GENUINE RELIGION

GENUINE RELIGION James 1:26-27 December 05, 2010 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction Are you “religious”? If someone called you religious, would you consider it complimentary or derogatory? It’s funny, but the term can be either, can’t it, depending on who says it and in what context. “Oh, you’re so religious!” or “O, so you’re religious!”? I’ve found myself so apprehensive of how the word comes across that I’m actually a little afraid to use it, for fear someone might misunderstand me. That’s a shame. But if we were to live in agreement with this morning’s text, we might find that we have so radically redefined the term religion that it might come back into full favor as a complimentary term. James 1:26-27  – If anyone considers himself religious (and here James uses the term in the good and proper sense) 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. Context We’ve just come through a lengthy section of this first chapter in which the Word of God has been upheld as central in the life of the Christ-follower. That was our teaching in verses 18-24. Verses 24-25 serve as a pivotal transition in James’ flow of thought. There he says that the person who listens to and obeys the word of God, first, looks intently into it for God’s truth and guidance; secondly, that person is blessed as he continues to give focused attention to the things of God. The true servant of God continues to look intently into the Word of God, and thirdly, he puts the truth he is learning into practice. He obeys. How do we graduate from a kindergarten understanding of God’s Word to deeper levels of understanding? Through obedience. Jesus, Who said, You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things, also said we are made perfect through obedience and that solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves. Verse 25 emphatically closes with these words: But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, no forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. That underscores what he said earlier: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (vs. 22) Verse 25 then gives way to these two closing verses of the first chapter of James—verses 26-27. And here we are shown three specific areas where truth is put into practice. In fact, James says, doing these three things is the content and the evidence of genuine religion. Behavior #1 – Keep a Tight Rein on Your Tongue What a huge topic of concern for believers who read and study the New Testament scriptures! We studied in James a couple weeks ago that we should be quick to listen and slow to speak. We open our mouths too quickly and too thoughtlessly, and the wrong stuff flies out. Mark Twain said, "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Rather than saying just a few things that bless and edify others, we blurt out a lot of foolish things, sinful things, and then we spend even more speech apologizing and asking for forgiveness for what we said. James suggests a short-cut. He says keep a tight rein on your tongue in the first place. Then we’ll avoid costly and hurtful comments. I’ve had just a little experience with horses—enough to learn they are very strong animals. If a horse is determined to go somewhere, you’re not going to convince him otherwise. But once he’s trained, and you put a bridle and rein on that horse you can easily control and contain him. With that imagery James describes the genuinely religious person as one who has control of his tongue. We’ll encounter a more in-depth teaching on this topic a little later in our series on James, but for now, we are to learn this one thing: being in control of our speech is a clear indication of genuine religion. And not being in control of our speech shows us to be self-deceived and having worthless religion. May I suggest a couple of areas where we must apply more control in our speech? Gossip and Slander – Folks, we get so used to talking about people in ways that denigrate them in the eyes of those who hear us that we forget all about the fact that it is a sin. Gossip never honors anyone, least of all, our God. Here’s the kind of company gossip keeps in the sin lists of the New Testament: anger, divisiveness, arrogance and disorder (2 Cor. 12:20); bitterness and brawling (Eph. 4); sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, drunkenness and swindling (1 Cor. 5:11); God-hating, insolence, boastful, disobedient, senseless, faithless, heartless and ruthless (Rom. 1:30). The scriptures absolutely forbid the Christian to gossip, it displeases the Lord and it dishonors Him. Proverbs says to spread slander is foolishness, and Paul told pastor Titus to tell folks to slander no one. Let me add this: any rationalizations like “well, it’s all true” or “I didn’t think it was bad to share that” will never whitewash the poignant lack of love your gossip betrays. Even in prayer meetings, when very real needs of people are the subjects of intercession, we must be very cautious to guard against sharing any details that would in any way belittle, embarrass or demean those for whom we pray. Ephesians 4: all speech should edify. In January of 2006, Australian scientists discovered the cause of a mysterious disease that had killed thousands of Tasmanian Devils on the island state of Tasmania. The scientists initially believed the deaths were caused by a virus; however, their research ultimately uncovered a rare, fatal cancer. They named it Devil Facial Tumor Disease, or DFTD. What is strange, according to cytogeneticist Anne-Marie Pearse, is that the abnormalities in the chromosomes of the cancer cells were the same in every tumor. That means the disease began in the mouth of a single, sick devil. That individual facilitated the spread of DFTD by biting its neighbors when squabbling for food, which, according to Pearse, is a natural devil behavior: "Devils jaw-wrestle and bite each other a lot, usually in the face and around the mouth, and bits of tumor break off one devil and stick in the wounds of another." Over the course of several years, infected devils continued to inflict deadly wounds with their mouths. Consequently, DFTD spread at an alarming rate, ultimately wiping out over 40 percent of the devil population. A similar fate threatens the Church if its members persist in the devilish behavior of wounding their neighbors with their mouths. Galatians 5:14-15 – Love your neighbor as yourself. If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. Jokes and obscenity – What kingdom good can possibly come from sharing an off-color story? Why would we ever risk offending our Lord or even one of His children simply to garner a laugh? I stand before you as guilty in each of these categories. I was tempted to not even include this example of jokes in my teaching because I felt so guilty of failure in this area. I’m not saying your pastor tells filthy stories and cusses like a sailor—I’m admitting I’ve crossed lines of decency in things I’ve spoken, and I was wrong in that. And my intent is to change and grow in that area. What about you? Foolish Talk The other concept here is “foolish talk”. In Ephesians 5:4 we are instructed, Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. That term “foolish talk” is the NIV translation of the Greek word: MOROLOGIA, or “moron-talk”. Each of us has had the experience of spoken like a moron and later that day on reflection, thought, “O, man, what a stupid thing to say!” That’s what the serious Christian who wants to be a practitioner of genuine religion needs to start avoiding. And James says, here’s how you do that: keep a tight rein on your tongue. Behavior #2 – Look After Orphans and Widows Who were the orphans and widows? They were the primary “distressed people” in first century culture. Whom do they represent for us? Orphans and widows, people in distress. These were the vulnerable, the forgotten, the marginalized. They were the ones who had no means of support. If their families could not or would not care for them, God says, care for them as if they were your family. Words are not substitute for deeds of love. Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? (James 1:15) And there’s 1 John 3:17-18 - 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. These are not only strong, direct challenges to be compassionate and generous—words of urgent command from God to His people. These are words that we know in our hearts to be valid. Christians have been loved by God and they therefore love; we have God’s Spirit in our lives and we know we are to love and serve. The commands are in one sense superfluous, necessary only when we’ve not been responsive and obedient to the impulse of love and compassion within us. What makes us less responsive to the inner promptings of God’s Spirit and His love made manifest in us? Let me suggest four hands: •  Hand of Government – hey we pay taxes •  Hand of missionaries – off the hook with a couple donations •  The Brushing hand •  The clenched hand How do we exercise wisdom and stewardship in caring for others with needs? It’s tricky. But I have four practical exhortations, and my final suggestion will be very helpful 1.  Focus more on the Local and immanent ministry opportunities and let every band of Christians gathering everywhere in the world pray, care for those near them, first and foremost, being the body 2.  Don’t forget the foreign and the called. Pray for and support those who are called, sent by the body of Christ to serve in places that cannot be self-sufficient (with gospel and need-meeting ministries) 3.  Repent of selfishness and get financially free (not our money) 4.  Television versus the Holy Spirit Behavior #3 – Keep yourselves from being polluted by the world The world: the whole human scheme of things organized in terms of human wisdom to attain a human goal, without reference to God, his laws, his values or his judgment. – Anything and everything that is at odds with the Lordship of Jesus over our lives. Paul taught that we who are redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus become ourselves sacrifices back to the Lord—living sacrifices who willingly place ourselves on the altar before Him every day. We are involved in genuine religion, service and worship unto God that will remain true and undefiled. We are committed to no longer be conformed to the patterns of this world’s thinking, but rather committed to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. Then and only then will we be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Then and only then will our religion be genuine. If you detect that your religion is not like that—that there is no yielded-ness to Christ’s Lordship, that you don’t sense the Word of God implanted in you, nor His Spirit alive and working in you, then you need the new birth. You need to be born again. If you are certain of your new life in Christ, but your commitment has been flagging, your willingness to continue looking intently in the perfect law is waning, and your desire to listen to and obey His Word is not what it used to be, I want to encourage you to repent. Confess before God whatever His Word and Spirit are exposing in you as pollution from the world, and ask God to take it from you. Come to Him today, as David did, when he wrote in Psalm 51: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgression, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would brings it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bull will be offered on your altar. Conclusion James; words are so sharp, so “black and white” that he leaves no middle ground for us. We are either totally devoted to Christ and His genuine religion, or we are creating some worldly hybrid of religion that is no religion at all. It is in the daily commitment to the Lord Jesus that we will prove whether a decision one day long ago to pray a prayer and confess faith in Christ was something real with eternal consequences, or if it was a flash in the pan impulse, like so many other choices in our lives. The scripture seems to say that something so potent, so real as faith in God through Jesus Christ, if it has really happened, cannot be faked, nor can it be hidden. Genuine faith will make its presence known through the practice of genuine religion, and such things as controlling our tongue, caring for the oppressed and keeping ourselves pure in an impure world will unfold naturally. Because to have the life of God recreated within us, the Word of truth planted in us, and yet to remain unchanged is unthinkable.       [ Back to Top]