Pure Religion
by Michelle Stace

 

     We all enjoy fellowshipping with other believers. We enjoy praying and singing with them. We enjoy the encouragement and love in such gatherings. And this is wonderful!  But I fear a very important element is lacking to a great degree - serious study and especially APPLICATION of God's word into our lives. His word is all about change, from the unclean, unholy thing, to being clean and holy. The true believer is holy, in position, by Christ's blood. But then it's to be manifested day by day and more and more in our lives. We are to be "partakers of His holiness," "without which no man shall see the Lord." We aren't to come to a point of comfort, saying, that is as far as I want to go. It's a life long process of growing more like Jesus. How can an unclean thing truly love and fellowship with our pure, most Holy Jesus? There is nothing in common.  That's why He makes us new creatures, so that we can become like Him through the cleansing work of the Spirit.
     The apostle Peter says, "as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (behavior); because it is written, Be ye holy: for I am holy."  God's word, His commands, define what is holy. Christ obeyed this word and we are to imitate Christ.  Peter goes on to say, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit  . . .  being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever."  The Truth is the Word and this must be taught in the heart by the Spirit. The reaction of seeing obedience in a person's life often times has the response of being called a "legalist" by others,  either out of misunderstanding, or as an excuse for themselves. Was our Precious Savior a legalist, He who is the fulfillment of Divine Love? Legalism is an outward act done in order to earn salvation, which of course is impossible.  It is also man's way of condemning each other. On the other hand, true obedience is first an inner, then an outer response to the workings generated by the Spirit in one's heart. Please understand the difference, otherwise we cannot be wholly, holy, vessels of love for the One who gives us Life. Obedience from self effort is self-righteousness.  Godly obedience occurs only as we are freed from the shackles of selfishness and lust. Here is the freedom of Christ!  
     The end product of pure religion is not to be so shallow as just a fun social event for us to enjoy. It is serious and has a purpose. It is all about sacrificial love - not just a warm sympathy. It's to be a consuming, life changing, purging fire.  James 1:27 says, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."  Here is a religion of action and service. It's hard work and it's a battle against the flesh. Do we visit (relieve) the fatherless and widows? (I think it's obvious to include in this group the ill and housebound, the elderly whose children do not care for them, and families who are poor and struggling.) Do we support them with time, help and money? Or do we just give our money to support a building?  These situations require us to roll up our sleeves, deny some of our pleasures and get involved. It involves suffering with that person. "Being all things to all men, that I might save some." Here is application!
     Think about the life of Jesus. He was where the needs were. One of the times He visited the church of the day, He was very upset and angry. He cast out them that sold and bought, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers - Mk. 11:15-17. He called it a den of thieves. It was to be a house of prayer . . . . and what has the church become since then?  Now apply this thought to yourself, if you are a believer.  Since you are the temple of God, are you a "house of prayer?"  Do you sacrifice time from your duties or coveted activities to spend in communion with the Creator of the universe who actually desires to commune with you?  Do you sacrifice time in earnest prayer for others? Our rate of growth in the Christian life is in large part determined by the amount of time spent seeking Jesus is prayer.  Here is application.
     "And to keep himself unspotted from the world." This is the other part of pure religion. But what does it mean? Let's start with I Jn.2:15-16 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." According to Scripture the physical world is in the control of Satan, as opposed to the Spirit of God, and the flesh - our flesh - is a primary tool of Satan.  The works of the flesh are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, dissension, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like - Gal.:5:19-21. These are the things which must be rooted out of each of us because "they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven" - Gal.5:21. The sins of our flesh run far far deeper that we know, and we must constantly be at the feet of Jesus depending upon His cleansing power and Light to shine in our darkness. The Bible tells us we are pilgrims and strangers. As such we cannot be comfortable or at home in this world. Yes, we must function in it, but we are not to be of it.
     Keep yourself unspotted from the world by "Proving all things, holding fast that which is good. Abstaining from all appearance of evil . . . fleeing from evil" II Thess.5:21,22; I Pet.3:11.  We "prove" or test things in the light of scripture. A casual look at scripture is not near enough.  If there is not a specific "do" or "don't", there will be a principle to glean from and apply. Once something is determined to be wrong, we are to stay away from it.  Besides the things that are clearly wrong (such as the obvious listed above from Galations ), there are other things that have been so assimilated into our culture that we can't even see them or understand why they wrong. We are each accountable to walk in the light God has given us and not just go with the flow with no thought at all, or just because my friends do it, or even because the church does it. Never use other people or things as a comparison or a way to justify your actions, without seeing for yourself what scripture says. Pray for God's wisdom to see. As you are reading scripture, think how it might pertain to you now. Bring God into every detail of your life. Ask yourself questions. Pick a topic and study it through. Then pick another and another. Use the Bible as your guide, not man-made study notes. Let the Spirit open your mind to the things of God and He will give you a willingness and the ability to obey and apply what you have learned into your life. Then it will be done in God's strength - not human effort -  so He receives all the glory. It is for our best well being that God wants us to do this.  Some may think God wants to take away all our fun, but that is so untrue. He does want to teach us that He is to be our ALL in ALL. He is enough - more than enough! He is our fulfillment. And there are times when we've given over something to Him that really wasn't wrong in itself, that He will later give it back to us because now He knows we can have this thing or take part in this activity without being controlled by it. The "thing" is no longer our objective or all important, but rather pleasing God is and we hold everything with an open hand for Him to give and take as He pleases. Here again is application.
    Look now at the first chapter of II Peter. He says we have been given the things that pertain to life and godliness (holiness). He says we have been called to glory and virtue. He says we are partakers of the divine nature and have escaped worldly corruption and lust. This is certainly not the life of one foot in both camps. He exhorts us to virtue, knowledge, temperance (self-control),  patience (cheerful endurance), godliness,  brotherly kindness and charity. So then we will be neither barren nor unfruitful in Christ.
     It's not God's intent that our walk with Him be aimless and haphazard. We need to have a "life plan" as it were. But how many of us have deliberately sat down and set out goals for our Christian walk and then followed through with them. Most have a vague objective of ultimately getting to heaven and in the meantime doing a little here and a little there to "serve" God. And yet how much more thought do we put into planning our daily schedules, our vacations, our expenses, etc. How sad! Yes, the cares of life must be attended to, but a deepening relationship with God should be our number one priority and we only hurt ourselves and grieve God when we neglect Him. If we could only grasp how much we are missing out on by continuing in our blind, willfulness, rather than living out His word as Jesus did.