Are You Religious?

Are You Religious? James 1:26-27

Are You Religious? • Do you consider yourself to be a religious person? • What exactly does that mean when someone says they are religious? • Is it defined as checking a box on a form that we may fill out for work, census, surveys, etc?

Are You Religious? • There are many ideas that people have regarding what it means to be religious • Some say it means going to church on Sundays • Some say being religious means wearing religious symbols (cross, tattoo of Jesus) • Some say it’s in the way you talk (saying “God bless you”)

Are You Religious? • It’s possible to do these things, and yet still not be a “religious” person • How we define being “religious” and how God defines it is different • James tells us how we may know that we are religious, and it has nothing to do with what most people think

Are You Religious? • 1. Your opinion doesn’t matter • “If anyone among you thinks he is religious…” • There are many who think in their own minds that they are religious • They may be sincere, yet be sincerely wrong

Are You Religious? • 1. Your opinion doesn’t matter • “Do not be wise in your own opinion” (Rom. 12:16) • What matters is the truth of God’s word • “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17)

Are You Religious? • 1. Your opinion doesn’t matter • Truewisdom is found in the word of God (Jam. 3:17-18) • James is basically telling us that we can throw our ideas on what it means to be religious out the window • He tells us what it really means…

Are You Religious? • 2. The “religious” control their tongue • “…and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless” • I’ve heard many stories about Christians who have disappointed others with their tongues

Are You Religious? • 2. The “religious” control their tongue • If there is one thing that gives away who we belong to it’s the words we speak • James 3:1-12 – A “religious” tongue cannot spew forth cursing, gossip, etc. • “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34)

Are You Religious? • 2. The “religious” control their tongue • We deceive ourselves if we think we are religious and yet do not bridle our tongue • James says our religion is “useless” (empty or profitless) • Our speech should impart grace (Eph. 4:29; Col. 4:6)

Are You Religious? • 3. The “religious” care for the needy • James wants us to know what religion means in a pure and undefiled sense • That means there is no one or no thing that will taint the meaning of it • Notice that true religion is outward focused, not inward

Are You Religious? • 3. The “religious” care for the needy • We are to be servants to others just as Christ was (Matt. 20:28) • Why did God chose widows & the fatherless to be ministered to? • God has always been one who looks after those who are needful

Are You Religious? • 3. The “religious” care for the needy • “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation” (Ps. 68:5) • “He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow” (Deut. 10:18) • These women & children have lost the heads of their homes (Eph. 5:23; 6:1-4)

Are You Religious? • 3. The “religious” care for the needy • They need help and support • Where should they get it from? • It should come from those inside the body of Christ (Matt. 25:34-46; Gal. 6:10; I Jn. 3:17-18) • Are we doing this?

Are You Religious? • 4. The “religious” remain unspotted • “to keep oneself unspotted from the world” • One of our main objectives as Christians is to mold ourselves into the image of God • We are constantly told to become more like God (I Cor. 11:1; Eph. 5:1; I Tim. 6:11)

Are You Religious? • 4. The “religious” remain unspotted • Paul told us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed(Rom. 12:2) • That transformation is becoming more like God, which will have us less like the world

Are You Religious? • 4. The “religious” remain unspotted • The bottom line is that people need to see that you are different and then they will recognize that you are religious by default • If we are like the world in the way we speak, act, or treat others, then that self-professed religion is no good

Are You Religious?