Saved from Shallow Religion

Good Morning Living Word, and welcome. This past Wednesday marked Ash Wednesday which is the beginning of the season of Lent, a 40-day period of reflection, prayer, confession, and letting go.

Lent is a time for us to assess ourselves and make adjustments. It’s a time for us to recalibrate God’s way of living and loving. The purpose of repentance and reflection is not to lay ourselves under condemnation, but to offer ourselves up for salvation. This is very important:

John 3:17 ESV

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Did you hear that? Jesus did not come to condemn us but to save us. He wants to set us free. He did not come merely to set us free from the consequences of our sins (i.e., offer forgiveness only). He came to set us free from the power of sin. This means those powerful forces that grab hold of us, things like fear, anger, anxiety, lust, anger, greed, and selfishness, will lose their grip. God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn those of us who struggle with fear, anxiety, lust, or anger. God sent Jesus into the world to free us from fear, anxiety, lust, and anger. That kind of salvation is possible. That’s what God wants for you.

Do you know something else Jesus came to save us from? Shallow religion. What do I mean by shallow religion? I mean a form of religion that is high on words and high on rules but low on the inner transformation of our hearts and mind. Shallow religion doesn’t affect us very deeply and God wants to save us from that. He wants us to step into a life of courage and self-giving love that will heal both ourselves and those around us. Shallow religion will never be courageous or self-giving. It will always be self-serving and based on fear.

Today, the first day of Lent, we’re going to swim into the deeper waters of the teachings of Jesus. Our passage today comes from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter six. This is part of Jesus’ core teaching called the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus teaches us what life in the kingdom of God is like. This is what a “saved” life looks like. This kind of life cannot emerge from shallow religion. This kind of life is based on an inward transformation.

Matthew 6:1–6 ESV

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 6:16–21 ESV

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus jumps right to the point in verse 1

Matthew 6:1 ESV

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Jesus mentions three different spiritual practices: giving, praying, and fasting. Jesus says right away that it’s possible to do these practices in a way that’s empty and shallow, with no reward from our Father in heaven. If we’re going to spend time giving, praying, and fasting, don’t we want to do them in ways that are transformational?

Since we’re heading into Lent, let’s look at these. The practices of giving, praying, and fasting are core routines for all Christ followers. And if they currently aren’t part of your spiritual disciplines, they should be.

When done properly, in the right spirit, and with the right expectations, they will have a tremendous impact on our relationship with God and our relationships with those around us.

It’s important to note that doing spiritual exercises and checking them off our to-do list is not the goal here. That quickly becomes legalism and doing them for the wrong reasons. That’s what shallow religion looks like!

I want to give us a way to measure how we’re doing in these areas that aren’t legalistic and aren’t based on shallow religion. How can we move forward over the next 40 days in repentance and reflection, seeking to recalibrate our lives to God’s way of living and loving, by incorporating giving, praying, and fasting in such a way that isn’t legalistic or empty?

Here’s how: we will agree that the goal of our practices of giving, praying, and fasting is to grow in self-giving love for others. That’s the goal. To grow in self-giving love for others. Not to grow in knowledge (although that’s a good thing). Not to grow in information about scripture (also a good thing). And not even to check it off our daily list so that we have a sense of accomplishment.

Why should growing in self-giving love be our ultimate goal? Because God’s core nature is love (1 John 4:8) and the top two commandments Jesus gave us were to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as yourself (see Luke 10:27). When self-giving love is our goal, it brings focus and clarity to our time with the Lord. It helps us avoid the goal of a “warm fuzzy” that goes away twenty minutes after we say amen or shut our Bibles. We interact with people all the time in our lives which means we have hundreds, if not thousands, of chances to put self-giving love into practice. If we’re going to grow in anything over the next 40 days, let’s grow in self-giving love.

Let’s look at these areas Jesus mentions, one by one.

Giving

The first area is giving. Jesus says, “So when you give to the needy…” (6:2). Notice Jesus doesn’t say “if” you give to the needy, but “when” you give to the needy. The understanding here is that anyone who is a Christ-follower, or anyone who is becoming Christlike, will be a giver.

To be a giver means giving money, food, clothing, and time. Givers give. Givers give whatever they have in order to share and strengthen others. Giving isn’t limited to money, but it definitely includes money.

Why is giving important to God? Because God himself is a giver:

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Luke 12:32 ESV

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke 11:13 ESV

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

I want to challenge you today: If you have an abundance of something in your life, God has given you something that someone else needs. Your job is to channel it where it’s needed.

What do you think of that? If you have an abundance of something in your life — money, food, clothing, time, whatever — why do you have an abundance? Are you storing up your nuts for winter? Do you feel secure knowing you have more than you need? How much food do we throw out and how much money do we waste?

What if we approached our abundance differently? What if we decided that an abundance of something is simply God giving us something someone else needs, and he is trusting us to get it there?

What an awesome privilege to be given something by God that he trusts you to channel to where it’s needed most! Jesus continued, saying,

Matthew 6:3–4 ESV

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Best way to Give is in Secret

Jesus is saying the best way to be a giver is to be someone who gives in secret. How do you feel about that? Isn’t part of the reward of giving to others that we get some credit and recognition for our generosity? We like to post our wins on social media, don’t we? It’s okay, it’s human nature! We love to receive positive feedback and affirmation from other people!

Jesus doesn’t condemn us, he wants to save us. Jesus wants to bring us to a place where we are fully secure doing things for others in secret, knowing our only reward comes from God. He wants to bring us to a place where our inner core is so solid that we can do good things without needing public recognition or validation. God recognizes and sees what we do for others in secret. It’s okay if people don’t see.

Giving in secret also puts a slow death to our ego. When we give selfishly for recognition or approval, the reward is that our ego is stoked. But when we give secretly, our ego has no fuel to burn and our hearts and minds will increase in self-giving love for others.

If we give in secret without recognition, what’s the reward? Growing in self-giving love is its own reward! And if we give to those in need, THEY receive the reward of receiving from God THROUGH YOU. That’s an amazing reward for everyone!

And then Jesus talks about praying.

Praying

Matthew 6:5–6 ESV

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

I want to encourage you, during this season of Lent, to give yourself time to pray. You need to find a time that works for you to pray and make that time.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when we come to God in prayer:

1. You are praying to your loving Father, not to a judge.

2. Share with him your cares and concerns. Share whatever is on your heart and mind.

3. Listen. What does God have to say to you? Remember, he is a loving Father, not a judge. He will speak to you as a loving Father. How do we know this? Because Jesus did not come to condemn you but to save you!

Try this daily. Start with 5 minutes. Just 5 minutes. Often just 5 minutes is the start we need. It may go longer, and that’s good. But start.

Matthew 6:6 ESV

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Finally, Jesus talks about fasting.

Fasting

Matthew 6:16 ESV

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

What is fasting? Fasting is letting go! We can fast from food, electronics, social media, and all sorts of things — good and bad. Fasting is a way to reset and recalibrate our lives back to God’s way of living and loving.

What do you need to let go of? What is something that’s causing you to be the average version of yourself? Or maybe something that’s causing you to be the below-average version of yourself? Maybe you need to let go of processed foods, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, diet sodas, fast food, or Netflix. Maybe you need to let go of Instagram or Facebook. Maybe you need to let go of screen time altogether.

Pastor: What are other or more relevant things your congregation can fast from during Lent? Is there anything that you personally can fast from, or let go of, that you can share with your congregation?

The goal of fasting and letting go is to break addictions, impulses, and compulsions that harm us. Letting go of these things gives us more time and space to connect with God and/or offer ourselves in self-giving love to other people.

Listen to what the book of Isaiah has to say about fasting:

Isaiah 58:6–7 ESV

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

True fasting, God says in Isaiah, is offering ourselves in self-giving love to those around us! To the oppressed, to the hungry, to the wanderer, to the naked, and even to our own flesh and blood—our family.

What do you need to let go of this Lenten season?

Saved from Shallow Religion

God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him. God does not condemn us but wants to save us. Lent is a time for us to assess ourselves and make adjustments back to God’s way of living and love.

Will you practice giving, praying, and fasting in this season?

The goal is not to do spiritual exercises that we can check off our to-do list, but to grow in self-giving love. That’s what God really cares about. He’s not keeping score. He’s working to transform our hearts and minds into the likeness of his Son. We get to participate in that transformation.

Jesus came to save us from shallow religion. Let’s receive his love and goodness and let him wash our hearts and minds this season.