What Does it Mean to Be Religious – September 13, 2009

James 1:17-27

So, do you think you are religious? There’s a way to find out. In the lesson today from James 1:17-27, God himself helps us discover the answer to the question What Does It Mean To Be Religious? September 13, 2009.

“I don’t go to church very often, but I consider myself to be religious.” “My uncle died last week. I’m sure he’s in heaven. He was so religious.” “My grandma said her prayers every day. She was very religious.” What do you think people mean when they say someone is religious? Here’s a better question. Do you think you are religious? Many of you are here every week. You know the songs of the liturgy by heart. You’re not afraid to jump in and sing along with the hymns even if you’re not a choir singer. You know where to find the book of James without having to check the table of contents for the page number. Do you think that makes you religious?

I realize there may be people who think that this is not a big deal. They feel that there are more pressing matters pressing on their mind like the economy, their job, their health, Congressman’s Joe Wilson’s comments about national healthcare, and school assignments. But what if I told you that only people who are truly religious are going to end up in heaven, and all the rest are going to hell? That’s what got my attention, and maybe it’s got yours, too. So, do you think you are religious? There’s a way to find out. In the second lesson today from James chapter one, God himself helps us discover the answer to the question What Does It Mean To Be Religious?

Welcome what God did

Over the last few decades one of the big topics in Christian circles has been something called “decision theology.” That’s a label used for people and preachers who give the impression that you’re not really religious until you’ve “made your decision for Christ.” Maybe you’ve heard people on TV, “Come forward, my friends! Let the Spirit into your heart. Open your heart to God so he can enter!” The problem with that is that it can make people think they are responsible for, or at least have some role in, getting connected to God. Let’s say your heart is a messy house with a locked door. Some would say, “If you want God to come into your heart, you have to clean the house and unlock the door to let him in.” Others say, “No! You don’t have the spiritual strength to clean up your house. Just unlock the door, let God in, and he’ll do the rest.” But the Bible clearly teaches that humans have no role at all in creating a connection with God, in becoming religious. You and I didn’t have the spiritual strength to clean up our house or even get out of our chair to unlock the door to let the cleaning people in because when we were born, we were not just spiritual invalids. We were not merely spiritually blind and deaf. The Bible says we were dead in our transgressions and sins(Ephesians 2:1). We were spiritual corpses with not a speck, not an ounce, not a droplet of power to step into the circle of God’s love, any more than a stillborn baby can jump into its mother’s arms.

But listen to the apostle, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be the first and best of his creatures.” Both God’s act of giving pardon for our sins and the result of that giving, our trust in him, are God’s doing. He took the initiative. He unlocked the door and cleaned up the house. From the start to the finish he did it all. From the realization of our lost-ness, to the relief of being rescued, to the faith to believe it’s true – he did it all for us. He gave it all to us.

Imagine you were in need of a heart transplant, your only hope of survival. Every day you paced around – at least on those days you had the strength to pace – wondering, worrying if there would be a donor and if you’d survive the surgery. One day you passed out in weakness then woke up with a new heart that worked perfectly! You didn’t do anything to accomplish the surgery, but you now have a sense of relief, calmness, joy, and thanks. That’s the first step in being religious. Recognize God did something for you and to you. The apostle James put it this way, “With a gentle spirit welcome the word planted in you, which can save you.” What Does It Mean To Be Religious? First and foremost, welcome what God did for you and to you.

Do what God desires

Then comes the inevitable follow-up question. If I were a betting man – and I’m not – but if I were, I’d be willing to wager that I get this question ninety percent of the time that I tell people that they’re going to heaven, that their connection with God, their being in the circle of his favor, is all God’s doing and has nothing to do with their actions or behavior. The big question that follows goes something like this – “If God did it all, if he is the one who gets all the credit for rescuing sinners, if he alone paid for our sins, if he alone makes it possible for us to live with him, if he alone opens heaven, if it’s all a done deal, if our sins are truly paid for, every last sin, every error, every goof, big or small, all gone and forgiven, and if the highway to heaven is paved, then what’s to prevent people from going out and sinning like crazy? All those sins are forgiven anyway. What’s to prevent people from acting like slime-balls and satisfying every lustful whim, giving into every greedy grab, and acting like there’s no tomorrow? The apostle James answers that in this letter – “True faith alone saves, but true faith is never alone.”

Martin Luther had trouble with this letter. He was so focused on getting from this world to the next, which really ought to be everyone’s biggest concern, that he did not appreciate the apostle James’ perspective. That’s why Luther loved Paul’s letters to the Galatians and to the Romans. Those letters zeroed in on God getting us to heaven. James says, “OK, heaven is the priority. Getting there, getting a perfect life racked up to our credit so we meet God’s standards, getting sins paid for so we can go is THE number one big deal. But once you know heaven is yours, you still have a life to live on earth. How are you going to offer thanks to God for his great gift of heaven? How are you going to show that you appreciate all he did for you and to you?” James says, “True faith alone saves, but true faith is never alone.” In other words, true faith is always working like a well-tuned car engine that never runs out of fuel, like a well-lit factory that operates twenty-four seven and never shuts down. True faith produces thankful living as naturally as an apple tree produces apples. You don’t have to command the tree to produce apples or squeeze its trunk or kick its bark. The sunlight, water, and soil nutrients go to work, and the tree produces apples.

What Does It Mean To Be Religious? James tells us that God does the first part and the most important part. He plants the word of truth in us. He wipes our sin-slate clean. He gives us the faith to believe that what he did for us is true. But the faith he implants in us is not dead and inactive like a dry, dead tree. No! He keeps watering and shining Jesus-light on the tree of our faith so that apples keeping growing. “Be doers of the word and not merely hearers, deceiving yourselves. If anyone is a hearer of the word but not a doer of it, that person is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the one who looks intently into the perfect word [or instruction] that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – that one will be blessed in what he does.”

Then like a vendor at the Farmers’ Market the apostle shows us a couple samples of apples, samples of thankful living. One kind of apple growing on our faith tree has to do with what’s rolling around in our minds. “Therefore get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent.” An apple can look good but might have worms inside. One way we thank God for what he did is by paying attention to what we’re thinking about and inner our attitude. That’s a challenge, no doubt about it. But God wants us to take up the challenge, to fill our mind with his gift of peace, and then let all the other pieces fall in line. Being religious includes doing what God desires with our minds.

Another apple has to do with what comes out of our mouths. “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry … If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” When you came home crying because some bully hurt your feelings, and mom taught you, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” did you believe her? You likely learned in a hurry that mean words are sometimes more painful than a fist in the eye. So, watch your mouth. The little slit in our face can do a lot of damage. Yet it can also do a lot of good when we offer encouragement, kindness, and tell people about Jesus. Being religious includes doing what God desires with our words.

Another apple has to do with how we use our hands. “Religion that is pure and faultless before God our Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” There are people here who love their Lord and help others in so many ways in their personal life as a parent, student, or neighbor, in volunteer service, in providing a meal for a family in need, in rethinking their spending habits and increasing their gifts to the Lord. How can they do it? They will tell you – God did something for them and to them. Being religious includes doing what God desires with our hands.

You’re at a party. The subject of religion comes up. The person to whom you are speaking asks, “Are you religious?” What are you going to say? Try this – “It depends on what you mean by that. If you are asking if I’m conscientious and exact about certain behaviors, I’d have to say, ‘Sometimes yes; sometimes no’. But if you are asking if I believe that a connection with God is important, the answer is, ‘Absolutely!’ God did something wonderful for me. He opened heavens doors – guaranteed – even though I don’t deserve it, and I’m spending the rest of my life saying, ‘Thank you’ to him as best I can. If that’s what you’re asking, yes, I’m religious.” Amen.

Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on September 13, 2009

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