Practical Christianity: Leaving God Out

Book of James • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

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The worst kind of atheism is not the bold assertive claim of the avowed atheist who publically proclaims, “There is no God,” but the practical atheism of the Christian who has accepted God but leaves Him out of his day-to-day life.

Notes

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Text: James 4:11-17

Theme: The worst kind of atheism is not the bold assertive claim of the avowed atheist who publically proclaims, “There is no God,” but the practical atheism of the Christian who has accepted God but leaves Him out of his day-to-day life.

Date: 05/07/23 File name: James10-2023.wpd ID Number: NT20-04

Until June 17, 1963, Madalyn Murray O’Hair was dismissed by most people as a litigious, belligerent, loudmouthed crank. On that day, however, the Supreme Court upheld her contention that school-sponsored prayer and Bible study should be outlawed in U.S. public schools, and Madalyn Murray became the country’s best-know atheist.

A couple of years ago, author Jon Rappaport wrote a short book about her effort at banning prayer and the bible from the nation’s classrooms. The name of the book was: Madalyn Murray O’Hair: Most Hated Woman in America. This woman, almost single handedly, changed the face of the American religious scene. The 1963 decision gradually resulted in the end of religious activities sponsored by public schools. That same year she founded the organization American Atheists.

She was a committed Marxist and twice had attempted sought to defect to the Soviet Union. She called religion a crutch and maintained that only the crippled needed crutches and that anyone with a backbone and common sense can get along very well in the world without God. Her oldest son, William — who became a Christian, and a Baptist Minister — (and whom she disowned because of that) writes of his mother’s attempt to drive the Bible and prayer out of the public schools, “She told me, ‘Well, if they'll keep us from going to Russia where there is some freedom, we'll just have to change America.’”

In 1995, Madalyn, her youngest son Jon and her grand daughter were all kidnaped and killed. Their remains were positively identified (Feb. 2001).

We’re just weeks away from the 60th anniversary of that Supreme Court decision. Why do I share it with you this evening? Let me ask you an important question: “Which is worse: the bold, assertive atheism of Madalyn Murray O’Hair that stands up and says, ‘There is no god.’, or the passive atheism of the professing Christian who says, ‘There is a God’, but He has no relevance to my day-to-day activities?”

James writes that his readers are guilty of leaving God out of their day-to-day lives. Although the word atheist did not exist until the mid-16th century, James writes that Christians practice ‘practical atheism’ when we leave God out of our relationships, when we leave God out of our plans and when we leave God out of our deeds.

I. WE PRACTICE ‘PRACTICAL ATHEISM’ WHEN WE LEAVE GOD OUT OF OUR RELATIONSHIPS

1. James say, first of all, that we are guilty of leaving God out of our relationships

2. James echoes the teaching about judging others that Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount — “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged” (Matt. 7:1–2)

a. judging is a most difficult task because it involves not only other people but also the law itself

James 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. KJV

b. there’s a link between v. 11 and v. 7

1) the link lies in the word devil (v. 7) and the verb slander (vs. 11)

2) in the original, the noun diabolos that interpreters have translated as devil means “slanderer”

3) James, then, is exhorting his readers not to slander one another, for this is the work of the devil

c. to slander a fellow believer is to do the work of the devil!

1) if you set aside the law, you have become a judge of that law—then you have placed yourself on the level of the Lawgiver—i.e. God

2) if they continue to slander each other in the church, they will eventually destroy the fellowship of the Christian community

d. the word judge means to single out for the purpose of condemning unjustly

3. when God is left out of our relationships with others, it is easy to become judgmental

A. OUR DESIRE TO JUDGE OTHERS REVEALS HOW LITTLE JESUS CONTROLS OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS

1. it is no accident that James, for a second time, zeros in on our communication habits

a. almost the entire 3rd chapter is devoted to the tongue

2. by what we say, and how we say it, James indicates we reveal how we feel about other people

ILLUS. When I was growing up, my mom always told my brother and I, “If you can’t say anything nice about someone, don’t say anything at all.”

a. that’s good advise

b. if some Christians I know followed that advise, they would be mutes

3. what you say about a brother or sister in Christ, and how you say it is a good indicator of weather-or-not Jesus is in control of that relationship

a. Jesus was very clear about how we are to relate to fellow believers

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. KJV

b. love must be the dominant theme of the people of God and the church – it is the pre-eminent witnessing tool of the church

ILLUS. Think back to those day when you were courting your spouse. You fall head over heals in love. You’re attracted to this person in every way. Then, you’re invited to meet his or her family for the first time. It’s an interesting gathering because all they do is fight and fuss and fued and call each other names. At one point even a fist-fight breaks out. You think, “Well, maybe I just caught them on a bad day.” But the more you get to know the extended family, the more you perceive that there is a real animosity among the members of this family. No matter how much you may love this person, their extended family gives you serious pause and you’re not really sure you want to be part of this family.

1) can you imagine what the lost person must think when he or she comes into a church where there is fussing and feuding and where believers snipe at each other? Where the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife?

2) it’s not Jesus or the gospel that turns them off, but the family of God!

ILLUS. Karl Rahner, a German Jesuit and theologian says, “The number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim God with their mouths and deny him with their life-styles is what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable.”

3. the Bible makes it clear that how we relate to each other says a lot about the validity of our faith – is it genuine or not?

“Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.” (1 John 2:7–12, ESV)

B. GOD NEEDS TO BE IN CONTROL OF OUR RELATIONSHIPS

1. if God was really in control of all of our relationships, we would not judge one another

ILLUS. There have been people in my life who I have taken an initial dislike to. In fact, there have been a few people in my life that I’ve worked really hard at not liking, (It’s none of you). Their the one’s whom have really challenged by faith and my prayer life, since passages like this don’t let me off the hook!

a. James says, Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it (James 4:11)

b. now, this does not mean we are not to make moral judgments about the behavior of someone – even another believer – especially when that behavior is so obviously evil, unbiblical or sinful

c. the word judge in verse 11 means to assume the office of a judge, to pass sentence upon or to condemn

1) it’s the idea that we have set ourselves up as the final authority over the behavior of others — as though we have appointed oneself as the moral police of the congregation

2. James is rebuking our fault-finding

a. the one who finds fault with a brother and speaks evil of him or her is breaking what James calls, The Royal Law

1) what is the Royal Law?

2) Jesus gave it to us Himself in Matthew 19:19 “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

C. EVIDENCE THAT JESUS CONTROLS OUR RELATIONSHIPS

1. you will accept a brother or sister in Christ for who they are – warts and all

a. God does not put conditions on whom He will accept

b. Scripture repeatedly affirms that whosoever will is acceptable before God

1) the meaning of that word whosoever is not so much everyone, but implies all manner of

2) we might interpret it as saying God’s love for His elect does not distinguish by race, or ethnic origin, or tribe, or economics ... or personality type

2. you will love a brother or sister in Christ as you love yourself

3. you will esteem a brother or sister in Christ as more important than yourself and place their welfare above your own

a. you say, “Boy pastor, that’s tough!”

b. and I say, “You’re right, but it’s also biblical!”

II. WE PRACTICE ‘PRACTICAL ATHEISM’ WHEN WE LEAVE GOD OUT OF OUR PLANS

1. not only are we frequently guilty of leaving God out of our relationships, but we frequently leave God out of our plans

2. the Scriptures give many marks of a true Christian, such as:

a. love for God,

b. repentance from sin ...

c. humility ...

d. devotion to God’s glory ...

e. fervent prayer ...

f. love for others ...

g. separation from the world ...

h. spiritual growth ...

i. and obedience

3. but nothing more clearly summarizes the character of a genuine believer than a desire to do the will of God

“I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8, KJV)

4. Jesus taught that “whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother”

a. Jesus also gave a sober warning about making God’s agenda our agenda: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven,” (Matthew 7:21, KJV)

5. for James, doing the will of God identifies another test of genuine saving faith

A. WE PLAN OUT OUR LIVES AS IF OUR WILLS WERE SUPREME

“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” (James 4:13, NIV)

1. do you really confer with God about your plans and goals?

a. how many believers you seek God’s will in their employment?

b. how many believers talk to God about their plans to marry (or date)

c. how many believers seek God’s choice in their education or vocation?

d. how many believers discuss their desire to purchase that new house, that new car, that new boat, etc.

2. when was the last time you went to God and said, “God, what do you want me to do?”

a. you may discover that God’s plans for you are pretty much what you want to do with your life

b. but, you may also discover that God has some different plans for your life

B. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO BLOW IT

James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. NIV

1. James would remind us that life is transitory and that our days on this earth are fleeting at best

a. it is foolish to ignore God’s will for our lives

ILLUS. In the Gospels, Jesus tells the story of the Parable of the Rich Fool. So far as the record indicates, there is nothing particularly immoral about the man’s conduct. He was no doubt a hardworking man who had become wealthy because of his diligence. But, he was leaving God out entirely, thinking only of self and never of others, planning his life as if he wold be here always, and forgetting that he would some day have to give an account of himself to God. He was well prepared for the future materially, but not at all prepared spiritually. such a man may seem wise in the eyes of the world, but God calls him a fool.

b. this man lived as though God either did not exist or was benign to human behavior

1) wise planning and strategizing in business is not, of course, sinful in and of itself but commendable

2) no spiritual principles are violated by anything the businessmen said

3) the problem lies in what they did not do

a) they did extensive planning, but in the course of their planning, they totally ignored God; God was not part of their agenda

c. in the KJV verse 14 begins with Come now, you who say

1) the Greek text literally reads “the ones who are saying,” indicating people who habitually live without regard for God’s will

2) all of us, from time-to-time will live as though God doesn’t care about our day-to-day decisions

ILLUS. I mean, does God really care it we’re just going to make a ten-minute trip to the Dollar Store? Well think ... would you care it you’re six-year-old decided to make a trip to the Dollar store without saying something to you?

3) we just assume God doesn’t care about the mundane, routine activities or our lives

d. I think a lot of Christians miss out on blessings God has in store for them because they make and follow their own plans rather than seeking God’s will and following His plans

2. one of the great sins of the Christian life is the sin of presumption

a. we assume that God does not care about our day to day activities and that our life’s goals are simply rubber stamped by God

b. we may even ‘boast and brag’ (v. 16) about what ‘We’re going to accomplish’ with our lives

c. James says that such boasting is evil and unChristlike

d. he also reminds us how transitory life is

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14, KJV)

1) we frequently use that verse with lost people

2) but it was written to Christians!

3. James reveals to us the proper attitude to have

“Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:15, NIV)

ILLUS. Adelaide Pollard wrote the words to a hymn that we ought to sing to ourselves every day:

Have Thine own way, Lord

Have Thine own way.

Thou are the Potter,

I am the clay.

Mold me and make me,

After Thy will.

While I am waiting,

Yielded and still.

III. WE PRACTICE ‘PRACTICAL ATHEISM’ WHEN WE LEAVE GOD OUT OF OUR DEEDS

1. not only do we frequently leave God out of our relationships

2. not only do we frequently leave God out of our plans

3. we also frequently leave God out of our deeds

A. WHAT THE BELIEVER DOES IS AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT THE BELIEVER DOES NOT DO

“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” (James 4:17, NIV)

1. whoa boy!

2. here is a statement of an important truth that few Christians consider

3. not only is it sin to do evil deeds — it is equally sin not to do good deeds when we know we ought (sins of omission)

ILLUS. The truth is partially illustrated by the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Did the Priest or the Scribe beat and rob the traveler whom they encountered along the road? No. But neither did they help him when they could have or should have.

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ (Matthew 25:44-45, NIV)

4. believers sometimes think that if we refrain from certain worldly practices then our conduct must be entirely satisfactory to God

a. and to be sure, there are certain worldly practices we should refrain from

5. but James indicates that maturing, spiritually healthy Christians will be looking for ways and opportunities to share, to minister and to do good deeds in the name of the Savior

“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is Pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16, NIV)

6. is God pleased with the things you do, or have you left God out of your deeds?

Leaving God out. It is so easy to do. In the rush of the day we forget to seek God’s presence reflected in our relationships with others. We forget to seeks God’s will for our plans and schedules and agendas. We forget to involve God in the many activities we are involved with during our busy schedules. Have you left God out of your life? Maybe this evening is the time you need to involve God in your life again.

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