Nov 30 - James 1:25-26

F R O M   P A S T O R   N A T E

THE GRAPHIC FROM SUNDAY’S SERMON

 

if anyone thinks he is religious

and does not bridle his tongue

but deceives his heart,

this person’s religion is worthless.

Religion that is pure and

undefiled before God, the Father,

is this: to visit orphans and

widows in their affliction,

and to keep oneself unstained

from the world.”

James 1:25-26

Description of Graphic Below

 

Some people say that we in the church shouldn’t even talk about Christianity as a religion, it’s about relationship. 

 

Have you ever heard that?  Well, it’s certainly true that Christianity without a relationship with Christ is not saving faith.  However James clearly tells us that there is religion that is pure and undefiled before God. 

 

We’re supposed to have religion!  It just needs to not be a worthless kind of religion! Our greatest gift from God is a restored relationship with him through faith in Christ and his sacrifice. 

 

So what’s the point of religion?  It’s the method by which we improve that relationship. 

 

When we bridle our tongue and repent of what we ought not do, we chip away at the sin that separates us from God.  Even as saved believers in Christ, our sin affects how close we are to God in our relationship.  Religion is the how-to of worshiping God and drawing close to him, so that we can know him well! 

 

This week, remember to take advantage of the method God has given you to work alongside the Holy Spirit in cleansing your heart.  The reward is God drawing near to you!

 

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts (James 4:8)

 

From a sinner who wants to

get as close to God as he can,

Pastor Nate

 

This diagram starts with a heart.

 

All of the experiences of our life pours into our heart – the good and the bad, the light and the dark. And life (and death) flows out of our heart.

 

Even for well-intentioned people, good and evil flow out of our hearts and out of our mouths.

 

·        Good words tend to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. See the top right corner of the diagram. Good words produce salt and light … and light loops around pour more light back into the heart.

 

·        However, unkind thoughts and words of death present us with a choice. (See the diamond-shaped flow-diverter in the bottom right corner.)

o   If we choose to bridle our tongue, we purposefully funnel the evil into a process of repentance and restoration. We, indeed, begin to turn the darkness within us into light.

o   If we however do not bridle our tongues (nor our heart), if we indeed say “no” to God, darkness backflows into our hearts and becomes a different kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

As it says in Deuteronomy 30:19, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!”