Examining My Religion
James 1:26-27
October 19, 2014
Having been studying the book of James,
He gets right to the point about the difference
Between fake faith, and saving faith.
In tonight’s text James will get even more to the point.
I know I told you once that it is very easy to tell
The difference between Christianity and every other world religion.
People say there are many differences, but really there are only two.
1) False religion says Jesus isn’t God.
2) False religion says I must help myself to get to heaven.
Of course both of those are just the opposite of true Christianity.
However, what happens so much of the time,
Is that people still develop a false religion
In the middle of Christianity
Now, they won’t say Jesus isn’t God,
But their action reveals they don’t really believe.
They don’t say they are trying to earn their way into heaven,
But their action reveals that is what they are doing.
They may be committed to “Christian Claims” but that’s as far as it goes
What they actually do is take the focus off of Jesus
And place it on themselves.
They love the religion
They love the routine
They love the liturgy
But it is skin deep and void of the life changing knowledge of Christ.
That has been the main thing James has been working on.
• A person of faith glorifies God in the midst of difficulty.
• A person of faith trusts God will do what He says.
• A person of faith perseveres under difficulty.
• A person of faith is content in whatever circumstances.
• A person of faith doesn’t blame sin on God.
• A person of faith Hears the word of God and obey sit.
However one who is only religion:
• Pouts under trial, because they only want comfort.
• Doesn’t trust God to do anything, but tries to do it themselves.
• Quits when it is too tough, because they seek personal comfort.
• Isn’t content unless they are receiving the best things.
• Must blame others for their problems.
• Either won’t receive the word, or won’t obey it
A person of faith seeks to please God, and put others first.
A person of religion seeks to please self, and put himself first.
Tonight, in this faith test, James will outline two types of religion for us.
#1 WORTHLESS RELIGION
James 1:26
“If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.”
James here gives us the example of worthless religion,
And there are three characteristics we can draw from this verse
To help us understand it better.
1) WHO IT PLEASES (26a)
We know whom this person is trying to please
By who this person looks to, to determine if he is pleasing.
WHO DOES THIS PERSON CHECK WITH TO SEE IF HE IS PLEASING?
“If anyone thinks himself to be religious…”
We know this man is only checking with himself.
If he thinks he is worthy, then he must be.
He has made himself the final authority.
It is a gross miscalculation to assume that you can
Declare yourself acceptable in the sight of God.
You don’t get to stamp “approved” on your own deeds
Scripture is clear that we have an eternal judge for that.
1 Corinthians 4:1-5 “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”
But James is referring to the man “who thinks himself to be religious”
He approved himself
He looked at his life and said, “Well done!”
This is not so different from the Pharisees
Who didn’t mind justifying themselves,
But also rewarding themselves with great honor.
Luke 16:15 “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”
Matthew 23:1-7 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”
They thought themselves to be religious.
They thought themselves to be acceptable.
They thought themselves to be worthy of the award.
And this is still true today.
Anytime we make ourselves the final authority
We reveal who we are really concerned about pleasing
And this is the only purpose of worthless religion.
The purpose of worthless religion is to help a person feel better about themselves, and to ultimately get others to honor them as well.
It has nothing to do with becoming pleasing to God,
It has to do with soothing our conscience, and puffing ourselves up.
BUT RELIGION THAT ONLY PLEASES YOU AND NOT GOD
IS ABSOLUTELY WORTHLESS RELIGION.
We consider all those passages in the Old Testament about the religion of Israel, and how utterly displeased God was with all of it.
Isaiah 58:3-8 “Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. “Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD? “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke? “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? “Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.”
Malachi 1:10 “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.”
If you want to know if your religion has value,
Then ask yourself who it is pleasing.
Most of you have by now heard the Victoria Olsteen quote she recently gave:
“I just want to encourage every one of us to realize when we obey God, we’re not doing it for God—I mean, that’s one way to look at it—we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we’re happy,” “That’s the thing that gives Him the greatest joy…””So, I want you to know this morning: Just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy,” “When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God really. You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy. Amen?”
Well that’s one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard,
But it is the absolute gospel for people with worthless religion.
They don’t do anything they do to please God,
They only do it to please themselves.
And that is WORTHLESS RELIGION!
• Do you do church to please yourself, or to please God?
• Do you sing to please yourself, or to please God?
• Do you give, pray, and fast to please yourself like the Pharisees, or to please God?
Who is your religion supposed to please?
2) HOW IT PROSPERS (26b)
“If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his own tongue”
We know how this game is played.
It is the same game played by every kid on the play ground at school.
IF YOU WANT TO MAKE YOURSELF LOOK BETTER THAN SOMEONE ELSE, WHAT DO YOU DO?
You run them down, by pointing out why you are better than them.
That is exactly what is happening here.
People with religion prosper that religion by criticizing others, and by commending themselves.
AGAIN THIS WAS THE PHARISEES
Luke 15:2 “Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
John 8:3-11 “The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]
You will remember the other illustration Jesus used.
Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
That is how a person with religion makes themselves feel better.
That is how they prosper their cause.
That is how they bring honor to themselves.
Worthless religion is like playing king of the mountain.
You stay on top by keeping others off the mound.
And sadly the main way we do this is with the tongue.
But listen:
Slandering other people’s sin won’t make you righteous,
It will only make you feel better about yourself.
God says that is worthless religion.
It is worthless because God is not asking you to be better than your brother, God is asking you to be like Him.
Being better than your brother won’t get you anywhere.
That is why Jesus was so hard on the judgmental Pharisees:
Matthew 7:1-2 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”
Paul echoed it in Romans:
Romans 2:1-3 “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?”
Do you really think pointing out other people’s faults is the method that will catapult you to the top?
No, all that does is reveal
That you know the difference between right and wrong.
Running off at the mouth is worthless religion.
So as we look at worthless religion, we see who it pleases and how it prospers.
3) WHAT IT PRODUCES (26c)
“If anyone thinks himself to religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.”
A worthless religion produces two things.
A worthless religion produces a deceived church goer, and a displeased God.
James said a person who seeks righteousness
By comparing themselves to others is a deceived person.
When a person thinks they are good enough because they are better than everyone else, they will be shocked some day.
All they reveal is their standard is too low,
And their judge is too lenient.
And the main point of James here is that this kind of religion that sets yourself up as judge and gains ground by running down others…
That is worthless religion
AND WORTHLESS RELIGION WILL NOT SAVE YOU FROM HELL!!
Isaiah 28:9-19 “To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? “For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’ ” Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,” And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen. So the word of the LORD to them will be, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,” That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive. Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.” Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. “I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place. “Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overwhelming scourge passes through, Then you become its trampling place. “As often as it passes through, it will seize you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night, And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”
You can clothe yourself in your own good deeds
You can convince yourself that you are pleasing
You can compile a list of people worse than you
BUT THAT RELIGION IS WORTHLESS IN THE JUDGMENT
Remember this guy?
Matthew 22:11-14 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Instead of being clothed in the righteousness of the groom,
One man determined to make his own garments to get in.
But they were filthy rags, not good enough, so he was thrown out.
That is where worthless religion will get us.
It does us no good to please ourselves, by slandering others.
For God will not be pleased.
That is worthless religion.
#2 WORTHWHILE RELIGION
James 1:27
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
Just as James showed us three characteristics of worthless religion,
He will show us three characteristics of worthwhile religion.
1) WHO IT PLEASES (27a)
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father”
We are not here to try and please ourselves,
We are here to try and please God.
He is the impartial judge. He is the One with the righteous standard.
It does not matter how we feel about ourselves, or if we think we are ok. It only matters if He thinks we are ok.
Micah 6:6-8 “What God Requires of Man With what shall I come to the LORD And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves? Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”
Hebrews 13:15-16 “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
Worthwhile religion isn’t satisfied pleasing self, it seeks only to become pleasing to God.
After Paul was converted, we can see this in him so clearly.
• Before he was saved, when he was a Pharisee, he sought only his own goodness.
• But once he confronted Jesus, he quickly learned that there was someone else to please.
He became a model of a man
Who sought to please God’s standard, not his own.
Philippians. 3:7-11 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
There is the difference between worthless & worthwhile religion.
One tries to please self; the other tries to please God.
So we see who worthwhile religion pleases.
2) HOW IT PROSPERS (27b)
“to visit the orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
Now, I don’t want us to get off thinking
That we become pleasing by doing those things.
That is not James’ point.
James’ point is that a person of true faith,
Who is truly trying to please God will do those things.
Two true marks of saving faith, or true religion, are to provide for others, and to purify self.
That is what James is showing us here.
The man of worthless religion sought
To degrade and destroy others to make himself look better.
The man of true religion humbles himself for the sake of others.
And that is what makes the least of these such a tremendous test
Of whether or not your religion is genuine.
Jeremiah 7:6 “if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin,”
Isaiah 1:16-17 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.”
Matthew 25:37-40 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”
This is one of the reasons why Jesus said,
“You will always have the poor with you.”
There is no better test than this.
• Benevolence is messy
• Benevolence is inconvenient
• Benevolence is frustrating
• But one thing benevolence is not is “self-seeking”
If all our religion was about was pleasing self,
We would never take the time to listen, help, get involved,
And then do it all over again.
And that is James’ point.
1 John 3:10-11 “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;”
1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.”
1 John 3:17 “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”
John reminded us of the attitude of a person with true faith.
They don’t seek to point out the problems of others.
They love others, and seek to help them get better as well.
When our righteousness doesn’t depend upon being better than others,
Then we will more willingly help others.
James said here, if we even want to pretend to have true religion,
We had better take care the “orphans and widows”.
Not only that, “and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
And this is so good.
Worthless religion is a system of rituals designed
To let a person stay in their sin and get away with it.
You know – live however you want, but say a few “Hail Mary’s” and you get a clean slate.
It is what Jeremiah referred to as a robber’s den.
But true religion isn’t looking for a means to sin without consequence, true religion is looking to be pure inside and out.
1 Peter 4:1-3 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.”
So we see who worthwhile religion pleases and we see how it prospers
3) WHAT IT PRODUCES
Although it isn’t specifically mentioned here,
We learn that while worthless religion is displeasing to God,
Because it only seeks to honor self.
However we understand that worthwhile religion
Will produce grateful people, and a glorified God.
2 Cor. 9:13-14 “Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.”
We know that the true aim of anyone with true faith
Is to bring glory and honor to God.
It is to make Him look good, not us.
It is to lead others to Him, not push others away.
True religion is all about God, and His work,
Not us and our own goodness.
Jesus taught this in a text that will adequately sum up all that we have been talking about.
Matthew 9:10-13 “Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
WHAT DID JESUS MEAN HERE?
“I DESIRE COMPASSION AND NOT SACRIFICE”
Can you hear Jesus’ point?
What good is all the religion in the world,
If it only please you and not God?
What good is all the religion in the world,
If it only helps you and not others?
Don’t let your religion be worthless
Let it be worthwhile
Worthless religion commends self, and condemns others, while worthwhile religion humbles self, and helps others. Only the latter is pleasing to God.
