Sermon #1230[1]
Title: My Religion
Text: 1 Peter 3:15-16
Subject: The Characteristics of True Religion
Date: Sunday Morning -
Tape # S-47
Introduction:
[1 Peter 3:15-16] But sanctify
the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an
answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with
meekness and fear: [16] Having a good conscience; that, whereas they
speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse
your good conversation in Christ.
What
is your religion? That is a question men frequently ask one another. At one
time, it was a question commonly asked on most any employment application.
Sometimes people ask, “What are the tenets, traits, and traditions of your
religion?” I have even had a few people to ask me, “What is the difference
between your religion and the religion of other people?” These are questions I
want to answer in this message. I am going to talk to you this morning about My Religion. Following Peter’s
admonition in our text, I want to show you the distinguishing characteristics
of My Religion. I hope that I may do
so “having a good conscience” in
Christ.
1. True religion is not outward,
ceremonial, and ritualistic.
There are certain outward, symbolic
ordinances which we conscientiously observe. Those ordinances, believer’s
baptism and the Lord’s Supper, are essential parts of all true worship.
·
Baptism is the
believer’s confession of Christ.
·
The Lord’s
Supper is the believer’s symbolic remembrance of Christ.
But
these things are not the substance, or essence of true religion.
2. True religion is not merely
doctrinal religion.
Doctrine is important. It is essential to true religion. But
you can believe all the right doctrines and still not know God. You may hold to
sound, orthodox, biblical doctrine, your creed may be thoroughly true to the
Scriptures, and yet your religion may be altogether false.
Illustration: Saul of
3. True religion is not a mere
outward, religious behavior.
“The
For most people, their religion is no
more than an outward conformity to social standards of righteousness. Their
confession of faith is - “I don’t smoke, drink, cuss, or chew; and I don’t run
with people who do.”
Now listen to me - Whatever true
godliness is, it is not something that a lost, unregenerate man can produce.
Godliness never changes. It does not change...
·
With time.
·
With location.
·
With
circumstances.
True
religion is more than outward behavior.
4. True religion is an inward,
spiritual knowledge of the living God, as he is revealed in Christ (John 17:3; Phil. 3:3).
Any natural man can, if he so chooses, understand and accept all the outward aspects of
religion. He can understand and believe either Calvinism or Arminianism as a
system of doctrine. And it is easy enough for anyone to perform the outward
works of any religion. But the real, inward, spiritual aspects of true religion
are things which are both foreign and offensive to all men and women by nature.
No one will ever submit to, delight in, and walk in true religion who is not born of God.
Proposition: All true
religion, all true christianity, comes by divine
revelation. It is the supernatural revelation of Christ in the heart. True
religion is something a person experiences (Present tense!) in his soul.
Today, I want to share with you what I
have experienced in my soul, what has been wrought in my heart by the Spirit of
God. These are things I have learned, and am learning, over the past 28 years
from the Word of God. I want to talk to you about and explain My Religion.
I do not pretend to be a model of what a believer ought to
be. I know that I am not. I do not claim to have a corner on the truth of God.
There is much in the Bible that I do not understand. But here are seven
things that I do know. They have been wrought in me by the gracious
operations of God the Holy Spirit. These are the things that make me what I am.
These are the things that make me do what I do. I readily confess, from the
depths of my soul, “By the grace of God I
am what I am.” I say, with John Newton, “I am not what I ought
to be. I am not what I want to be. And I am not what I hope to be. But, thanks be to God, I am not what I once was.” And what I am today, I
am by God’s grace alone. This is My
Religion:
I. MY RELIGION BEGINS WITH WHAT I
KNOW AND BELIEVE ABOUT GOD.
It is not what I know and believe about God’s law. It is not
what I do or do not do. My religion begins with God’s revelation of himself in
his Word, in his Son, and in my heart.
It is not possible for man to know
God, unless God is pleased to reveal himself and make himself
known. “Canst thou by searching find out
God?” The knowledge of God begins with God’s revelation, not man’s
decision. When Adam was lost, God sought Adam. Adam did not seek God. God
revealed himself, his purpose, and his grace to Adam. Adam did not discover
God. I certainly do not know everything about God. He is great. I am puny. He
is glorious. I am insignificant. He is infinite. I am finite. But I do know
these
four things about God. And I believe them with all my heart.
A. God is sovereign.
Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Psalms 115:3 "But our God is in
the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased."
Psalms 135:6 "Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep
places."
Isaiah 46:9-11 "Remember the
former things of old: for I am God,
and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring
the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the
east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have
purposed it, I will also do it."
Daniel 4:34-37 "And at the end
of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding
returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him
that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an
everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from
generation to generation: 35 And all
the inhabitants of the earth are reputed
as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and
none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? 36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory
of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors
and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent
majesty was added unto me. 37 Now I
Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and
those that walk in pride he is able to abase."
Either God is in control of the
universe, or he is controlled. Either God rules, or he
is ruled. Either God is sovereign over all things, or something,
or someone is sovereign over God. The Bible declares that God is totally
sovereign over everything and everyone. And he exercises his sovereignty at all
times. When you boil it all down to its essence, when I declare that God is
sovereign, I am saying that God can either save me, or damn me. It is up to
him. I am in his hands (Rom.
Illustration:
The Potter’s House (Jer. 18:2-6).
B.
GOD IS HOLY.
Psalms 111:9 "He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his
covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his
name."
Isaiah 57:15 "For thus saith
the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite
ones."
He says, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.”
1.
All that God
is is perfectly holy.
2.
All that God
does is perfectly holy.
3.
All that God
receives, accepts and rewards is perfect holiness
Psalms 24:3-5 "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted
up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness
from the God of his salvation."
Because God is perfectly holy, it is
obvious that the only way a sinner can ever be received, accepted, and rewarded
by him is in the Person of Christ, through the merits of the perfect
Substitute.
C.
GOD IS JUST.
·
“Justice and judgment are the habitations of thy throne.”
·
“The righteous Lord loveth righteousness.”
·
“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
The Almighty will not pervert justice. God will never do
anything that is contrary to justice.
Those are facts. They are true.
Whether I like it or not, the one true and living God is absolutely sovereign,
immaculately holy, and inflexibly just. These three facts would drive me to
utter despair, were it not for the fact that I also know that...
D. “GOD IS LOVE” (I John
4:8, 16).
John does not say,
God is a God of love. He says, “God is
love.” Apart from God there is no love. All that God does is consistent
with his sovereignty, his holiness, and his justice. And all that God does is
consistent with his love. Because “God is
love”...
1.
He is merciful
- “He delighteth in mercy!”
2.
He is
gracious.
3.
He has no
pleasure in the death of the wicked.
He found a way to ransom, redeem, and
save his people (Job 33:24). And God’s way of salvation, the substitutionary
sacrifice of Christ fully reveals his sovereignty, his holiness, his justice
and his love (Rom.
My religion begins with what I know
and believe about God.
II. Secondly, MY RELIGION
COMPELS ME TO FACE AND CONFESS THE TRUTH ABOUT MYSELF (Rom. 3:9-19; Psa.
51:5).
A.
I am a sinner (Matt.
B.
I stand before God’s holy law guilty and justly condemned by
nature (Ezek.
C. I am, by
nature, spiritually dead, totally depraved, utterly incapable of changing my
heart, or ever performing a single thing that is truly good. “There is none
that doeth good.”
III. Thirdly, MY RELIGION
RECOGNIZES THE PRE-EMINENCE AND GLORY OF THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST.
·
John 1:1-3,
14, 18
·
Colossians 1:18
·
Colossians
2:9-10
·
Hebrews 1:1-3
·
Revelation
5:9-11).
God the Father has given all pre-eminence
to the Son. God the Spirit gives all pre-eminence to the Son. The Bible, the
Book of God, gives all pre-eminence to the Son. And all the people of God give
all pre-eminence to the Son. All the glory of the triune God, all the fulness
of the eternal Godhead, and all the blessings of grace are in Christ alone. “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily.”
Let me show
you what the glory of Christ is
- As the God-man, the only Mediator between God and men, he is able to do for
sinners what neither God nor man alone could do. The God-man, our Mediator is
able both to suffer the penalty of the law and to satisfy the demands of the
law.
A.
The Lord Jesus Christ wrought out a perfect righteousness for us as our
Representative (Rom.
He fulfilled all the law of God on our
behalf (Rom. 10;4). It is this righteousness of God in
Christ that is freely imputed to every believer. There is no other
righteousness in the world than Christ’s righteousness. And we must have it.
Else we must forever die (Heb.
B.
Having fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf, Christ Jesus suffered the
just and exact penalty of God’s law against our sins (Gal.
Whenever you think about the death of
Christ, remember these four things:
1.
Christ’s death
was an act of his own sovereignty.
2.
The death of
Christ was an act of substitution.
3.
Christ’s death
was a payment of full satisfaction to the law of God.
4.
The death of
the Lord Jesus Christ was a complete success.
C.
Now, God, in perfect justice, saves
every believing sinner by imputing to us the merits of Christ’s righteousness
and shed blood.
This is what it means to be saved. We are justified! We are,
in Christ, made equal to the demands of God’s holy law.
IV. Fourthly, MY RELIGION
IS A BELIEVING, CONFIDENT COMMITMENT OF MYSELF TO THE CHRIST OF
For most people, religion is like a
wooden leg. There is neither warmth nor life in it. It may help you to hobble
down the road, but it never becomes a part of you. It is just something you
have strapped on. But true religion is a matter of the heart. It involves more
than words and works. It is more than a way of life. It is our life!
True religion produces that kind of faith
that is revealed in the Scriptures. If my religion is true, I have the faith of
God’s elect. Let me explain faith to you in Bible terms. To believe Christ is to...
A.
Trust him alone for my eternal salvation.
1.
I trust his
blood alone for the atonement of my sins.
2.
I trust his
righteousness alone for my acceptance with God.
B.
To commit myself to him.
Faith in Christ involves consecration and dedication to him.
To exercise faith in Christ is to be sold out to the Son of God.
Illustration: Abraham - Isaac
must be slain!
C.
To willingly submit to his sovereign dominion as my Lord.
1. We submit to his revealed will.
2. We submit to his providential will.
3. We submit to his eternal will.
Illustration: “Chief give himself to Jesus.”
V. Fifthly, MY RELIGION
IS A LIVING
My religion is not a creed. My religion is not a system of
theology. My religion is not a doctrinal position. My religion is not the ten commandments. My religion is not the Baptist church. My
religion is a Person, a real, living Person (Gal.
·
My religion is
not what I say, but what I am.
·
My religion is
not what I do, but what I am.
·
My religion is
“Christ in me, the hope of glory.”
·
My religion is
the ruling principle of my life.
VI. Sixthly, MY RELIGION
PRODUCES WITHIN ME A PRINCIPLE OF GENUINE, SINCERE LOVE.
A.
I have a sense and knowledge of God’s love for me shed abroad in my heart (
B.
I have a principle of love for God which motivates, governs, and guides me (I
John
This love for God is the law and rule
of my life.
C.
I have reason to believe that my love for God is real and my religion is
genuine because I love God’s people (I John 4:20; James 1:26-27; I Cor.
13:1-13).
VII. Lastly, MY RELIGION
CONSTANTLY PRESSES UPON ME THREE GREAT GOALS.
I know that these goals are not attainable by me, or anyone
else, in this life. But these are the things I keep striving after, seeking,
and pressing on to attain. These are the three great desires and ambitions of
my heart.
Philippians 3:7-14
"But what
things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto
the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not
as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow
after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ
Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not
myself to have apprehended: but this one
thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Here is the mark to which I press...
A.
Total commitment to Christ.
B.
Total communion with Christ.
C.
Total conformity to Christ.
Application: I
am calling for...
1.
Faith in Christ.
2.
Commitment to
Christ.
I am, upon the authority of God’s
Word, promising eternal life to all who do so commit themselves to Christ is
faith.
[1]See Sermon #918 for a similar message preached at Danville 6-24-90 {PM}, Lawson NSW - Australia 4-15-91; American Ave. - Lexington, KY 7-18-90; and Wichita Falls, TX 4-11-96.