Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

Bad Religion: Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness

Many people think that religion is all about rules rather than relationship. When this is one's mentality, it is second nature to focus on outward appearances and practices rather than what is developing inwardly. In this way, it is easy to harbor a Pharisaical heart as we think that we have arrived simply because we have jumped through several religious hoops. Rather than continuing to become more godly, we stagnate, spending our time judging, criticizing and making trouble for those who would otherwise be on mission with Christ.

Matthew 15:1-20 (NIV)

1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” 3Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8 “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ ”10Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” 12Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17“Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

Verse 1 makes it clear that bad religion begins when you try to equate the traditions and culture of your previous church or job experience, "the way they did things when and where you were coming up," to the way that things should be done everywhere. There is a difference between the individual practices of Christian households, churches, or businesses, which vary, and the commands of God, which are universal. We are obligated to the commands of God, and we must be discerning to make sure that we have the ability to meet with Christ in any environment, without judgment, regardless of our preferences.

We project our preferences and traditions as law when they are not. This can apply to a style of worship, music, liturgy, order of services, how people dress, whether people drink socially without getting drunk or not, etc. At work, we dislike how co-workers do things and begin to develop cases against them. Jesus makes the washing of the hands a heart issue of the Pharisees who were critical rather than a correction point for the disciples who were ardently pursuing the mission of Christ.

Whether in the workplace or in the church, our first posture should be that of believing the best about others (especially Christians) and remembering love which covers over all wrongs.

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. (Proverbs 10:12 NIV)

If the situation becomes an issue in your heart or sin is involved, humility and quick, thoughtful discussion are the godly policy when we are unsure about practice (Matthew 5:23-26). Our natural proclivity is to fall into isolation and judgment like the separatist Pharisees when things are in question, but this breeds faction and sin. You must know where and to whom (what group of believers) you belong in the body of Christ that you may go to leadership when questions arise. It is always wiser to begin by going up the chain of age and experience than down the chain of zeal and pride.

Leviticus 19:17,18 (NIV)

17“ ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. 18“ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

I Timothy 5:1,2 (NIV)

1Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

Hebrews 13:7,17 (NIV)

7Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.17Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.

These are good practices in the church and in the workplace. Remember Rehoboam's folly in I Kings 13.

These are difficult propositions in our culture, because no one knows where they belong. In our globalized, über-connected, technology saturated society, we feel that we do not have to build relationship with people locally, because we can get what we want, when we want it, extra-locally. In this scenario, people don't know their community or their leaders. The over-indulgence in Skype, G-chats, Facebook, and Twitter can have you neglect the cultivation of relationships locally to which God has called you and through which He will shape your character.

Proverbs 27:10 (NIV)

10Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

“The virtuous man contents himself with dreaming that which the wicked man does in actual life.” ― Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams

The challenge is the phenomenon of the frog boiling in the kettle. We don't think certain habits are an issue, because our standards continually shift. Sins become more and more imperceptible as wickedness increases in our environment. We lose our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, our conscience, and the law of God written upon it. It is like a smell in a room that you no longer detect once you've been immersed in it. You no longer compare yourself to Christ to please God; you instead compare yourself to others who are fallen and are on a downward slope.

A recent Crest White Strips commercial made the claim that, "If you are not whitening, you are yellowing." This is true in our growth in God as well.

Jesus makes it very clear that we can have a good looking outward appearance but have our hearts very removed from Him. Even worse is the deception of thinking that we are in alignment with Him when our actions have missed His heart altogether.

Examples of the sins of the heart Jesus describes: murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, which means abusive speech against someone or something: wounding one's reputation.

The Greek definition of "defiles" is to make common or unclean, pollute.

The real defilement comes when these pollutants which are of great concern to God become commonplace to us. We no longer walk in love with our families, church, or world around us, becoming an agent that tears down rather than builds up. These are the things for which the church is guilty, while we point fingers at more taboo sins.

It is always the proclivity of human beings to elevate one sin over another, but Jesus says they are equally destructive and deserving of judgement.

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. (Proverbs 6:16-19 NIV)

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. (Proverbs 18:8 NIV)

Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart. Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit. Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts. Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. (Proverbs 26:20-26 NIV)

How do I know if an issue is legitimate?

Is it sin? If not, it may be simply your preference, tradition, or opinion. In this case, make sure that you have not been deceived and allowed sin into your heart (Romans 14,15).

When we think we know everything and do not follow God's protocol for relationships, we end up in sin refusing to interact as Jesus Himself would. This is where patterns develop as Pharisaical Christians hop from one job or church to another never learning to deal with conflict in a godly, submissive fashion in which believers put the mission of Christ above their own opinions. What we do in one job or church is in our hearts more than the environment and will undoubtedly follow us to the next assembly. People fall prey to the divisive spirit of the enemy (Psalm 2), being irresponsible and destructive with both their words and actions. Rather than resisting the devil in the unseen world, they join into accusation and become a hindrance rather than a help to the gospel. This is where grudges begin as we gossip instead of praying for people. In such instances, we are commanded to repent.

“Our love grows soft if it is not strengthened by truth, and our truth grows hard if it is not softened by love.” ― John R.W. Stott

Bad religion is individual sin centered vs. Christ centered. The good news of the gospel is that through Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, as we turn from outward corruption, an ongoing inward cleansing takes place as well. Our hearts are continually softened and transformed as we look to God's Word for direction, remain malleable in prayer, and humbled in our faithful interactions with one another as we pursue God's pleasure and Kingdom together.

Practical:

Find a place where a sin of the heart has taken root in your life and cut it off by bringing it to God with trusted Christian brothers or sisters.

Second City Church- Bad Religion Sermon Series 2013