prayed – I received the Holy Spirit – and the chain that held me as a slave to sin was broken. No longer was I compelled to sin. Jesus set me free. I have power to choose. And by His grace I chose to not give in to the flesh. His grace is sufficient. Not by my power or desire or ability – but I can testify that HIS grace is sufficient to keep us in time of trial and temptation.
If you want this power in your life – you need to but ask in faith. Believe this power is available for you. Ask for it – and keep asking until you receive it. The Holy Spirit is only given to those willing to obey Him (Acts 5:32). Are you willing to obey in every area of your life? If you are – then knock on God’s door. Seek – and ask. It will be opened. You will find your heart’s desire. It will be given you. Jesus promised it. If you believe Him and desire the Holy Spirit – pray a prayer like this:
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for saving me and forgiving me through Jesus’ death. I now realize I need more power than I have to live the Christian life. Please send Your Holy Spirit to fill me and empower me for service and to live the life you desire of me.
In Jesus’ name I pray,
When the Holy Spirit comes upon you it may be manifested in spectacular power – or in a still small conviction. I think it depends of the personality of the individual. But the power of the Holy Spirit is always accompanied by a new and stronger and more obedient walk. It is accompanied by a new zeal to serve – in other words, it is expressed in action. Pray to be filled – and go out and let Jesus accomplish His will through you.
“As the Deer”
