Beyond The Church Walls--Just For The Religious
This week, we wrap up the teaching series "Kindred United". This series, nine messages in all, ended up going much longer than I had expected. We have learned, first of all, that the overarching thought of "loving God, loving others" starts with God and if we love God as we should--being in first place--that loving others will follow.
Since then, we have discussed how, after loving God in first position, we are to love our families (spouse first, then children including the discipline of children), then the church brethren, then our "neighbors", which includes all others. We also saw how God puts us in places to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others (some folks we know, others we don't) via "divine appointments". We saw how God trains us, then uses us to accomplish His will in even the craziest circumstances.
Today, we are going to wrap up this series by looking at "the religious". Folks, there are going to be a lot of religious people in Hell. That may shock you, but it shouldn't.
There are three categories of "religious" people, if you think about it. There are the religions of the world such as Islam, Hare Krishna, Buddhists, Hindu and so, and that is pretty much a no brainer to understand as they are devout in their belief but Jesus is not included. The second are those that have a quasi-Christian faith, that looks at face value that they are Christian (believe in 'Jesus", do good works, have similar terminology, etc) but have flawed views of Jesus (as a mere man or created being) or flawed views of grace and the "path to heaven" being one of works or merit.
The last category is, well, quite scary. You will find them in the pews of churches across the globe, churches that are often orthodox in their beliefs. They attend church every Sunday, and may even attend Bible study and other church events. They know the lingo, they know a whole lot about Christianity but there is a key difference, which we will study this week.
Before we get started this week, I have a question for you. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in the book of Genesis because of their wickedness. What was that wickedness? Sexual perversion, including homosexuality as it's most prominent? That would be the common answer, but I can tell you that while that was perhaps the most visible sin seen in the Genesis account, Ezekiel tells us another story--it was more than just sexual immorality
Talk The Talk, Walk The Walk
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22
Lip service. It's something we hear a whole lot of in our culture. As a pastor, I have heard a ton of it in the past 15 years in my pastorate. People are long on words, but short on works. They will not "put their money where their mouths are", or even "put their elbow grease where their mouths are". James obviously saw this, and was inspired by God to write about it. Today's modern church is filled with a lot of talk and little work.
"But be doers of the word" carries the thought of continual action. In other words, when God tells us to do something, we don't just do it once then stop; we start "doing" and "keep on doing". In fact, it also carries this thought: "but keep on becoming" (Robertson's Word Pictures). In other words, we are to keep on becoming whom we are supposed to be in Christ, and also keep on becoming a person of works in Christ. While we are not saved by works, our faith with works proves we are saved (...faith without works is dead, James 2:20b). Jesus Christ died on the cross not to just save you from hell and damnation forever, but also to begin a process of saving you from your sins and out of the world system. We follow the word, the Holy Scriptures.
"And not hearers only". Here's a question for you: when you hear a sermon on Sunday, what do you do with it afterward? Do you take the time to go over it a few times, ponder it, read the Scriptures mentioned again? Really, you don't have an excuse, if you think about it; in your hands every week you are given this very devotional which is the entire message broken down in to bite size pieces you can take a few minutes each day to review. But further, do you apply what is said to your life both here and in our Bible studies? Again, Jesus gave of Himself not to just save you from Hell but to save you from the world system.
"Deceiving yourselves". We are masters at self deception and rationalization, are we not? I think that the biggest problem we have is that we want to think better of ourselves than we really are. While it's true that we need to have self esteem, and some folks have a real lack of self esteem, most people have way too much esteem of themselves and put themselves up on a pedestal. We rationalize our actions; we come up with puny little excuses for our bad behavior to make ourselves feel better about our sin and to deceive ourselves into thinking that not only we are doing okay but that we are right in our actions. Vincent notes in his Greek studies that "deceiving" means "that which one betrays himself by false reasoning--reasoning "beside" the truth."
It's is thinking more of yourself than you really are, and just hearing and not really considering what the Word of God says ends up having no effect on you.--JH
The Hair Stylin', Teeth Brushin' Listener
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 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 1:22-25 (NKJV)
Many people have the mistaken idea that hearing a good sermon or Bible study is what makes them grow and get God's blessing. It is not the hearing but the doing that brings the blessing. Too many Christians mark their Bibles, but their Bibles never mark them! If you think you are spiritual because you hear the Word, then you are only kidding yourself.--Warren Wiersbe, "Be Commentary"
I've said many times at Resurrection Bible Church that it's not enough to hear a sermon from the pulpit. We are to be like the Bereans in Acts 17, holding up the preaching to the light of Scripture, checking it out to make sure the teaching is correct. However, we need to take it a step farther.
To make a long story short, James above gives a metaphor of a glancing at a mirror versus a good, hard, long look at ourselves! When I get up in the morning, I first shave, then brush my teeth, then after a shower blow dry my hair. I use a mirror do all of this. I can tell you that as I write this, on Saturday, that I can't remember the details of any of those actions. I know I shaved, I know I brushed my teeth, I know that I dried my hair. Afterward, I did a quick check to make sure all was okay after I put my shirt on to make sure my hair was parted right and that my hair wasn't a total disaster (any more than usual). In short, I glanced at all of it, but did not retain the knowledge of what I did.
Even more dramatic is the fact that mirrors in New Testament times weren't like the mirrors of today. Today, we have glass mirrors with a coating of metal (often silver) on the rear, and the reflection is near perfect. In those days, the mirror was crude at best; it was made from bronze or tin, beaten flat and polished to give a nice shine but it didn't really provide a good reflection of what the person looked like. So consider that for a moment: if we used the same mirror, our mere glance would be even worse, we would retain even less than with a regular mirror and even more descriptive of the mere "hearer" of the Word. Lots of folks will love a sermon, they will enjoy a Bible study and even may be convicted of sin but as soon as they leave the building that conviction leaves. Those folks "forget what kind of man" they are.
Freedom!
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 1:22-25 (NKJV)
When I hear the term freedom, many things come to mind but first is the shout from Mel Gibson's Scottish Highlander character, William Wallace in the movie Braveheart, yelling FREEDOM! What Wallace, and the Highlanders he led sought was freedom from the tyrannical rule of Longshanks' England.
While the mere "hearer" of the Word forgets or retains very little of what they hear, the "doer" of the Word's destiny is much different. The hearer forgets in a mere few moments; the doer takes it all in.
The term for “he who looks into” is more than just a glance. This word is also used in the story of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior in John 20 verses 5 and 11. Both John and Mary stooped down and looked into the empty tomb. They stopped and more than glanced they looked it over. They looked intently, and that is what a blessed person does!
“But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty”. The “perfect law of liberty”...what does that mean? Don’t laws usually restrict freedom? Not at all, in fact, the law of liberty is something the Christian should love. We must remember that living by the law should not be an option for the Christian. We are not saved by works but since God’s Law is perfect--inerrant, without flaw--it only makes sense we should do the works that God “prepared before hand that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10b). But why should we follow God’s law? Is this not taking our freedom away? Actually, no.
We are saved by grace, unmerited favor, yes, but the law sets us free. Albert Barnes wrote in Barnes Notes: “It is called the perfect law, as being wholly free from all defects; being just such as a law ought to be. It is called the law of liberty, or freedom because it is a law producing freedom from the servitude of sinful passions and lusts.” You see, before we are saved we are slaves to sin: Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. (John 8:34, NKJV) Paul wrote extensively about slavery to sin in Romans 6:1-23; look at the contrast between the unsaved and the saved in 6:18: “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”
The doer of the word continues in it. He starts and does not relent. While he may slip and fall at times, he is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work. He gets back to work, that is, the work of God. Let’s be clear about something, however: the work of God does not mean that you are all called to be a preacher, that is not what it means. It means that you are called to do the works to which God calls you, and you are blessed in what (you do). In other words, part of the law of liberty contains a blessing, the blessing in the doing. FREEDOM!
Worthless “Religion”
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. 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 1:26-27 (NKJV)
Christians do not have a religion (man approaching God), but instead have a relationship (God reaching down to man). Keep this in mind.
In verse 26, “refers to external religious rituals, liturgies, routines, and ceremonies” (John MacArthur). These things can be all well and good, but often they are viewed as the “ends to the means” to those that have no saving faith at all. For those that are all about the outward view, like the Pharisees in their public prayer, alms giving and fasting (Matt 6) such actions are worthless.
But here what we see are people that do not control their tongue. They regularly lie, cheat, steal, gossip, curse and are really no different than the world that is under Satan’s control. While in most instances such a person is not saved, there are some people that are still little babies in the faith that cannot and will not control their tongue, often blaming it on their parents or their ethnic heritage. Imagine a great work of art, and the owner of that great work of art whipping out a can of spray paint and decorating it with graffiti. The self deceived does the same with his salvation, he makes a mockery of it.
So what then, is real “religion” or “worshiping God externally”? Pure and undefiled (unsoiled and acceptable) religion (outward worship) is doing for and doing without. The most needy people in the world are generally widows and orphans. As we discussed a two weeks ago, widows often had no means of support, and orphans likewise. However, it’s not the material support that is spoken of here, it is visit(ing) orphans and widows in their trouble. It is not ministry by proxy, or having someone else to do it--it is “messy faith”, one that gets involved and visits with those in need, and “doing for” them. The second is the freedom found in “the law of liberty”, getting to the place where we are unspotted by the world. This type of display is what Jesus spoke of: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matt 5:16, NKJV). It’s all about walking as Jesus walked.
What then, was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy”. (Ezekiel 16:49, NKJV) Yes, they were evil in other ways, the most prominent being sexual misconduct, but they were arrogant and full of pride (the root of all sin) and were gluttons and were flat out lazy. They ignored the poor and the needy.
How does this relate to us? What does our church do--really do--for anyone? I started thinking about this a while ago. We don’t support missions, we don’t help the poor as a whole, we don’t help the widow or single mother, the orphan or fatherless child of a single mother, the disabled? This must change now.
