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Plainly Speaking
with Karl J. Forehand
Don’t
Fake Yourself Out – Part 3
(Sharing the Word)
(James 1:26-27)
by
Karl J. Forehand
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. This is pure and undefiled religion in the
sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress,
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
(James 1:26-27)
The word religious means “an
outward practice in the service of God.”
After receiving the word, we can’t just start doing anything. We must let God examine us, then restore
us and ultimately transform us. As
this happens, the natural by-product should be sharing the Word. We receive – we are changed by it and we
should share it. I hope you resist the
temptation to focus on only evangelism.
There are many more areas of ministry and service besides
evangelism. Evangelism undoubtedly is
the main one, but it is not the only one.
Religion is not just going to
church, dressing up on Sunday and being somewhat good. It is not even just someone that owns and
reads their Bible. True religion is
sharing what God has done in you. A
common mistake churches make is to transform their preferences into practices
and call them religion.
True religion is serving others
(on the outside) because of what God has done on the inside. How can we do that?
1. Speak truthfully to your
heart.
This passage says not to
“deceive” our own heart. Many times
we try to justify the inconsistencies of our internal decisions and end up
deceiving ourselves. Often we create
religious exercises to pacify our physical desires because our inner life is
in turmoil. Why does James mention
the tongue in this passage? Because
once our mouth gets in gear, it is very hard to speak honestly to our hearts.
You can’t really be a good
spouse until you can stand to be alone with yourself. Speaking truthfully to your heart affects
your parenting, your service and your careers. We have to have honest conversations with God and others and
not deceive our own hearts.
2. Serve those in distress
We must take our transformed
lives to those that need in most.
Most churches spend the bulk of their ministry ministering to church
members that complain the most. We
must take our hope to those that are most desperate for it. Jesus set us that example (Luke 4:18)
Religion is not about what kind
of service we have inside – it is about how we serve others on the
outside. Religion is not about how
fantastic our building looks – it is about how solid our real foundation
is. It is not about whether we have
an impressive altar – it is about how often we kneel at the feet of
Jesus. Religion is not about how well
we dress – it is about whether we washed in the blood of the lamb, clothed in
righteousness and walking in newness of life.
3. Stay unstained by the world
John 17 tells us to be “in the world,” but
not to be “of the world.” Romans 12
tells us not to be “conformed” to the patterns of the world. Jesus gave a perfect example of this. He went to marriage feasts – He was a
friend of sinners, yet He remained unblemished. Lot, on the other hand, pitched his tent toward Sodom. He eventually moved into Sodom and later
Sodom moved into him.
I believe we have to learn to
make covenants. Teenagers could say,
“I’m not going to let anyone convince me of what is right – I’m going to do
what truly IS right.” Adults may say,
“I’m not going to bow to office pressure or community politics – I’m going to
do what God says is right.” The
church could say, “We are going to stand firm on the Word of God, whether it
is seemingly beneficial or not.”
Parents could covenant, “I’m going to be a parent first and a buddy
second.”
Real ministry (and religion)
begins when we speak honestly to our hearts.
It becomes active when we focus on those that need it most. It survives when WE stay unblemished by
the world.
Karl
J. Forehand, 2002
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