The Real Deal
James 1:25-27
5-25-08
Our story opens this morning in 2 Samuel 6:12-15
“Now it was told King David, saying, "The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.”
What does the ark of God represent? It represents the presence of the Lord. In this scene God’s people are experiencing genuine, Holy Spirit-anointed worship. David is wearing priestly attire and dancing before the Lord with all his might. It is a time of Spirit-filled joy and celebration in the Lord.
I begin with this brief passage to simply remind us of the rich relationship Israel had with God during this time in their history. During David’s life most of the Psalms were inspired by the Holy Spirit and written. During this time God was prospering and blessing the nation. Their relationship with the Lord was real and fulfilling.
But later in Israel’s history they lost something. They lost their heart-felt love for the Lord. They lost the dynamic of life in the Sprit. They lost the joy of the Lord. They lost sweet fellowship with God. All the life was gone out of their religion; but they continued with the external ceremony and ritual. Later in their history they claimed Jehovah as their God. But it was nothing like it had been before. All they were doing was just going through the external motions of worship. Their lips continued to draw near to God; but their hearts were far from Him.
Look at what God says to His people in Isaiah 1:10-17.
“Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah:” Is this message literally addressed to Sodom and Gomorrah? No. The context tells us God is talking to His people, Israel. But He is confronting their self-deception. He is getting their attention. They think because they are at God’s house, externally worshiping the true God, everything is OK—they consider themselves godly people because they are by name Israel —God’s chosen people just as we would call ourselves Christians today. But here is the shock factor. God refers to them as Sodom and Gomorrah—words that translate into wickedness and ungodliness. Their Bibles had taught them that those cities were destroyed because of God’s judgment on their wickedness and ungodliness. So immediately we know this message through Isaiah may not be what these folks want to hear.
Verse 11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me? "Says the LORD."I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats. 12 "When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? 13 Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies --I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. 14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
God is saying to these people, “I don’t like your church services. You supposedly gather in My name to worship Me. But it is a farce. Your sacred meetings, your sacrifices and offerings stink. I’m not going to church with you anymore!”
Why would God say such a thing to people who had the inspired Word of God—people who gathered together in His name and sang their songs and said their prayers? What’s going on here? We would expect God to say such things to pagan idolaters, Babylonians, nations who overtly worship false gods. But God is saying this to people who claim to be His people. Now let’s read verses 15-17 and find out what the problem is:
“When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean ; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow .”
In these verses God is saying to His own people. I don’t care how much you pray; I don’t even like your worship services. If you want my blessings there are some changes that must happen in your daily lives. You’re going to stop doing evil; you’re going to treat people right; you’re going to stop taking advantage of vulnerable people for your own gain. No amount of religious activity will substitute for obeying God and treating people the way you would like to be treated.
The decline in the genuineness of Israel’s religion came slowly but surely. It began with a little compromise here and a little double-mindedness there; and eventually all the life was gone from their worship. All they were left with was an empty form of godliness with no reality to it.
Paul warned this same kind of situation would exist in the last days. 2 Tim 3:1-5
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” Selfish people who love pleasure more than they love God would still have a form of godliness; but the power of the Holy Spirit would be absent in their lives. It might look good on the surface; but it’s just an empty shell.
I grew up in West Texas and there were a lot of Cicada insects. They’re not technically locusts but we called them that. During the hot summer days the loud, shrill sound that the males made would fill the air. You would usually see them in the trees. At times you would come across the lifeless shell they had shed. It was just an empty form of the living creature that had once been there. If you put the slightest pressure on that empty form it would crumble. That’s what I think of when I hear the phrase “a form of godliness.” It bears some resemblance to the real thing. But there’s no life in it.
Is there a chance that spiritual decline in Israel’s history could repeat itself in Christian churches? Is there a chance today, that people could be faithfully going through a form of religion that bears resemblance to the real thing; but in reality is dead and lifeless? I think so. Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 10 that Israel’s history is written as a warning for us. We study the Bible; we study the history of Israel not as a mere academic exercise but to learn how life works and how God deals with our decisions in life. If heaven is real and hell is real, there is nothing more relevant to your life (especially in the eternal long run) than the Bible.
What happens when people who call themselves Christians and identify with the true God of the Bible, live ungodly lives? Their so-called Christianity becomes an empty form of godliness with no power—no reality—no life. No amount of good music, capable administration, fine preaching, or anything else will solve the problem. Even more prayer won’t fix the problem. Only a change of heart, only decisions to live right will turn the situation around.
Now with that background (which by the way was known by James’ Jewish Christians) we read our text for the morning. James 1:25-27 “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
Last time we talked about the comparison James makes between the two men who look into the mirror. One pays attention to what he sees and takes the appropriate action. The other sees what’s wrong but goes his way and forgets what he saw. He does nothing about the problems in his life that the Word of God has exposed. One is a doer of the Word; the other only hears but fails to follow up with obedience. The blessing comes upon our lives not because we sat and heard the truth but when we hear the truth and then, relying upon God’s grace and strength, do what we know is the right thing to do.
Do you remember how we concluded last week’s service? We took time to identify specific action that God would have us take in response to the message Doug delivered. Did you do what you decided to do? Were you a doer of the word or a forgetful hearer? I barely got my commitment done. Had I not taken the time to be specific about what I would do, it probably wouldn’t have gotten done. We choose to be doers and not hearers only.
In verse 22 James gives the end result of hearing but not doing. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” The big problem is self-deception. Those Israelites in Isaiah 1 had convinced themselves that everything was alright because they were church-going people who heard the true word of God from the Torah every Sabbath. But the way they lived their lives was not consistent with their show of worship.
People worry all the time about being deceived by false prophets. And the Bible does warn about that. But the most pervasive warning in the Bible has to do with self-deception. Without some self-deception it’s pretty hard for other people to deceive you. Most people who get deceived have made some moral choices that leave them vulnerable to deception. The responsibility primarily lies at their own feet. In the 1980’s when the PTL scandal was exposed, a lot of Christians lost money they had invested in the Heritage USA. Jim Baker went to prison for his deceptive practices. And I’m sure some innocent people got burned. However, I wonder if some of those people asked God where they were to put their money. I wonder if the lure of a theme park provided a hook for their deception. “Oh, I will supposedly give my money to God; yet under the table I will receive a share of the theme park. Instead of just giving and expecting nothing in return, I’ll play a religious game. I’ll give my tithe but also kind of buy some good clean fun. What a shrewd person I am.” Are you following me? I know people who understand the biblical call to tithing. But instead of simply obeying the principle, they are clever. They give their tithe to their grown children. Well, I’m sure God is really tricked by that maneuver. I think the person would be better of to be honest and say, “God I know I’m supposed to unselfishly tithe. But I want to help my kids. So I’m not going to tithe and I’m not going to expect You to bless me as a tither. Instead I’m just going to give that money to the kids and keep it in the family.” What am I trying to say? I’m saying, when we don’t simply and sincerely obey God, the only person we really fool is ourselves.
So the doer of the word simply obeys. Look at verse 25 for a moment. “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James describes the word as “the perfect law of liberty.” When God sets boundaries on our behavior, He never does that to restrict our fulfillment. He does that to liberate us to enjoy life to its fullest. In John 10:10
Jesus put it this way, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (NIV). God’s word is not a law of bondage; it is a law of liberation! Are there boundaries set in the commandments of God on our behavior? Yes, there are. Are those boundaries for our own good? Absolutely. And when we violate those boundaries, the result is not liberty but bondage.
. “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it...” In contrast to double-mindedness this person maintains some consistency in his life. He doesn’t obey God for a little while and then decide to do something else. It becomes his or her lifestyle.
James refers to this person in verse 22 as a doer of the “word”; but in verse 25 that becomes a doer of the “work.” The blessing comes in doing the work. There are lots of shrewd Christians who have many excuses for letting others do the work. They are always too busy with other things. Like the parable Jesus told in Luke 14, they have very reasonable excuses. Who could argue with their excuses? One had just bought some land and needed to check it out. Another had just bought 5 yoke of oxen. Things were a priority for these people. Another had an even better excuse, he had just gotten married. It’s not hard to find an excuse. In fact, even the people who do the work have excuses. They just don’t use them. The interesting thing about that parable is this. The man who invited these people to his supper (who by the way is representative of God) recognizes their excuses and does not force them to come. He simple invites other people and they come. Dear ones, if we won’t do the work, God will find others who will. They may be prostitutes and drug addicts. They may not belong to any church. God’s kingdom will advance. I want to be part of that work. I want to be in on what God is doing. But I don’t have to. I can live selfishly and I can come up with excuse after excuse. And God will not force me to do His bidding. It’s happened over and over again in the history of the church. When the church people like you and me get selfish and won’t do the work. God will go into the highways and byways and raise up a people who were not a people of God—and His work will get done. The blessing comes in the doing—only in the doing.
Now in verses 26 & 27 James gives THREE AREAS OF ACTIVITY THAT REVEAL THE GENUINENESS OF OUR FAITH..
The first has to do with our conversations. James 1:26 “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.” The little church gossip, she comes to the church services and shows an interest in what’s going on. She and her little circle of friends have an opinion about everything. They couldn’t lead a church to save their lives, but they second guess every decision that’s made and pass judgment on those who are doing the work. You try to give them an area of responsibility and they’re too busy. But they’re never, never too busy to share their opinion with others. They’re never too busy for a juicy session of gossip. They think they are good Christians because they are so involved. But their involvement is not productive. Their involvement is counter-productive. James says that person’s religion is useless. They may share their gossip in the form of a prayer request and simply share how hurt they are. But they will not go to other people and resolve those hurts. What they really want are allies for the fight rather than resolution of the conflict. When our firm goes into a troubled church, it is not hard to find those kinds of people. They are right there in the center of the controversy. It’s amazing how peaceful things get when those people get mad enough to leave. Proverbs 26:20 “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.”
James is introducing a subject that he will expand on in chapter 3 extensively. Notice in James 1:26 the issue of self-deception again. The person sees himself as religious—a good church-going Christian. But the tongue reveals the true condition of the heart. If it produces strife, if it spews bitterness and criticism, if the tongue is more active than the hands, there may be some serious self-deception going on.
The second area of activity James is looking at is service. James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble....” We don’t like to get involved in the lives of those who are suffering and in trouble. We want people who are fun. We want people who make us feel better. We don’t want to go serve somebody; we want to be served. That is the thinking of the carnal mind. We may dress it up a bit and make it sound better. But at the heart of the problem is pure old-fashion selfishness. Fallen human nature is always seeking its own fulfillment no matter what it says.
A few years ago there was a series of commercials featuring a man wearing a flannel shirt and jeans. We would see him telling people how much he cared for them. He would even get teary-eyed as he said with all the emotion he could muster, “I love you, man!” Then the person he was speaking to in that particular commercial, whether it was a girl, his dad, or whoever, would say, “You’re not getting my Bud Light.”
It was a funny commercial. But it illustrates so well how these people could see through the guy’s self-serving talk. He didn’t really love those people; he was only interested in their beer. But he was willing to say all the right thing in order to get what he wanted.”
There are people in churches all across America with the same mentality. They hug and tell others how much they love them. They won’t lift a finger to help somebody else. They’re in it for what they can get. If that’s not there they move on. During our years of pastoring we have met people who travel from one church to another taking benevolence—taking people’s time and attention—giving nothing back. Eventually that congregation catches on to their selfish act; so they move on to the next congregation. Of course, they always find something wrong with the church to justify the move.
I’m talking about vain religion—religion that goes to church, sings the songs, says amen—but will not lift a finger to serve others. The irony is this: they are robbing themselves more than anybody else. They are self-deceived because they are carnally minded. Jesus told us to take up our cross, deny ourselves and follow Him. Matt 16:25, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Only people who truly believe that will set excuses aside and help other people. The people who are serving are not doing that because they can find nothing else to do with their time. They are doing it for Jesus’ sake. They are sacrificing their own time and pleasure to help other people. They are losing their own agenda to serve others.
The flip side of Jesus’ statement is this, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it....” He’s clever. He finds a way to preserve his time, money and everything else for himself. But in the end he is the loser!
We’re going to talk more about this in chapter 2. But helping other people is high on God’s list of priorities. After a discussion of the principle of sowing and reaping in Galatians 6, Paul encourages those who are serving to not be weary in well doing. Then he tells the congregation in Gal 6:10, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Opportunities will come to you and me to do good to other people. God will make sure that happens. When those opportunities come we can brush them off with a very logical excuse. Or we can seize the opportunity and make a difference in somebody’s life. The priority on doing that is “especially to those who are of the household of faith.” We should especially help fellow-Christians who are trying to serve the Lord but are have a hard time. But Paul does not restrict doing-good to Christians only. He says, “let us do good to all....” That is a powerful principle of evangelism. We don’t so much need a new evangelism program as we need unselfish Christians who will be kind to other people, help them to the extent they can. When we live that way, other people will listen to what we have to say. They will respect us and we will be able to speak into their lives. We don’t do them good as a way to manipulate them into Christianity. We do them good because it is the right thing to do. But that can open their hearts to the gospel.
The third area of activity that reveals the sincerity of our faith is the purity of our lives.
Look at verse 27 again, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, AND to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” James has already talked about the lure of temptation. We live in a world that is corrupt and if we don’t guard our hearts it will corrupt us. The apostle John says this about the world system in which we live. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:15-16). There is only room enough in my heart for a love of God or a love of the world. No man can serve two masters. If I am to truly serve God, I have to say no to some things this world has to offer. There is a kind of anemic Christianity today that tries to embrace the pleasures of this world and the things of God all at the same time. That never has worked; it never will work; it won’t work for you and it won’t work for me. If Baal is god, Elijah told Israel, then serve him. But if Jehovah is God then serve Him with all your heart. Israel had tried to have it both ways. That was a disaster.
Three ways pure religion manifests itself in our lives:
(1) Speaks advisedly-the tongue is bridled and controlled
(2) Serves unselfishly-time and energy is invested in helping other people
(3) Shuns evil-the heart is guarded against a love of the world and the things of the world
If we’re not careful we can accept a standard of Christianity that is not biblical. It may be acceptable in the world we live. If everybody is backslidden then nobody appears to be backslidden. At least that is the case if we are simply comparing ourselves one with another and coming up with the standard that way. But today we have looked into God’s perfect law of liberty. James has given us God’s standard of pure religion. It seems to me that standard is higher than most people realize. That standard is humbling for me. It makes me realize just how much I need God every day. I want to be the real deal. I want you to be the real deal. Let’s commit ourselves to the real deal and see what God will do.
Invitation
For Footnotes/Sources go to www.crossroadsnixa.org
Richard Tow
Gateway Foursquare Church
Nixa, Missouri
www.GatewayNixa.org
