Blue Light Special Religion
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
From: Martin Overfield
Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000
Blue Light Special Religion
"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and
receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto
a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and
goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But
whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he
being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be
blessed
in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not
his
tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 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."
(James 1:21-27)
While I was learning my A-B-Cs, 1-2-3s, and a lot of other things in
public elementary school, I also learned how mean children can be to one
another. One of the taunts I heard for a while was something like this,
"Where did you get that, on blue light special at K-mart?" Now, I do not
even know whether K-mart uses this method of selling discounted items
anymore, but I well remember how the people would flock to the flashing blue
light to get the deals. Of course, I am very much in favor of getting the
best deals we can get, but many times I have found that what SEEMS to be a
good deal may actually cost much more in time, trouble, and money later.
So, I have chosen this title of "Blue Light Special Religion" to
represent the
great deal(s) that many people SEEM to get when they are not willing to pay
full price for the true, pure religion that God has to offer. Many are
deceived
when someone sells them short on Bible religion. Many believe that they can
sin every day in word thought and deed while still having assurance of a
home
in Heaven, when in reality the Bible no where teaches any such sinning
religion.
On the contrary, we find that "we do know that we know him, if we keep his
commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1 John 2:4) And,
again, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his
commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith.
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the
Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5) So the keeping of God's commandments and
the overcoming of the world are proof that we love God and that we have a
true faith in Christ.
Twice the passage in James chapter one mentions the idea of "deceiving".
He first mentions that we deceive "our own selves" if we hear the Word of
God but do not obey it. The second says that a man deceives "his own heart"
when he may "seem to be religious, but bridleth not his tongue".
As we delve into the meaning of the words, we find the word SEEM to
mean "think or suppose" or "to be reputed". It may be that the person
thinks himself to be religious, or that he has a reputation of being so --
others think him to be religious. But, the most important one cannot be
fooled, God. We may convince others, and we may convince ourselves
through self-deception, but God knows the heart of man. "The heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the
LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according
to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 17:9-10)
Then the word RELIGIOUS deals especially with the externals of religion,
though it may also apply to that "pure religion and undefiled" later
mentioned. So a person may be quite religious in an external sense and
still have not an ounce of God's grace in his heart. The word RELIGION,
used twice here, refers to both "ceremonies" and "discipline". I believe
that the Bible here teaches that one may outwardly line up to the religious
standards of his church, maybe even radically so, and all the while be far
from God. Remember what Jesus said about the attitudes and intents of our
hearts. He put a tremendous emphasis upon the avoidance of sin in one's
thought life and spirit. (See Matthew chapter 5 and Bible Note entitled
"Righteousness Required".)
What kind of religion do you have, the "blue light special" kind or the
"pure and undefiled" kind? Have you gotten such a good deal on your
religion that it will not stand the test of life and of the Judgment? Or,
do you have the genuine article which really works from day to day and will
pass the scrutiny of the "eyes as a flame of fire" when you stand before the
judgment seat of Christ?
(I used Vine's and Strong's dictionaries for this note.)
Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield
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