True Religion

I want to begin this morning by having us note the contrast between verse 26 and verse 27
of James chapter 1. Notice how verse 26 talks about a religion that is worthless. He says,
if we don't keep a tight reign on our tongue, our religion is worthless. And in contrast
verse 27 talks about religion that is acceptable and pure and faultless in God's sight. That is,
looking after orphans and widows in their distress and by keeping ourselves from being polluted by
the world. And as we look at these two verses this morning in preparation for communion, and as we look
at that contrast between them, there are two observations that I'd like for us to note. The first
is this, not all religion is equally valid. There is a religion that is worthless and there is a
religion that is acceptable. There is a religion that is false and there is a religion that is true.
And the reason for that is that religion, as we saw last week, is the biblical description for
the sum total of our relationship with God. And because God is a person who has a particular
character and who has certain likes and dislikes and wants to do relationships with us, there is a
right way to be in relationship with Him and there is a wrong way to be in relationship with Him.
And so it is possible to worship Him in the right way or to serve Him in the right way and to
worship Him in the wrong way. Not all religion is equally valid. Why do I make a point of that
this morning? Well, two reasons. Number one, it is easy to minimize the differences
among the religions of the world. There is a constant push in today's society for inclusivity.
People are tired of differences. They're tired of religious wars. You've heard the language
just as well as I have. It doesn't matter how you serve God as long as you serve Him sincerely.
Doesn't matter what pathway you use to get to God as long as you're a committed Buddhist or
a committed Christian or you follow Islam, they're all but different pathways to the same God.
Not a biblical concept whatsoever. You shall have no other gods before me,
says the God of Scripture. And the problem Israel experienced in the Old Testament was not that
they were irreligious. That is to say not that they had no God. Their problem was that they were
constantly turning away from the true and the living God to false gods. Not all religions are equally
valid because Jesus said he is the way the truth and the life. Very important to understand
because the pressure is on to try to diminish the differences among the major religions of the
world. The God of Islam is not the same God as the God of the Christian faith and neither are
the gods of other religions. Not all religion is equally valid. It's easy to minimize the differences
and not all service, listen to this, not all service of the true God is equally valid. The Apostle
Paul writing to the book of Romans concerned in the Jews says they have a zeal for God
but it is not filled with knowledge. They try to pursue the righteousness of God but because
they're pursuing it in their own strength they fail to arrive at it. You can go all the way back
to Genesis chapter 4. That story of Cain and Abel where both of them bring their offering to God
and you discover that not all ways of serving the same God are equally valid. Cain's offering
was rejected. Abel's offering was accepted. What was the difference between the two? Well we know
from the New Testament that Cain was of the evil one, Abel was a man of faith and all through
Scripture the key to having a relationship with the God who made the heavens and the earth
is to have a living faith. Without faith says the book of Hebrews it is impossible to please God.
What is faith? It's the assurance of things hoped for according to Hebrews chapter 11 and the
conviction of things not seen. It's knowing that God created this whole wide world and that he
made us so that he made us good, that he desired to bless us. He wanted to put us in charge of
all of creation but we fell into sin. We rebelled against him. We are today alienated from him
and only those who face their alienation, only those who embrace the depravity of their own
hearts who turn away from their sin, who know they cannot be sufficiently acceptable before
the sight of God in heaven and who turn to faith in Jesus can have our relationship with God. I
am as I quoted earlier said Jesus the way the truth and the life. If ever you need to ask yourself
the question, which religion is the true one? Which worship of God is acceptable in the sight of
God that always asks yourself the question what is the centrality of the cross of Jesus in the gospel
or the message that is being proclaimed? Is the fundamental message man is inherently good, man
is inherently capable of saving himself, man is inherently divine, you're dealing with false
religion from a biblical point of view. True religion always confesses I cannot do it I cannot save
myself I need Jesus I find my life and my hope in him I have found over the years doesn't matter how
complicated theological arguments are if you ask yourself the question where is the cross of Jesus
in this you will always know the difference between true religion and false religion.
James says there is a religion that is worthless and there is a religion that is acceptable
pure and faultless before the face of God it is based says scripture on faith not all religion is
equally valid but then he goes on to point out that true faith is always demonstrated by changed
behavior. Jesus himself put it this way he said by their fruit you will know them and if you look
closely at these two verses that we're looking at this morning James 1 26 and 27 you discover
that in each case what is said to be the test of true faith or true religion well it is changed
behavior let's look again at verse 26 if anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep
a tight reign on his tongue he deceives himself and his religion is worthless we looked at that
last week in some detail and we saw that the tongue there is more than just a member of your body
it is representative of your whole body God's desire for you and me in Christ is that every part
of our body be yielded to his control so that our eyes and our mouths and our ears and our hands
and our feet and all the parts of our body are fueled by by the inspiration of heaven above to
fulfill the purposes of God Satan's desire is to fuel our bodies from below so that they can be
instruments of wickedness that's why Paul says in the book of Romans present your bodies to God
as instruments of righteousness and James says the tongue as an unruly member is the hardest
one to bring into order and if you can control your tongue then you can control your whole body
I love this story told about Mildred Mildred is the church gossip she sticks her nose in everybody's
business most people don't like it very much but they're all anxious to hear what it is that she
has to say and she was known for starting a lot of rumors well she made a bad mistake when she
decided to pick on George George was a newcomer to the church and he accused him of being an
alcoholic because she had seen his pickup truck parked one afternoon in front of the only bar in
town so that was great fuel for the gossip mill and she had no hesitation in telling everybody
what a drunk the George wasn't fact she even took George on himself but George was a man of few
words and when she accused him he stared stared at her for a moment and he just walked away
he didn't explain he didn't defend he didn't deny in fact he did nothing except
later that night he quietly parked his pickup truck in front of her house and left it there all night
long I guess vengeance is mine South of the Lord how sweet it is
true religion manifests itself first of all in self control
and the lack of self control according to James chapter one is an indication that our religion
is worthless now notice again in verse 27 how this same theme is repeated what is religion
that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless well notice he mentions two things to look after
orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world
not only is false religion characterized by an inability to have our life changed and
transformed according to this scripture true religion religion that God accepts is pure and
faultless manifests itself in a transformed life that exhibits itself in these two qualities
looking after orphans and widows in their distress and keeping yourself from being polluted by the
world for the time being we'll leave that last one when to spend a little bit of time with you
this morning on what it means to look after widows and orphans in their distress of all the things
that James can find to earmark the distinguishing characteristic of true religion that is pure
and faultless in the sight of God now white in the world does he pick on orphans and on widows
all the reason is simple they represent the most vulnerable members of society in the bible
there were three classes of people who were particularly vulnerable the alien the orphan and the
widow and the reason they were vulnerable is all were lacking in the ordinary forms of support
that belonged to the rest of the community aliens because they had no right before the law
and even today you'll notice how illegal immigrants are often sold off into the sex trade or
they're used as cheap manual labor because they have no recourse to the law if they squeal will
report you and you will be deported same thing historically widows because they have no husband
and historically before there was such a thing as social security or a government safety net
to uphold people in their poverty to be a widow in most cases was to be reduced to poverty because
there was no longer a bread earner in your family and an orphan well an orphan of course has
neither father nor mother and so even today orphans are at the mercy of the powers that be in fact
a lot of the esiatic countries will make it jump through and off a lot of hoops these days before
they allow people from the western world to adopt their orphans because so many of those orphans
have ended up in the sex trade or they have have otherwise been sold off as cheap fodder for human
passion and for for human desire so when James says that true religion is looking after orphans
and widows that's what he's picking up on he says if you're really no god and you really have a
relationship with him through faith in Jesus and the spirit of Jesus has come to live within you
then one of the ways in which you can tell that that has happened is because god gives you a compassion
for the most vulnerable members of society and that today is not merely orphans and widows that
can be a drug addict that can be somebody who is mentally ill that can be a frail and elderly
person that can be a person whose marriage or whose life has collapsed and they are no longer
able fully to look after themselves and they need the support and the encouragement of the broader
community now of all the things that James could find to characterize true religion that
is where he begins and so it's not inappropriate for us to ask ourselves the question then
why is that such an incredibly important thing why for James is that de-characteristic
of what it is to have a true relationship with god well I think the answer lies
in the fact that this behavior reflects the character of god we're in the advent season
soon it'll be Christmas and during the season of course we celebrate a god's gift of life
in the person of Jesus wonder if you ever ask yourself the question why Christmas or
why the gift of Jesus well of course you know the answer so that our sins could be forgiven and
we could be restored to god but ask yourself an even deeper question why was Christmas even
necessary I mean if god is almighty and if he created the world good why in the world did he not
stop Adam and Eve from falling into sin why didn't he prevent the fall and he could have saved
himself a lot of grief and he certainly could have saved you and me a lot of grief true
good job Charlie so why well I believe the answer lies in the love of god and his desire to exhibit
his love in this the love of god was made manifest that is shown demonstrated pulses writing to
Romans chapter five in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us see here's how it works
god created the world because he had a heart of love think think of yourself I often use this
example but think of yourself as a rich and wealthy landowner and you've got nobody to share your
wealth with so to speak and so you be get yourself a family of children because you want to
pour your love into their lives that's what god did when he created Adam and Eve and in creating
Adam and Eve and giving them the whole world that was as much a demonstration of love as he could
possibly give but now imagine the child that you have created that you've poured yourself into
turns against you walks away from you spits in your face and you now go to the extend of laying
down your life to do everything that you can to bring that child back to forgive all his misdeeds
and to restore him to an even greater position of glory than what he experienced before he went
astray do you understand how in this second instance there is a demonstration of love that is far
beyond anything that you could demonstrate without seeing happening that makes sense
in this the love of god was made manifest to love somebody who turns against you
spits you in the face and to continue pouring your love into their heart is a whole different measure
of love than loving those who are lovable and god could never demonstrate that side of his love
he could never demonstrate the full depths of his love and his compassion unless he allowed
the world to fall into sin and so throughout all of scripture you have god reaching out to the
poor and to the lonely to the broken to those who know they have nothing later on James says
don't you know that those who are poor and the things of this world are rich in faith blessed
are the poor in spirits as Jesus for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and likewise when you look
at the ministry of Jesus in the New Testament who does Jesus hang around with well he doesn't hang
around with the rich and he doesn't hang around with the famous as a matter of fact he says they
don't need me those who are well need no physician I have come to seek and to save the lost
and so there is something in god's heart that is always drawn to the vulnerable there is
something in god's heart that draws him to those whose pride has been broken who have been reduced
to nothing and who have learned to cry out to him and they have learned to say god I need you
true faith is always a crying out from deep inside that says whatever it is that I need whatever
it is that I have to be before god I don't have it myself god I depend on you to give it to me
and so what happens when we become god's children what happens when Jesus comes to live in our
hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit well there's a transformation that begins to take place
life is no longer just about me if I'm a child of my father who is in heaven
then that is going to reflect itself in my care and in my compassion I too will learn to keep an eye
out for the orphans and for the widows in life with a view to helping them in their distress
I will recognize their need I will have compassion when I see their need
and I will do whatever it is that I can do in order to try to help them out
and let them experience the goodness of god if anyone has material possessions
ceases 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 for that reason
throughout the course of history who are the ones who stand up for defending the life of the
unborn who are the ones who are fighting against euthanasia who are the ones that have built orphanages
who are the ones that have built schools who are the ones that have sought to better the lot
of humanity interestingly enough not most of the pagan religions that you can refer to
almost always and largely exclusively Christian community because you see when gods love lives in
your heart you can't just walk by on the other side of the road when that man lies there all wounded
I was struck by this story it's a true account a young boy about 10 years of age
was standing before a shoe store in New York City many many years ago he was barefoot he peered
through the window he shivered with cold woman came up to the boy and she said to him
my little fellow why are you looking so earnestly in that window and the little boy said
I'm asking God to give me a pair of shoes so the lady took him by the hand went into the store
asked the clerk to get half a dozen pair of socks for the boy and she then asked if he could give
her a basin of water in a towel and she took the young lad to the back of the store he moved her
gloves she knelt down and she washed his feet and she dried them with the towel but this time the
clerk had returned with a socks and placing a pair on the boy's feet she bought him a pair of shoes
she tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him as well and then she patted him on
the head and she said no doubt young lad you'll feel much more comfortable now and then she turned
to go the astonished lad caught her by the hand looked up in her face and with tears in his eyes
he asked her this question are you God's wife are you God's wife would that all of us
would be characterized by the character of God see religion that God or father accepts as pure
and faultless as this to look after orphans and widows in their distress now obviously that's
got some very practical implications I mean quickly walk you through three of those before we turn
to communion first implication is this we must limit our own consumption the opposite of self
control is not merely the lack of self control it is self indulgence and in a world that doesn't
know God and cannot trust him to supply their deepest needs the basic motivation of human life
is to try to satisfy and meet our own needs the problem of trying to meet our own needs is that
they're often a bottomless pit and so people are busy all the time absorbing into themselves
whatever they can and maybe if there is something left over they will generously share it with
somebody else as long perhaps they get a recognition or credit for it but when you come to know Jesus
and you come to know God as your father and his character gets to be reproduced in your heart
then you know there is more to life than self indulgence as a matter of fact you learn self
control you learn not only to bite your tongue but you learn to control your appetites you learn to
control your whole being and out of that overflow then the focus in life is no longer so much what can
I get as what can I give was John Wesley who put it well years ago he said earn what you can
save what you can give what you can and true to his own motto by the time he died
he had given away fortunes of money that had come to himself but left himself with only the
bearest minimal to get along with in a self indulgent society we need to learn to limit our consumption
and we need to ask the Lord for eyes to see human need you've heard the story probably I love it
two men were walking along a beach and the waves had tossed thousands upon thousands of starfish
on the shore and as the two men were walking along the one kept on reaching down picking up a
starfish and throwing it back into the water and he did this repeatedly to the point where his
companion who was trying to talk with him was getting more than a little annoyed and he said
what difference does it really make do you think you can save all of them and the other man
said as he picked up another starfish no I reckon I can't save all of them and to most of them
it won't make a difference but he said to this one as he threw it back into the water it'll make all
the difference in the world and sometimes you and I as we seek to live out the life of Christ
and we confront the brokenness of human life and the need for redemption it's not hard to be
overwhelmed by the number of casualties that you find lying on the beach and sometimes a donor
fatigue is they call it in international aid sets in and you say to yourself what difference could I make
and I find it fascinating that when you look at Jesus who picked up on human need much more
abundantly than you and I ever can he didn't try to save everybody he didn't try to turn the whole
world right side up into three years that he did his ministry he made it his business to follow
the Father and as he followed the Father in the course of every day living God the Father
would indicate to him the human need that he was to speak into or work into and I believe the
same thing is true for you and for me I think that as we follow Jesus as we try to curb our own
appetites as we try to be a reflection of the Lord Jesus that in the every day exchanges of life
God will bring people into our lives whose needs we have been raised up to address there will be
something that stirs deep within your heart and what it is that stirs deep within your heart will
depend on who you are what you're calling is and what you're gifting is my passion as you know
is broken people and God's desire to see broken people healed I know other people my brother
Locke Conrad Vindike who is here this morning included who has a heart for the poor orphans
of Sierra Leone an organization that he's part of tries to raise funds and resources to
equip people in the poorest of the countries of the world so that they can become self-sufficient
and have the love of Jesus made manifest and it'll be different for you some of you you'll get
excited about going to the DR and building a church down there others you see somebody you need
and you want to pour your money into their situation doesn't matter what you're calling is
doesn't matter what you're gifting is if we are the children of God the love of God is going to be
made manifest in the practical realities of laying down our time talent and treasure for the
weakest and the least of these my brethren that Jesus Christ can be glorified because we are
reproducing the character of God we must limit our own consumption we must ask for ice to be
opened to need and then we need to step into that need and give freely without expecting
anything in return as you know this is the Christmas season I don't think I have ever received
more flyers in the mail than this year everybody is trying to point out what excellent gifts
you can buy for other people and there are merchants who make the bulk of their money
in sales in the month of December because of the Christmas spirit and that gift giving
has its origins goes all the way back to the idea of the wise men and the offerings that they
brought to baby Jesus but in the fall in the world there's always a dark side because why do we
give well partly because we love people and we want to demonstrate love but ever watch anybody who
didn't get a gift back how many people do you send Christmas cards to that have neglected to send
you Christmas cards over the last couple of years point made see part of following Jesus
is that we learn to give as the Holy Spirit leads us for all the right reasons and all the right
motivations not just to get back but to bless other people in obedience to God the Father Jesus
put it this way he said when you give a luncheon or dinner do not invite your friends your brothers
or relatives or your rich neighbors if you do they may invite you back and you will be repaid
but when you give a banquet invite the poor the cripple the lame the blind and you will be blessed
although they cannot repay you you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous
proverbs 1917 says he who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and he will reward him for what he
has done God the Father makes his rainfall and the Justin on the unjust and he makes his son rise on
the good and on the evil and Jesus says if you're going to be his children then learn to aspire to
that kind of maturity because it is what characterizes the children of God