Illus: Years ago, Dr. Odell Belger, pastor of Lykesland First Baptist Church in Columbia, SC, went into a restaurant to get a cup of coffee. This particular restaurant had a lunchroom and a counter that you could sit at to eat your meal. He saw a man that he knew sitting at the counter, the seat beside him was empty, so he sat beside him and they started talking. One of the waitresses who knew him came up to where he was and said to him, “Did you hear about that girl last night that was carried out into the woods and brutally raped and killed?” He said, “No, I hadn’t heard about that!” He said, “I sure hope they catch that individual and make him pay dearly for what he did.” The next day in the paper, they announced they had caught the fellow who did this horrendous thing. It was the same man that Dr. Belger was sitting with at the lunch counter when the waitress told him about this evil act.
When we go into the busy streets, places of business, and large sport stadiums we never know who we might be rubbing elbows with.
Even when you come to church we never know who may be among us.
Illus: Years ago Dr. Henry Ward Beecher kept getting anonymous letters sent to him that were somewhat disturbing. On one occasion he went to his office and found a letter slipped under his office door. He opened it, and in the center of the page it had one word written on it. It was the word “Fool!” In the next service, he told the congregation what he had received. He knew that the person was probably in the congregation. He said, “I have known many an instance of a man writing a letter and forgetting to sign his name, but this is the only instance I have ever known of a man signing his name, and forgetting to write the letter.”
When we come into a crowd, we never know the different kinds of people that might be among us. But when you come into a church service, basically there are only two kinds of people among us.
Let’s look at those two groups he talks about. There are those who have:
I. A SUPERFICIAL RELIGION
Look at verse 26. We read, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father IS THIS, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
WHO HAS SUPERFICIAL RELIGION? James tells us by speaking of a PURE RELIGION that is UNDEFILED.
Notice, when he spoke of a PURE RELIGION he does not give us any room to wonder what that may be. He said, it “Is this” and then he goes on to tell us two things about what pure religion is. It is:
• To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction
• To keep himself unspotted from the world
Now we can assume from these two things that a PURE RELIGION consist of:
• First, caring about those who are in need (Widows and Orphans especially)
• Secondly, caring about living a righteous life
Now if a person does not have these two concerns in their life, it is probably because they do not have a PURE RELIGION THAT IS UNDEFILED!
Illus: An old saying goes like this, "If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, waddles like a duck, it must be a duck."
However, this is not true when it comes to Christianity. There are people who LOOK LIKE, "WADDLE" LIKE, and "QUACK" LIKE Christians, but they aren't.
James deals with this SUPERFICIAL RELIGION in a more specific way. Look at James 1:26, we read, "If any man among you SEEM TO BE RELIGIOUS… this man's religion is vain."
James makes it clear that a person can claim anything they want to claim, but if their ACTIONS do not support their claims they have a WORTHLESS PROFESSION.
Illus: People with this SUPERFICIAL RELIGION may be able to act as well as John Wayne. But we must remember, John Wayne was such a good actor, that he would actually make you think he was a cowboy, when in reality he was not.
There are those who SEEM to be religious, to the point that they make you think they are Christians, but they are not! It is only a show! They have a SUPERFICIAL religion that is as phony as an eleven-dollar bill.
You would never know that by looking at their lives. For example, many of the liberal churches and the Hollywood crowd in this nation are like this.
The reason they care about the social needs of people is not because they have a love for these people, but it is something they can do that SEEMS TO APPEAR RELIGIOUS.
Listen, if these hobos, who they claim to love so much, were to walk in their yards, they would have them arrested for TRASH-PASSING. (Trespassing)
James tells us about three things that you can see in the lives of those who SEEM to be religious.
A. THEIR LIVES LACK REALITY
"If any man among you SEEM to be religious..."
People who only SEEM to know God have no idea what truly being a child of God is all about.
• They have learned the CHURCH VOCABULARY
• They have learned the CHURCH HYMNS
• They have learned the CHURCH CREED
• They have learned the CHURCH SMILE
They do not know anything about THE REALITY of knowing the Savior.
How do we know there is NO REALITY in their lives? Because when something is real to people they will do two things:
1. THEY INVOLVE THEMSELVES
You do not have to beg a real fisherman to go fishing. All they have to do is have an opportunity, and they are gone. Those who love the sport of hunting and fishing prove it, because every time they get a chance they are involved in it.
Also, when something IS REAL to us, we will...
2. TALK ABOUT IT
How many of you know grandparents who LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THEIR GRANDCHILDREN?
Illus: Someone has said, "No cowboy was ever faster on the draw, than a grandparent pulling a baby picture out of a wallet."
Why do grandparents talk about, and show pictures of their grandchildren? Because they think they are GRAND!
The person with SUPERFICIAL RELIGION is not quick to talk about Christ. The only time he/she is going to talk about the Lord is when he wants to SEEM TO BE RELIGIOUS.
People with SUPERFICIAL RELIGION LACK REALITY. They have no idea what the Christian life is all about. Also...
B. THEIR LIVES LACK RESTRAINT
Notice something about those who have a SUPERFICIAL RELIGION in verse 26, they LACK REALITY but also they LACK RESTRAINT.
It says "If any man among you SEEM TO BE RELIGIOUS, and BRIDLETH NOT HIS TONGUE...this man's religion IS VAIN."
People with SUPERFICIAL RELIGION remind us of some women. Not all - but some.
Illus: Some women can be in a huddle, talking about a woman they all dislike. Their dislike for this particular woman gives you the impression that if she walked up, they would all throw up, because they seem to despise her so much. However, if she really does walk up, every one of those women will SEEM to be simply delighted to see her. The whole time she is there they SEEM TO LOVE HER, but when she walks away, all that wickedness that is within them begins to pour out again.
They show they are SUPERFICIAL BY THEIR SPEECH.
But did you know that others show they have no RESTRAINT in their life, because they RECEIVE THE WRONG TALK. It is just as bad for you to RECEIVE SOMETHING BAD as it is TO GIVE IT OUT YOURSELF! For example,
Illus: A precious, talented Christian man used his tools and skills for the Lord. One morning he went to work and found out that during the night some thief had broken into his toolbox attached to his truck, and stolen every tool he had.
Did you know that there are people who will buy those tools, knowing they have been stolen? Did you know that if those receiving the stolen goods were caught by the police, they could be arrested? Why? Because the judiciary system of this country recognizes that those who RECEIVE STOLEN GOODS are as evil as those are who have STOLEN THE GOODS.
Likewise, those who RECEIVE GOSSIP are no better than the one who is DISHING IT OUT. Neither the gossip nor the listener cares about the person whose reputation is being ruined.
People with SUPERFICIAL RELIGION LACK REALITY and RESTRAINT, but also...
C. THEIR LIVES LACK RESULTS
Verse 26c says of the person with SUPERFICIAL RELIGION, "...this man's religion is vain."
The word translated "vain" means: "fruitless, non-productive."
There are people in our churches who profess to be saved, but they never do anything in the church unless it makes them look spiritual. Years go by and they produce no spiritual fruit. The reason they never produce spiritual fruit is because a water fountain does not produce salt water and fresh at the same time.
Their lives lack RESULTS. People with SUPERFICIAL RELIGION work hard at trying to SEEM TO BE RELIGIOUS by using DIVERSION and DECEPTION.
The lives of people with SUPERFICIAL RELIGION lack REALITY, RESTRAINT, and RESULTS! Now let's look at the person who has...
II. A SUPERNATURAL RELIGION
James not only tells us about people who have a SUPERFICIAL RELIGION, he also tells us about Christians with a SUPERNATURAL religion.
Look at verse 27 as we read, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."
God's Word teaches us THREE THINGS about the SUPERNATURAL CHRISTIAN so that we will not be superficial.
Look at the life of the SUPERNATURAL CHRISTIAN.
A. HIS LIFE REACHES UP
Look at verse 27 again, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the father IS THIS..."
His life reaches up. Notice, the scriptures say this is done before GOD AND THE FATHER.
This is in direct contrast to the person with superficial religion, who does everything TO SEEM to be religious BEFORE MAN!
• He will not SING because he is afraid someone may laugh at his voice
• He will not PRAY aloud because he is afraid he might not articulate his words in such a way as to impress those who are listening
• He will not use any of his TALENTS because he is afraid he cannot do something as well as someone else can
His whole life is built around what MAN thinks of him! At the same time, the Christian with SUPERNATURAL RELIGION lives his life BEFORE GOD!
HIS LIFE REACHES UP. Also-
B. HIS LIFE REACHES OUT
Look at verse 27 again. We read, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, TO VISIT THE FATHERLESS AND WIDOWS in their affliction..."
When a saved person REACHES UP, he next will REACH OUT.
Pure religion REACHES OUT TO OTHERS! Look at verse 27, "Pure religion and undefiled is this, TO VISIT..."
Notice, it does not say, "...to call...," it says, "...to visit..."!
When you call someone:
• You are making the LEAST AMOUNT OF EFFORT you can make
• When you visit someone you are making a MAXIMUM EFFORT
But, when you VISIT it is because you really have reached UP, and as a result you are reaching OUT!
Illus: A widow lives alone. She has a son that lives six miles from her, but he never visits her. A Christian man was in the restaurant where she works and she knew he was a Christian. One day when he came in, this elderly waitress was sitting in a corner, writing on a piece of paper, doing some figuring. After a while she walked to the Christian man and said, "I need to ask you something. I have a stopped up sink. Do you know a plumber who will come to my house for a reasonable fee?" The Christian man said, "I do not know what you consider 'reasonable,' but I do know a Christian plumber." She said, "I need him to call before he comes and let me know how much he will charge, because I do not know if I can afford to have him come." The Christian man said, "Let me come by and take a look at it and perhaps I can fix it, and if so, there will be no charge." The little widow smiled and gave him the address. When he got to her house, he found out that the widow's sink had been stopped up for several months. Neither her son, nor anyone from her church, had cared enough to go by and help her. The Christian man got to work and was able to unstop her kitchen sink. He cared enough to reach out.
But notice one more thing about the Christian with a SUPERNATURAL RELIGION.
C. HIS LIFE REACHES IN
Look at verse 27, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this...to keep himself unspotted from the world."
The Christian with SUPERNATURAL RELIGION has a PURE HEART. He does not allow the world to fill his heart with garbage. He lives a life separated from the world.
Often we look at people who have a SUPERFICIAL RELIGION and we cannot help but be glad that we do not have to stand before the Lord with the religion that they have. Why? The Bible teaches:
• 2 Cor. 5:17 - The man that is in Christ "...is a new creature..."
• 1 John 2:15 - The man that is in Christ loves "...not the world..."
The person who is "in Christ" has a SUPERNATURAL RELIGION.
Conclusion: I want to ask you something that only you can answer. "Is your religion SUPERNATURAL or SUPERFICIAL"?
I. A SUPERFICIAL RELIGION
A. THEIR LIVES LACK REALITY
B. THEIR LIVES LACK RESTRAINT
C. THEIR LIVES LACK RESULTS
II. A SUPERNATURAL RELIGION
A. HIS LIFE REACHES UP
B. HIS LIFE REACHES OUT
C. HIS LIFE REACHES IN
