The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: Vertical religion must have horizontal expression.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans says our love for God is revealed in the love we show to others.

Dr. Tony Evans: What use is a religion that doesn't help a person in crisis? When you have the wherewithal to do it.

Guest (Male): This is The Alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.

Dr. Tony Evans: There's more to genuine faith than simply doing the right things.

Guest (Male): Today, Dr. Evans looks beneath our outward actions to uncover what should really motivate the way we live and serve. Let's join him in James chapter one.

Dr. Tony Evans: Most of us think we're religious. And the reason we think we're religious is because we have external activity that coincides with what religious people do.

Religious people go to church. Well, you're here today, that would suggest you are religious. Religious people pray. And I saw in our prayer time, hands go up and mouths moving. So, yeah, you pray. Religious people are part of the liturgy or the ceremony of the church. And yeah, you took communion, and you sang as our leader let us. And religious people recognize certain days. They give thanks on Thanksgiving and pay homage to the baby in the manger on Christmas. And well, at least come out to church on Easter Sunday. They recognize special days.

So they think they are religious because they have external observations, external things that they do. But what James is about to tell us in his contrast between worthless religion and faultless religion or clean religion or pure religion is that vertical religion is not enough to call yourself religious.

Vertical religion must have horizontal expression. Religious ritual must result in right living. Vibrant faith must actualize itself in a righteous life. That is his point of contrast. He makes three points, three areas where good religion will show up, where the real thing will authenticate itself.

It will show up in your word, it will show up in your work, and it will show up in your walk. Or put it another way, it will show up in your conversation, it will show up in your conduct, and it will show up in your character. Or to put it another way, it will show up in your speech, it will show up in your service, and it will show up in your separation. It will show up in your work, your word, your walk, your conversation, your conduct, your character, or your speech, your service, and your separation.

What he wants to do is give concrete examples of the kind of behavior that begins to take place in the person, out of whom the life of Christ is beginning to flow, and who has taken the word seriously and begun to act on it. Christianity is not only informational, it is also empirical. That is, it can be validated by the transformation in the life. That is the way that you demonstrate your growth. Your growth is never demonstrated because you know more than you knew last year. Your growth and my growth is demonstrated that we're doing more than we did last year.

It is in the visible demonstration that the evidence of the faith is seen. He says, "A second thing happens when you are being affected at the root in how it shows up in the fruit." It shows up in your compassion. He says in verse 27, "This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father: to visit orphans and widows in their distress."

He says, "True religion is not selfish religion." True religion doesn't say I have to look out for only me, myself, and I. True religion helps those, follow this, who can do nothing for us in return. Let me say that again. True religion helps others who can't return the favor.

It is false religion that says, "I do for you, you do for me." That's a business deal. That's not religion. He says the orphans and the widows. Now who were they? They were the most helpless people in society. In in the economy of the Jewish world, they were the poorest of the poor. This woman had no husband, this child or these children had no parents and they were destitute and could offer you nothing in return.

Look at what he says in chapter 2, we'll talk about it in more detail later, but look at what he says in verses 14 to 16 of chapter 2 of James. "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has no works? Can that faith deliver him?" We'll explain that later. "But if a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food." So he's hungry. "And one of you says to him, 'Go in peace, be warm, be filled.'" In other words, I pray for you, brother. "And yet you do not give him what is necessary for the body, what use is it?" What use is a religion that doesn't help a person in crisis when you have the wherewithal to do it? What use is a religion that's a talk religion?

Look at what he says a couple books over in 1st John chapter 3, verse 16. He says, "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word and with tongue, but with deed and in truth." He says, "Love ought to include two things: truth." You don't give a lazy man for being irresponsible, you hold him accountable to the truth and that is a man who does not work ought not eat. But it also should be mixed with deed, to come alongside people who can't help themselves and to do things expecting nothing in return.

That's the test of the quality of this ministry. We'll not be what we do for people who can give a lot of money in return. The test of this ministry is what we're going to do for people who can give us nothing in return. That single parent who's on welfare, that homeless person who has nothing to offer back. The quality of this ministry will be tied to people who can do nothing for us after we've done something for them. Because only then will the Lord bless, he says. The test of blessing is when people cannot return the favor.

He says in chapter 1, verse 27, "In the sight of God our Father, to visit orphans and widows." That word, that Greek word visit, means to care after or supply the needs of. The Bible talks about in Matthew 25, a great judgment that is going to occur where the sheep were separated from the goats. This is at the end of the tribulation but it gives us a great principle. And the principle is simply this: Jesus says, "When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was in prison, you visited me." And the sheep are going to say, "God, when did we do this? When did we feed You? When did we put clothes on Your back, Jesus? When were You in jail and we visited You?" And Jesus will say, Matthew 25 says, "That when you did it to the least, the least, the least of My brethren, you did it unto Me."

In other words, Jesus chalks up in heaven, when you do something for someone who can do nothing for you in return, you get a kudos for that one. God credits your spiritual account, when your religion on the inside causes you to do for others what He did for you, what He did for me, and that is do something for somebody who absolutely can't pay you back. If you really want to be honored by God, you're going to seek opportunities to serve somebody expecting nothing in return. Because only when you do verse 27, do you get the blessing of verse 25. Only when the word planted on the inside brings a sensitivity to others on the outside, will the blessing of verse 25 be your portion. Be your portion. When you did it to the least, the lowest people on the totem pole.

And one of the great crimes of our day is Christians have given over to everybody else what ought to be our responsibility. We've given it over to governments, we've given it over to committees, we've given it over to social service agencies who turn it into one big administrative program, when if Christians would simply just be Christian, we would see the hand of God on our lives, our families, and others. And there a lot of folks in this church that have been blessed.

Some of you have moved out of a one-bedroom apartment to a three, four-bedroom house, got as many garages as you do bedrooms. Some of you moved from walking to the bus, to a compact car, to a luxury car. Some have moved from rags and jeans and overalls to designer clothes. Some of us, if we look back in our background, came from impoverished areas where we are the first to break through, go to college, and be able to get six-figure income. The question that heaven will raise is in light of My grace to you, who have you allowed to benefit who cannot pay you back? Because trust me, God is saying you can never pay Me back for what I did for you.

Guest (Male): When Dr. Evans returns in a moment, he'll share a familiar biblical story that helps bring focus to what's truly important. First, though, I want to tell you about a resource package that can help you develop the kind of mature faith we've been talking about in our study of James. It includes Tony's complete two-volume 16-message audio series, James: Time To Grow Up, available on CD, USB flash drive, or instant digital downloads. And along with the series, we'll send you Dr. Evans's 30-day devotional, Trusting God in Turbulent Times. Together, these resources will help you understand how God can use trials, uncertainty, and difficult seasons to deepen your faith and draw you closer to Him. We'd like to send you this special package as our thank you gift when you make a contribution to support The Alternative. Visit TonyEvans.org today for all the details, or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. That's 1-800-800-3222. I'll have that contact information for you again after part two of today's message and this.

Guest (Male): On The Unbound Podcast with Dr. Tony Evans, guests share honest wisdom for navigating doubt and pressure in their faith.

Guest (Female): The Bible feels foreign to us, even though it's not because we don't understand it.

Guest (Male): Through their real stories, they offer clarity, courage, and truth that meets you where you are.

Guest (Male): The word of God was designed to be relevant.

Guest (Male): Even when understanding takes time.

Guest (Female): Questions are always welcome.

Guest (Male): Unbound with Dr. Tony Evans. Listen now. You can find The Unbound Podcast on all of the major podcast platforms.

Guest (Male): Well, let's get back to Dr. Evans right now as he continues today's lesson on The Purity of Religion.

Dr. Tony Evans: There's a story, Luke chapter 10. We know it as the Good Samaritan. A lawyer asked Jesus a question. It says he put Jesus to the test, saying, "Teacher," verse 25, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said, "What is written in the law? How does it read to you?" He says, "Well, the Bible says love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And he said, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live."

Now we know that this was not an honest question. Because the lawyer said, the Bible says the lawyer asked him to trick him, to test him. So it was not an honest question. So, as lawyers are prone to do, he gets technical. He wants to discuss the small print. So he says in verse 29, "Well, wait a minute, before I can do that, who is my neighbor?" Okay? A lot of people in the world. Is the neighbor the man next door? Is it the man uh three doors down? Are they the people around the corner? Are they the people in the other section of town? Are they the people in the next state? Are they the people you know around the world? How can I possibly do it? Who is my neighbor? And some of you are here saying, "Well, I don't live among people who are orphans and widows. I live in a nice side of town. So I don't have neighbors like that." And you think that's going to get you off the hook? You're like the lawyer. You're being technical.

So Jesus has to help him with his small print. Jesus says, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho." And what happened to him? He fell among robbers. He was robbed, they beat him. They stripped him, they beat him, and they went off leaving him half dead. I call this a bad situation. And by chance, verse 31 says, a preacher, the priest was going down on the road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Religion was just around the corner. The church was just up the street. By chance, he fell among robbers in the same neighborhood where the priest was, or where the church was located, or where the Christians were. But he went to the other side. I don't want to get my hands dirty.

Also there was a Levite. That's like the assistant pastor. He came by, saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, who were the enemy of the Jews, who was on a journey, came upon him. When he saw him, he felt compassion. Came to him and bandaged up the wounds. Now, you can't bandage up the wounds without getting blood on your own three-piece suit. He bandaged up the wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, medicating the man. Put him on his own beast. So he now has to walk. And brought him to the inn and took care of him. And on the next day, which meant he spent the night, he took out two denarii, gave it to the innkeeper and said, "Take care of him, and what more you spend when I return, I will repay you."

Now here's the question back to the lawyer. "Which one of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" Now, if you don't read verse 36 carefully, you'll miss the point. Compare verse 36 with the lawyer's state question in verse 29, you'll find a fundamental difference. The lawyer wanted to go technical, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus says to him in verse 36, "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor?" That's a difference. So don't go around saying, "I can't find anybody to serve. I can't locate a neighbor." Jesus is saying, "That misses the point. You don't have to locate your neighbor, what you have to do is be a neighbor." Somebody will locate you. There will be somebody whom God will give you the opportunity to serve. There will be somebody whom God will allow you to cross their path in order to address their need. Somebody who can do nothing for you in return. The need is just around the corner.

Now, everybody knows what it is to have a stain. If you have a stain, you know what people focus on? The stain. You can be dressed to the kill, but if you got a stain, they ain't going to say, "You look good, except for that stain." They're going to say, "Look at that stain." And forget about you look good. Everybody's going to focus on what? The stain. He says at the end of the verse, "Keep oneself unspotted by the world." You rub off on the world, don't let the world rub off on you. That's his point. Now, a great biblical illustration of this is Lot.

Lot loved Sodom and Gomorrah. It was the happening place to be. He wanted to hang out because that's where everybody was throwing down at Sodom. Abraham kept his focus on God. Both of them were rich, both of them were wealthy, but they had two different heart attitudes. Well, Lot became contaminated by Sodom, and even though he did not lose his own personal faith, he lost his family and he lost everything he owned when God set the place on fire.

What he simply means is to be spotted with the world is to lose that which is of eternal value. A doctor when he's going to perform an operation, washes his hands that there might be no stain. The reason he washes his hands that there might be no stain is because there's somebody dying or ill who is laid before him, who desperately needs his attention. And so that he not add to the problem, he washes his hands because his job is to fix the problem. Well, God has believers in the world, he does not want us to become defiled with the world, because the world is a sick patient, it's dying. It's on its way to an eternal hell. So God wants us to keep ourselves clean so that we can do something about this sick patient and don't get the disease that brought them there in the first place.

So if in fact you are dirty, then what you ought to do is to come to Jesus for cleaning, so that we can make an impact on this sick society that is in need of spiritual surgery that he saved us to become. Each of us are spiritual surgeons, designed to bring help and healing to a sinful world, and that means that we must clean up the stains in our own lives. While some of you have stains on your life. And some of you have real bad stains on your life. Some of you got stains so bad, all the scrubbing you've tried to do hasn't been able to get it out. But I know a cleaner in glory that can take care of the worst possible stain that you and I have gotten in our lives and he wants to remove the stain. Why? So that you can walk around, I can walk around clean, because you see, if the stain gets bad enough and spreads wide enough, you got to throw the pants away. They're no good anymore. He says, "Be unspotted from the world." Don't let the world place attention on the stain.

The point is simple as we close. The only way to keep a leaky vessel filled is by keeping the faucet running. And the only way with our leaky lives to keep righteousness coming out is we got to keep the word going in. He says, "Be doers of the word, keep the word going in." And even the breaks in our lives will be covered because the word is coming in.

There was a man one day, he was building a house in Vermont and was in a place where there wasn't natural water. He wanted to have a natural well. And there was an old man who lived out there who said, "Yes, if you go out 14 feet and dig, you'll run into a river, but you must keep pumping it every day," in order for the water to keep flowing. Well, he went out there, he dug 14 feet, the well began to to bubble up. But he only kept pumping for a week. He said, "Well, the water's flowing nicely, I won't pump anymore." But after two weeks later, it dried up and he lost all of his water. No more water was coming into the well. He went to the old man and said, "What's the problem?" The old man said, "Did you keep pumping?" He said, "No, I pumped it and got it going and let it go for a while then I stopped." To which he said, "You fool. When you keep pumping, it opens up the holes more and more, so even more water comes. But the moment the water stops flowing, the holes that feed the river close up and so they make another river elsewhere."

God wants to give you a river of blessing in your life. He wants to flow through you, but you got to keep that water flowing. You got to keep His word flowing in your life because when you do not, the blessing begins to close up and God takes His blessing elsewhere. Because He knows you won't use His word to transform your conversation, your compassion, or our conduct. What's the bottom line? The bottom line is this: What you are determines what you see and what you see determines what you do.

When you take in the word, it changes who you are. And when it changes who you are, it changes what you see. You see that you have a bad tongue that needs to be changed. You see you're not compassionate with people who can't pay you back. You see the stains. And then what you see determines what you do. The challenge for us today is to have a pure religion. That goes beyond attending church on Sunday and Wednesday. That goes to saying, "Lord, because of what You said in Your word, I'm going to bless my wife today, not curse her. Because of what You said today, I'm not going to put down my husband today, I'm going to lift him up. Because of what You said in Your word, I'm not going to destroy my children with my tongue, I'm going to encourage my children with my tongue." And yeah, I may have a bad day here and a bad day there, but I'm going to be conscious, Lord, when you bring somebody across my path, who can do nothing for me in return, I'm going to remember that what I am will produce what I see and what I see will produce what I do. And then Lord, I'm going to change some of my ways so the world won't have anything to hang on me. I'm going to change my lifestyle so that I honor You.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans, talking about how to put what you believe into action, even when it's not easy. Today's lesson, The Purity of Religion, is part of Dr. Evans's powerful series, James: Time To Grow Up. And if you've been challenged by what you've heard this week, you can continue the study with all 16 full-length messages in this two-volume collection, including material we won't have time to present on the air. As I mentioned earlier, when you make a contribution to support Tony's ministry, we'll send you the complete series, along with Dr. Evans's 30-day devotional, Trusting God in Turbulent Times. It's a package designed to help you grow stronger in your faith as you learn to trust God through whatever circumstances you face. Get the details at TonyEvans.org, or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222. That's 1-800-800-3222, or online at TonyEvans.org. There's a problem in the church today that can be easy to overlook, especially when we're not willing to admit it's there. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans brings that issue into the open and challenges us to examine whether we're treating people the way God calls us to. Be sure to tune in.