Fake Christians (James 1.26-2.26)
We have been trying to focus on the gospel this year to ensure everyone understands it and why we should focus our lives on it. The gospel is not just some statement of faith that we recite. It explains how Jesus is God in human form, we killed him, and God raised him from the dead to make him our king. Anyone on earth who submits their life to Jesus and seeks to obey his will can be forgiven of their sins, and they can enjoy eternal blessings.
The gospel is that good news, but people reject that gospel. Why? There are lots of reasons, but most of them are completely bogus. The rhetoric that the world around them repeats is fooling some. They believe the gospel is something it's not (unjust, the source of suffering, etc.).
Fake Christians
But today, we will touch on what is probably the number one reason people don't believe the gospel or accept Christianity. Do you know what that is? It's the "Christian." People notice when we fail to live the life we are called to live. Think about it. To the outside world, we are just a bunch of people just like them who get together and reaffirm our beliefs. The only difference they see between us and the rest of the world is that we look down on sinners, assuming that we are better than them.
Deceiving Your Hearts
To help us understand this, I want us to do a brief study in the book of James.
James 1:26 (ESV) --- 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
James says that religion is worthless when we fail to bridle our tongues. We can leave the church building having done all the right things but still be utterly unchanged by the truth. Then, we go to lunch and chew out a waitress for bringing us something other than what we ordered or taking a long time. If we do that, our religion is worthless. Something as small as our words can destroy our relationship with God.
What does he mean when he says we are deceiving our hearts? We are deceiving our hearts because that's not the fruit of the Spirit. Our lives will not glorify God's name. James says that we are often lying to ourselves. Have you ever lied to yourself? How many times have you told yourself, "Just one more brownie," "I don't need to do that work right now," "Nobody will ever know," or "It never hurts to try one time." It doesn't help us to lie to ourselves. We make our hearts believe that we are good and righteous because the outside of the bowl is clean, but the inside is filthy.
Impure and Defiled Religion
James 1:27 (ESV) --- 27 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.
He goes on to point out our treatment of widows and orphans. Who here has set aside time for widows and orphans? I know that quite a few of you have, but not everyone. If you haven't, why not? Is it because you are too busy focusing on your own life, or have you done enough to feel righteous by being here? We lie to ourselves. That's not pure and undefiled religion. Do you know what people see when we neglect those who are hurting and in need? That is one of the most significant pieces of ammo that Satan hands them to blow a hole in our testimony about the gospel.
I am not perfect in this. I have found myself distracted by work, family, and hobbies to the point of neglecting those around us who are in need. Maybe people around us don't need money. Maybe they need attention. Will I be inconvenienced enough to give it? When people see us neglecting the hurting or the struggling, they can sense a religion that is impure and defiled, and they know well enough to stay away from it. Then, opportunities to impact that person are few. Satan works on them to create a hypercritical mindset.
Becoming Judges
James 2:1--4 (ESV) --- 1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Last month we spoke about the tendency of some to disregard Christianity because it's too restrictive. Others might say that it's full of hypocrisy. Where do they get that? This is what happens when Christians fail to live the truth they preach. In this text, James points out that some Christians are showing partiality toward the rich.
Why would anyone do that? Think about it. Consider the difference between the rich and the poor. The poor dress, act, and smell differently and need help. The rich appeal to us because they appear to have more to offer us.
Do we see how twisted this is? James says that we have become judges with evil thoughts. We are working against God, who has chosen the poor to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom he has promised to those who love him. The rich oppress the poor and drag them into courts. God didn't send Jesus to earth, so he could build a church of wealthy people who make a lot of money and power. Remember that God can make money appear or disappear in an instant. He is the source of power and authority (Daniel 4:17), but he wants to help those who know they are in need.
Not only are we working against God. Rejecting the poor and selfishly seeking to be rich is the exact opposite mission of Jesus. Jesus left the wealth of heaven to serve the poor on earth. He was a friend of tax collectors and sinners. He went to their houses and ate with them.
James is trying to connect the dots for these Christians. They have given in to a worldly mentality and become selfishly ambitious. He says that becoming judges with evil intentions breaks the law of liberty they are under. Those Christians, who fail to show mercy to the poor, will not receive mercy on judgment day.
Brethren, if you believe God will welcome you into eternity because you did a few things right, you are mistaken. It's not enough to do a few right things. He wants your heart! He wants you to love him more than you love to indulge in this world's pleasures. He wants you to love others as you love him!
Do you remember what it means to love?
1 Corinthians 13:4--8 (ESV) --- 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
Why Do People Reject The Good News?
People reject the good news because they don't see works that show genuine faith. People judge the book by its cover. What do you think will happen when the cover is not genuine faith? If they're smart, they'll reject it because it's a lie. Instead of asking ourselves why people reject the good news of Jesus, we need to ask ourselves why we have little faith.
What's The Root of the Problem?
James 2:14--17 (ESV) --- 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
We could keep reading the rest of James to see many other instances of Christians failing to act like Christ, but instead, I want to turn our attention to the root of the problem. The failure to help the poor and needy is rooted in a lack of genuine faith. Genuine faith believes that whatever we give away in this life, we will receive eternally in heaven. It believes the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, "Lay up treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal."
James says people who proclaim faith without showing works don't have living faith. That is to say that their faith is dead. It resembles the faith of demons who believe that God is one but do not serve him. If we believe but fail to act on our beliefs, submitting our hearts to God, our faith is not genuine. This is the root of the problem.
What's The Solution?
We must become the Salt of the earth. Why aren't we the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World?
What is going on with the Christian we see in James? We know. Don't we? We know that the same thing is going on with them that has been going on with Christians in this country. It's just like Jesus repeatedly said in his parables.
Remember the parable of the soils? Which one are we? We have to be the good soil. But the good soil produces an abundant crop. The good soil is a Christian who plants seeds and waters seeds. The good soil is the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World. Don't many of us resemble the thorny soil? Those thorns have wrapped themselves around us, and the world's pull is much greater than the pull of God's love for us. Do you remember what the thorns represented? They represented the cares of this world. Those cares choked the life out of God's child. Is that happening to you?
There's another parable about a rich man who became wealthy. Instead of using his wealth to help those in need, like the orphan and widow, he planned to spend it all on himself. God took him that night and told him he was a fool who should have been rich toward God.
Please, don't be confused about why no one will obey God. Non-Christians believe that they are better than Christians who live like that. When we do this, we are bringing shame to the gospel.
God gave the gospel to create Christians who surrender their lives to live like Christ so that everyone can see God's glory. He wants humble servants to be the cover of his book. This is the only way the gospel will reach those who are seeking.
What are you doing to live like Christ?
We have studied the life of Christ. Now, it's time for us to examine ourselves and consider whether our lives look like his. If you are a new Christian (one who has been studying and seeking God for less than a few years), your life might not be as far along as a mature Christian. But if you have been a Christian for years, has the renewal of your minds transformed you? Do you look different than the world around you? Do you talk differently?
Jesus gave up his prosperity for the poor. Have you? It's easy for us to hoard our riches and seek safety and security from this world. That's what everyone else is doing. How are we any different from them? Is Jesus proud of us for that? Is the gospel magnified in our community by us living this way? Jesus left safety and wealth to suffer for us. Do we believe he wants us to build more extensive bunkers and hoard everything for ourselves? We should be opening our homes and our tables for sinners. We must seek relationships with strangers to share the gospel with them, and our lives must appear like Christ's life. We can't let the entanglements of this world push us away from the godliness that stands out.
Jesus spent his whole life seeking the will of his father. He wanted to glorify God's name. Is that our mission? How much time do we spend thinking about ourselves instead of God? Did we accept the gospel because we wanted the riches of heaven for ourselves? Have we felt broken over our sinfulness and repented? The church is the body of Christ. He loves it and cares like a husband for his tender bride. He purifies and washes away our sins. Do we live for him?
Conclusion
It's not an easy thing to surrender your life to someone else. It's easy to say, "I don't care about my will. I will do whatever you want me to do." But it's not easy to mean it and even more challenging to live it out. What is God calling you to do for him? What gift has he given you that you are not using? What are you holding back? Why will you not surrender? Is it because Christians around you won't? Have you believed a distorted gospel because Christians around you have an in-genuine faith? Faith without works is dead, and those who live for themselves will never find the joy that Christ offers. Please don't deceive your hearts. Please surrender to a life that is focused on the needs of others. I guarantee you that if we live like Christ, everyone will see and want to receive the same transformation we have received.