Real Religion: The Quest: Day 4.0

Early Morning Update

This morning’s study is about real religion. But, it is not only about that. We will get into church discipline as well as the new cultural infatuation with the “virtue” known as niceness.

But, before all that, in case you want an update on the quest thus far: We had a great night last night. We ate at Nawab – a local Indian food restaurant. It was delicious. Then, we came home and I worked with my son on some math – multiplying fractions, mostly. After, we read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe chapters 10-11, and Joshua 8. It was a wonderful evening. I even got to sleep about 30 minutes earlier than usual! Sleep is such a wonderful blessing!

Real Religion

Yesterday, Day 3.0, we discussed briefly James 1:26. I meant to tie in what James says about the tongue in James 3, but got side-tracked. (Imagine that!) The guilty party was that worn out saying, “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual.” Feel free to look back at that post for more on the subject.

Before we get back to the tongue, I need to point out more Proverb-like practicality from James. In the next verse he hits us with some solid examples:

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 1:27

There you have it, real religion. I pointed out in Day 3.0 that I believe real Christians are religious. If we believe that, then James tells us exactly what we ought to do if our religion is to be pure and undefiled before God. Visit widows and orphans. Keep ourselves unstained from the world.

Don’t hide in the sanctuary

It is important to point out that the Apostles never meant for Christians to be hermits. They do not encourage Christians to avoid contact with the world. Paul writes:

⁹ I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. ¹² For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?

1 Corinthians 5:9-12

In this part of 1 Corinthians, Paul is not telling the Christians to disassociate themselves with all sinners outside of the church. He is referring to brothers and sisters within the church. He even makes a point here that if he meant for them to avoid those outside the church steeped in various sins, then they would need to go out of the world.

So, when James says we are to keep unstained by the world, he does not mean for us to hide. We are not to build up walls around the church and avoid the world. We must be in the world, or else how would we share the Gospel? Both Paul and James demand that we not bring the sins of the world into the church.

Does this mean there are no sinners in the church? In short, not at all.

None is Righteous

 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:21-26

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
    there is none who does good.

² God looks down from heaven
    on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,
    who seek after God.

³ They have all fallen away;
    together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
    not even one.

Psalm 53:1-3

There is so much here. I could spend a month just going through these two passages. Paul quotes Psalm 53 in Romans 3, but it is nice to go back hundreds of years and point out the unity of the Scriptures.

Misunderstanding the brothers

A family member complained about the church to me the other day. He said that they believe they are better than people outside the church. He said that Christians judge people outside the church. I pointed to Romans 3. I told him he had misunderstood. Real Christians know that they have no righteousness apart from the the grace given to them as a gift. What’s more, their righteousness is not their own. It is all Christ.

It is Christ’s righteousness that justifies us. Did you catch the line above? For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

If anything, Christians do not believe they are better than people outside the church – there is no distinction. But, they should believe they are better off than people in the world because they have been justified by faith alone in Christ alone!

The Goals of Discipline

Christians do judge brothers and sisters within the church. More precisely, elders within the church are commanded to discipline brothers and sisters who fall into sin. Why? Is it for public appearance? “No Sinners Since 1885!” No. It is for the sake of the brother or sister under discipline, and for an example to the rest of the congregation.

Here’s an extreme example. In I Corinthians 5 Paul is writing about a brother living in sin. This scoundrel is sleeping with his father’s wife. The Corinthian church thinks they are very sophisticated because they are “nice” to this man despite his ongoing sin. I am not even sure what that sin is called? It is related to adultery, I think. It must involve exponents. Pretty sure the Old Testament would say this man “uncovered his father’s nakedness.” I was never quite sure what that meant, but it sounds, as sophisticates say, icky.

Anyway, the Corinthians congratulated themselves for being so tolerant as to love and approve this man’s doings. (Sound familiar?) Now, notice what Paul says:

When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵ you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

I Corinthians 5:4-5

Paul? What a jerk! Is that what you are thinking? If so it is because you didn’t read to the end.

Paul, like James, wants the congregation to keep unstained from the world. He wants them to practice real religion. But, he also wants this currently unrepentant man to be saved! So, even in extreme cases of excommunication – where a brother or sister is no longer allowed to partake of the Lord’s Supper, or even to attend worship, the goal is threefold.

1. Keep the church pure.

2. The hope for the salvation of the unrepentant party.

3. An example to the congregation.

Niceness, the False Virtue

The stark difference between being nice to and actually loving someone is made clear in these verses. A nice congregation will tolerate and accept the deacon who is sleeping with one of the parishioners. After all, they don’t want to commit the sin of being judgy!

A loving congregation, practicing real religion, will confront the deacon. Loving elders will council him to repent, be restored to his wife, step down from his position. They will ask him to rebuild the broken relationships with both his family and the congregation. If the deacon refuses, the elders will tell him to take a hike until he comes to his senses. When he does repent later, loving elders will receive him with hopeful hearts into the congregation, but not directly back into his position as deacon. Loving Christians care about the soul of their fallen brothers or sisters. Nice Christians care only about themselves.

If I had a rubber hose…

Of course, you know what you’ve done. You’ve distracted me once again. We are now no nearer to covering James and the tongue than we were yesterday. In fact, we are almost certainly farther away! How could you? If I had a rubber hose…

Well, time to sign off. Fun Bible study this morning. Got a little heavier than I expected. The Lord works in mysterious ways, I guess. More soon!