True Religion
Sermon delivered Sunday morning, July 15, 2018
Fredonia Church of Christ
Milton Stanley Sr.
I met one of Carolyn's adult education students the other day. Federal privacy laws don't allow Carolyn to talk about her students by name, and this was the first one of her students I've gotten to know. This student was a woman who had been incarcerated. This woman had had a rough past, but she was now a Christian and had invited both Carolyn and me to her wedding—at a beautiful, rich house that a family from their congregation had let them use for the occasion.
The groom and I had an opportunity to talk before the wedding, and he told me how much the church had embraced him, his wife-to-be, and their two children. They had begun attending church as an unmarried couple, still lost, and a couple of older Christian families had taken them in almost like their own children—invited them into their homes, shared the Bible with them in group and personal studies. They had embraced, welcomed, and shown love to this couple, and eventually the man and woman were baptized. Now they were doing the right thing and being married. And the groom said something to me that I won't soon forget: “This is what I always thought church should be.”
What a beautiful thought. And yet that congregation of the Lord's church, the one that had welcomed and eventually helped convert this family, is one I had always thought about as one a little shaky on doctrine and worship. I wasn't sure about their stands on certain issues, especially as it relates to worship. I won't go into all the details here, because the particulars don't matter. Now, I'm not saying that doctrine doesn't matter; I doubt anyone here today cares more about doctrine than I do. But I have to admit that while I spent time nitpicking about the doctrine and worship practices of that particular congregation, they were actually out in the street doing the real work of the Kingdom.
The New Testament has something to say about real religion, and it may not be what you think it is. Our lesson text is found in James 1, verses 26-27:
We don't generally like the word “religion” today. The word has many misconceptions and many ideas that have nothing to do with true godliness. But there it is in the New Testament, and that means it's worth learning about. So this morning we'll spend a few minutes learning what true religion is and how we can live and practice it.
First, notice that true religion includes controlling the words we say. That's what it means to bridle the tongue. Just as a bridle is used on a horse to guide, control, and steer the animal, we should bridle our own tongues. It doesn't mean literally to put a leather harness on our tongue (although somewhere I suspect some group of Pharisees has tried it at one time or another). It simply means controlling what we do and say. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile” (1 Pe. 3:10). In this passage James phrases control of the tongue from the negative angle: if someone acts religious but doesn't control his epeech, then he's fooling himself if he thinks he really is religious. True religion is shown, first, in what we say and don't say.
And this control of the tongue goes far beyond what we call “dirty words,” although that is certainly part of it. Our culture has some weird ideas about words when you think about it. If we talk about certain bodily functions using the Old English words that our ancestors used every day, then it's considered “dirty words.” But if we talk of exactly the same functions using words that come from Latin, well that's just fine. But weird or not, many people have decided to get worked up when they hear certain Old English words, so Christians should certainly avoid using them. That's something I work on every day. I spent years as a soldier and was a rugby player before that. It takes work to bridle the tongue, especially when no one is around. But “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt. 12:34).
But bridling the tongue is so much more than avoiding “dirty words.” It also includes telling the truth and never lying. I'm amazed at how many Christians seem to ignore that one. Paul told the Christians at Colossae, “Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds” (Col. 3:9). In Revelation John sees a vision of the heavenly Jerusalem, but not everyone is there, “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie” (22:15). Murderers, sorcerers, idolaters, that's pretty harsh company for liars. Yet so many Christians seem to think it's OK to tell a “white lie.” Some even lie to themselves that they're not really lying. But Christians, we have been warned to examine ourselves when it comes to speaking the truth. That's a part of bridling the tongue.
There are many others mentioned in the Bible, too many to cover within the limitations of this message. But the kinds of speech we are called to avoid include quarreling (Titus 3:2), gossip (Prov. 11:9-13; 2 Cor. 12:20; Jas. 4:11), rash words (Prov. 12:18), and all unwholesome talk (Eph. 4:29). I encourage you to read through the Word of God and see for yourself how many kinds of speech we should avoid because it dishonors God.
But the solution is simple: bridle the tongue! Get control over your words! We won't always do as well as we should, because the tongue is like a wild horse that's hard to control even with a bridle. But if we're Christians we should see some change. If you're not at least making an effort then you obviously don't care about controlling your tongue, and that means you don't care if your religion is real or a sham!
Here's another sign of true religion: Good works, right actions. James mentions visiting widows and orphans in their affliction. Let's be clear what he's talking about here. He's not talking about saying, “How's it going!” and hanging out at their house. In this case visiting means giving attention to and meeting their needs. In New Testament times widows and the fatherless were the neediest of the needy. There was no such think as Social Security, SNAP, EBT. Widows and their children might literally starve if no one would help them eat. From the very earliest days, therefore, the church helped its widows. It took some real effort back in the days when survival for most Christians was hand-to-mouth. Hundreds of years later the church was wealthy enough to begin helping others' widows as well.
Today the church doesn't have that role as much as in years past. In the 1930s religious groups in this country made a strong push for supporting widows and orphans through government action, through taxes instead of freewill offerings. Supporting widows and orphans may or may not be the proper way for government to spend tax dollars. But it was definitely wrong for the “church” to pass off responsibility for caring for its own members to the government.
Of course, what James is talking about here is not limited to widows and the fatherless. The principle is the same for others as well. The church is called to help the weak and afflicted wherever they are found through many different means: clothing giveaways; supper and Bible study in their homes; weddings at their house; by cutting the grass, doing house repairs; generally doing good to all, especially those who are of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10).
At the same time, Christians in need have to admit that they have a need. Years ago my family attended a rather large, wealthy congregation of the Lord's church. One Lord's day morning an old, retired brother who could no longer drive himself came to church in a taxi. Someone said to him, “Don't do that again; let me know, and I'll bring you to church.” “OK,” he said, and the next week he came to church in a taxi. So Christian, don't expect the church to read our minds. We need to be humble enough to ask for help from the brethren when we need it. And if we really are the Lord's, then helping a brother in need is at the heart of true religion.
The bottom line is this: if we are truly religious, we've got to be doing something for others. Do you think that simply having the right doctrine and showing up for the assembly is all the Lord requires? Well, that's important, certainly; if you're not doing at least that much, then you are in serious trouble with the Lord. But is that all you're doing? Each one of us here should ask ourselves: What am I doing to help the weak in their affliction?
At the same time, remember that doing good for others doesn't somehow make up for our own sin. Perhaps that's why James reminds Christians here to remain “unspotted” by the world. The world may actually smile on your good works for the poor. In New Testament times that's how pagans gathered honor for themselves. Rich Romans built reputations based on how many poor people they fed each day. The men who fed hundreds had statues built in their honor to commemorate all the good works they were doing. Jesus, of course, warned his disciples against doing good works for the sake of personal honor: “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 6:1). If you're doing good for no other reason than to get praise from those around you, then you are spotted by the world.
“Unspotted by the world.” That's a vivid image in a way. It reminds me of trying to make your way through a long field of wet, watery mud that splatters everything that goes through it. Even if you try to be careful, it splatters mud up on your pants, and if you're not real careful you'll end up with spots of mud on the back of your shirt. That's what the world is like—a big field of watery mud. It's hard to walk through it very long and stay clean.
Last week we looked at the outrage culture where the press and social media get people worked up in hysterics about what's going on in the world. That's a fairly new form of worldliness. Of course there are always the old reliables: sensualism and materialism, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eye. Last week Levi bought himself a used car. You may have seen it parked out front the other day; it's the one with a jaguar on the hood. It's not a Jaguar; it's a Hyundai. But the previous owners tricked it out to look like a 2004 Jaguar X-Type instead of a 2004 Hyundai Sonata. I think we all know why someone would want to do something like that. And I think we know why we never see a Jaguar modified to look like a Hyundai.
Human beings just like to show off what they have. It's in our DNA, I think. We won't admit it, of course. We always pretend, even to ourselves, that we have to have that Cadillac or BMW or $60,000 truck for some reason like work or driving safely through blizzards or something like that. Nobody wants to admit they got an expensive vehicle to show off. We all want to look “unspotted by the world,” but do our actions say something else? I'm afraid for many, they do. Many in the church are good at talking a good game but not doing very much for the poor and afflicted.
Well, what are we going to do about it? That's a question I frequently ask, and I sometimes say, “I'm not thinking of anyone here when I say this.” But I'm not saying that this time. There may be those in this room today who are fooling themselves on how serious their religion really is when there is a real disconnect between words and deed. And please don't look for clues by who I'm looking at when I say this. Look inside yourself—all of us should be looking inside ourselves. And then what? What if we look inside and don't like what we see?
James leaves the ball squarely in our court. Notice v. 21: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” Lay your sin aside! In other words, get to it! Strive! Struggle! Godliness is always a struggle against our own sin. We don't give enough attention these days to the place of struggle in life, especially in the life of a Christian. Notice, though, that James says nothing about level of success or performance. I don't think that matters much. We may fail over and over again to do what we know we should and what we strive to do. Success isn't what matters. What God wants is a sincere effort, honest striving, real struggle. We will fail often. But if our religion means anything, then we must be striving to live the Word that saves our souls.
And even as we struggle we are called to pray. And that prayer means a whole lot more when we struggle and fail. In fact, when our hard struggles lead to failure, that's when we pray in meekness, and when, I think, we are closest to God.
PRAYER
INVITATION
Copyright © 2018, A. Milton Stanley Sr.
Fredonia Church of Christ
Milton Stanley Sr.
I met one of Carolyn's adult education students the other day. Federal privacy laws don't allow Carolyn to talk about her students by name, and this was the first one of her students I've gotten to know. This student was a woman who had been incarcerated. This woman had had a rough past, but she was now a Christian and had invited both Carolyn and me to her wedding—at a beautiful, rich house that a family from their congregation had let them use for the occasion.
The groom and I had an opportunity to talk before the wedding, and he told me how much the church had embraced him, his wife-to-be, and their two children. They had begun attending church as an unmarried couple, still lost, and a couple of older Christian families had taken them in almost like their own children—invited them into their homes, shared the Bible with them in group and personal studies. They had embraced, welcomed, and shown love to this couple, and eventually the man and woman were baptized. Now they were doing the right thing and being married. And the groom said something to me that I won't soon forget: “This is what I always thought church should be.”
What a beautiful thought. And yet that congregation of the Lord's church, the one that had welcomed and eventually helped convert this family, is one I had always thought about as one a little shaky on doctrine and worship. I wasn't sure about their stands on certain issues, especially as it relates to worship. I won't go into all the details here, because the particulars don't matter. Now, I'm not saying that doctrine doesn't matter; I doubt anyone here today cares more about doctrine than I do. But I have to admit that while I spent time nitpicking about the doctrine and worship practices of that particular congregation, they were actually out in the street doing the real work of the Kingdom.
The New Testament has something to say about real religion, and it may not be what you think it is. Our lesson text is found in James 1, verses 26-27:
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 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.
We don't generally like the word “religion” today. The word has many misconceptions and many ideas that have nothing to do with true godliness. But there it is in the New Testament, and that means it's worth learning about. So this morning we'll spend a few minutes learning what true religion is and how we can live and practice it.
First, notice that true religion includes controlling the words we say. That's what it means to bridle the tongue. Just as a bridle is used on a horse to guide, control, and steer the animal, we should bridle our own tongues. It doesn't mean literally to put a leather harness on our tongue (although somewhere I suspect some group of Pharisees has tried it at one time or another). It simply means controlling what we do and say. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile” (1 Pe. 3:10). In this passage James phrases control of the tongue from the negative angle: if someone acts religious but doesn't control his epeech, then he's fooling himself if he thinks he really is religious. True religion is shown, first, in what we say and don't say.
And this control of the tongue goes far beyond what we call “dirty words,” although that is certainly part of it. Our culture has some weird ideas about words when you think about it. If we talk about certain bodily functions using the Old English words that our ancestors used every day, then it's considered “dirty words.” But if we talk of exactly the same functions using words that come from Latin, well that's just fine. But weird or not, many people have decided to get worked up when they hear certain Old English words, so Christians should certainly avoid using them. That's something I work on every day. I spent years as a soldier and was a rugby player before that. It takes work to bridle the tongue, especially when no one is around. But “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt. 12:34).
But bridling the tongue is so much more than avoiding “dirty words.” It also includes telling the truth and never lying. I'm amazed at how many Christians seem to ignore that one. Paul told the Christians at Colossae, “Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds” (Col. 3:9). In Revelation John sees a vision of the heavenly Jerusalem, but not everyone is there, “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie” (22:15). Murderers, sorcerers, idolaters, that's pretty harsh company for liars. Yet so many Christians seem to think it's OK to tell a “white lie.” Some even lie to themselves that they're not really lying. But Christians, we have been warned to examine ourselves when it comes to speaking the truth. That's a part of bridling the tongue.
There are many others mentioned in the Bible, too many to cover within the limitations of this message. But the kinds of speech we are called to avoid include quarreling (Titus 3:2), gossip (Prov. 11:9-13; 2 Cor. 12:20; Jas. 4:11), rash words (Prov. 12:18), and all unwholesome talk (Eph. 4:29). I encourage you to read through the Word of God and see for yourself how many kinds of speech we should avoid because it dishonors God.
But the solution is simple: bridle the tongue! Get control over your words! We won't always do as well as we should, because the tongue is like a wild horse that's hard to control even with a bridle. But if we're Christians we should see some change. If you're not at least making an effort then you obviously don't care about controlling your tongue, and that means you don't care if your religion is real or a sham!
Here's another sign of true religion: Good works, right actions. James mentions visiting widows and orphans in their affliction. Let's be clear what he's talking about here. He's not talking about saying, “How's it going!” and hanging out at their house. In this case visiting means giving attention to and meeting their needs. In New Testament times widows and the fatherless were the neediest of the needy. There was no such think as Social Security, SNAP, EBT. Widows and their children might literally starve if no one would help them eat. From the very earliest days, therefore, the church helped its widows. It took some real effort back in the days when survival for most Christians was hand-to-mouth. Hundreds of years later the church was wealthy enough to begin helping others' widows as well.
Today the church doesn't have that role as much as in years past. In the 1930s religious groups in this country made a strong push for supporting widows and orphans through government action, through taxes instead of freewill offerings. Supporting widows and orphans may or may not be the proper way for government to spend tax dollars. But it was definitely wrong for the “church” to pass off responsibility for caring for its own members to the government.
Of course, what James is talking about here is not limited to widows and the fatherless. The principle is the same for others as well. The church is called to help the weak and afflicted wherever they are found through many different means: clothing giveaways; supper and Bible study in their homes; weddings at their house; by cutting the grass, doing house repairs; generally doing good to all, especially those who are of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10).
At the same time, Christians in need have to admit that they have a need. Years ago my family attended a rather large, wealthy congregation of the Lord's church. One Lord's day morning an old, retired brother who could no longer drive himself came to church in a taxi. Someone said to him, “Don't do that again; let me know, and I'll bring you to church.” “OK,” he said, and the next week he came to church in a taxi. So Christian, don't expect the church to read our minds. We need to be humble enough to ask for help from the brethren when we need it. And if we really are the Lord's, then helping a brother in need is at the heart of true religion.
The bottom line is this: if we are truly religious, we've got to be doing something for others. Do you think that simply having the right doctrine and showing up for the assembly is all the Lord requires? Well, that's important, certainly; if you're not doing at least that much, then you are in serious trouble with the Lord. But is that all you're doing? Each one of us here should ask ourselves: What am I doing to help the weak in their affliction?
At the same time, remember that doing good for others doesn't somehow make up for our own sin. Perhaps that's why James reminds Christians here to remain “unspotted” by the world. The world may actually smile on your good works for the poor. In New Testament times that's how pagans gathered honor for themselves. Rich Romans built reputations based on how many poor people they fed each day. The men who fed hundreds had statues built in their honor to commemorate all the good works they were doing. Jesus, of course, warned his disciples against doing good works for the sake of personal honor: “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 6:1). If you're doing good for no other reason than to get praise from those around you, then you are spotted by the world.
“Unspotted by the world.” That's a vivid image in a way. It reminds me of trying to make your way through a long field of wet, watery mud that splatters everything that goes through it. Even if you try to be careful, it splatters mud up on your pants, and if you're not real careful you'll end up with spots of mud on the back of your shirt. That's what the world is like—a big field of watery mud. It's hard to walk through it very long and stay clean.
Last week we looked at the outrage culture where the press and social media get people worked up in hysterics about what's going on in the world. That's a fairly new form of worldliness. Of course there are always the old reliables: sensualism and materialism, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eye. Last week Levi bought himself a used car. You may have seen it parked out front the other day; it's the one with a jaguar on the hood. It's not a Jaguar; it's a Hyundai. But the previous owners tricked it out to look like a 2004 Jaguar X-Type instead of a 2004 Hyundai Sonata. I think we all know why someone would want to do something like that. And I think we know why we never see a Jaguar modified to look like a Hyundai.
Human beings just like to show off what they have. It's in our DNA, I think. We won't admit it, of course. We always pretend, even to ourselves, that we have to have that Cadillac or BMW or $60,000 truck for some reason like work or driving safely through blizzards or something like that. Nobody wants to admit they got an expensive vehicle to show off. We all want to look “unspotted by the world,” but do our actions say something else? I'm afraid for many, they do. Many in the church are good at talking a good game but not doing very much for the poor and afflicted.
Well, what are we going to do about it? That's a question I frequently ask, and I sometimes say, “I'm not thinking of anyone here when I say this.” But I'm not saying that this time. There may be those in this room today who are fooling themselves on how serious their religion really is when there is a real disconnect between words and deed. And please don't look for clues by who I'm looking at when I say this. Look inside yourself—all of us should be looking inside ourselves. And then what? What if we look inside and don't like what we see?
James leaves the ball squarely in our court. Notice v. 21: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” Lay your sin aside! In other words, get to it! Strive! Struggle! Godliness is always a struggle against our own sin. We don't give enough attention these days to the place of struggle in life, especially in the life of a Christian. Notice, though, that James says nothing about level of success or performance. I don't think that matters much. We may fail over and over again to do what we know we should and what we strive to do. Success isn't what matters. What God wants is a sincere effort, honest striving, real struggle. We will fail often. But if our religion means anything, then we must be striving to live the Word that saves our souls.
And even as we struggle we are called to pray. And that prayer means a whole lot more when we struggle and fail. In fact, when our hard struggles lead to failure, that's when we pray in meekness, and when, I think, we are closest to God.
PRAYER
INVITATION
Copyright © 2018, A. Milton Stanley Sr.
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