We're turning for our scripture
reading this morning to the book of Philippians. I'm going to
read two or three verses from the third chapter of Philippians. Now, here's the subject. I'm
speaking on the heart of true religion, the substance and heart
of true religion. Now, I realize that's a big subject,
but I believe, using the Word of God, if the Spirit of God
gives me some wisdom, and gives you some interest and understanding
that when we get through today that at least in our heads we'll
understand what is the heart and substance of true religion. Now let's read Philippians the
third chapter beginning with verse eight. And of course you
know the Apostle Paul is speaking here and he says, 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 rubbish, that I may win Christ,
and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which
is of the law, but the righteousness of God, which is by the faith
of Jesus Christ the Lord, that I may know him and the power
of his resurrected life. Now, there are three statements
in there that I believe contain the substance and heart of true
religion. Paul says, I count everything
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
And then he says, oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him. And then he says, oh, that I
may know Christ and the power of his resurrection. Now, what
is the heart and the essence and substance of true religion? My friends, religion is not hard
to find. Religion is everywhere. Where
you find men, you find religion of some sort. In fact, if you
go back to man's beginning, the first murder, the first quarrel,
as far as we know, the first shedding of human blood was a
religious battle. It was a religious quarrel. It
took place between two brothers. Abel, who approached God by grace,
free grace, through the blood sacrifice, and Cain, who chose
to approach God on the merits of his own efforts and works.
And these two systems would not blend. They could not live together. They fought and Cain killed his
brother Abel. The first murder on this earth
was over religion. And then when God confused and
confounded man's language, there was a time when everybody spoke
the same language. But God confused and confounded
men's language and gave them several languages. Why? They
were in the midst of a religious effort to build a tower to heaven. They wanted to come to God their
own way. by their own efforts. They were
going to try to build a tower to heaven. And then Israel in
the wilderness, they left the worship of God, but they didn't
leave religion. They refused the leadership of
God, but not religion. For when they turned from the
worship of the true God, they built them a golden calf for
which to bow. So wherever you have men, Even
those who depart from the worship of the living God, they've got
to have something to worship. They've got to have some sort
of refuge. They've got to have some sort
of hiding place. And then the men who delivered
Jesus Christ into the hands of the Romans to be crucified. They
were not drunks. They were not blasphemers. They
were not harlots. They were not men and women of
the streets. They were religious people. They were men and women
of the synagogue and men and women of the temple. and men
and women of theology. They were religious leaders.
Religion is everywhere. And even to the pagan philosophers
of Corinth, the Apostle Paul stood on Mars Hill and declared
these words, ye men of Athens, and no more pagan city existed,
a city of philosophy, a city of orators, a city of much worldly
wisdom and learning, ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all
things you are most religious. So religion is not hard to find. Religion is everywhere, but true
religion is hard to find. For true religion is not found
in temples and cathedrals. True religion is not found in
material objects of pagan worship and idolatry. True religion is
not found even in books and creeds and catechisms. True religion
is not found in confessions and statements of faith. True religion
is not found in altars and rituals and ceremonies. True religion
is not found in holy days and Sabbaths and rules and laws.
True religion is found in the heart. It's heart worship. God is a spirit, and they that
worship God worship Him in spirit and truth. True religion is found
in the heart of a regenerated believer. That's where it's found.
It's always a heart worship. It's always a heart work. It's
always a heart relationship, which can do without any material
object except the Word of God. My son, the Lord says, give me
your heart. Give me your heart. God looks
not on the outward countenance. This is what God said to Samuel.
when he would anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be king of Israel,
a man that was not of God's choosing. He said, look not on his outward
countenance, Samuel. Do not be taken up with the beauty
and strength of this man. God looks not on the outward
countenance. God looks on the heart. And he
said through David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, the Lord
is known to them of a broken heart. The Lord save us such
as be of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. With a heart man believeth
under righteousness. You see, true religion is not
found in temples, it's not found in books, it's not found in ceremonies
and Sabbaths, it's not found in holy days. True religion is
not found in the bending of the knee or even the bowing of the
neck. True religion is not found in the crossing of the hands.
True religion is found in the heart. It's a heart experience
and it's a heart relationship. Let me give you several things
here that I think will be helpful. They are, at least to me. First
of all, true religion consists of a right knowledge of God.
Now, when our Lord spoke to the woman at the well, she said,
Our fathers worshiped in this mountain. You Jews say that Jerusalem
is the place to worship. And our Lord replied, You worship. You worship, and so do your ancestors
worship. But you worship you know not
what. We know what we worship. And the Apostle Paul said, I
know whom I have believed. So the true worship, true religion,
first of all, consists of a right knowledge of the living God. God is holy. You can't worship
a God you do not know. God is holy. Isaiah said, holy,
holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. God is not only holy, but God
is sovereign. They said, David, where is your
God? And David said, Our God is in the heavens. He hath done
whatsoever he hath pleased, whatsoever the Lord pleased. That did he
in heaven, earth, in the seas, and in all deep places. Our God
is sovereign, almighty, omnipotent. Our God is righteous. God will
by no means clear the guilty. The soul that sinneth, it shall
surely die. God is righteous. Shall not the
judge of the earth do right? Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? He is righteous. He is just. He is exact. God is righteous
and holy. Our God is love. He's plenteous
in mercy. He's rich unto all that call
upon Him. He delights to show mercy. God
is love. Yes, He's omnipotent. He's omniscient. He's omnipresent. So true religion
begins with a right knowledge of the living God. That's what
our Lord said, eternal life. Read John 17, 2 and 3. Eternal
life is to know Thee, the living God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou
hast sent. To know God. And then secondly,
this may be helpful. True religion consists not only
of a right knowledge of God, but true religion consists of
a right knowledge of ourselves. And a right knowledge of God
leads to a right knowledge of ourselves. For example, I mentioned
a while ago Isaiah's experience. He said, I saw the Lord high
and lifted up. His train filled the temple.
The cherubims and seraphims cried, holy, holy, holy, Lord God of
hosts. And then he replied, then said
I, woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst
of a people of unclean lips. That's what Isaiah realized when
he saw the Lord. He came to a right knowledge
of God, His power, His holiness, His greatness, His majesty, His
righteousness. And when he did, he saw himself. God is love. Man's hate. God is light. Man's in darkness.
God is truth. Man's error. God is truth. Man's a liar. Just everything
God is, we're the opposite. We're to the other extreme. David
said, when I consider the heavens, the work of thy hands, the stars,
the moon, the sun, the things that thou hast made, what is
man that thou art mindful of him? That's my reaction. When I consider God's power and
holiness and greatness, my next question is, what is man that
thou art mindful of him? Job said, I've heard of the Lord
by the hearing of the ear. And now, mine eye seeth thee,
wherefore I hate myself. Yes, sir, man's dignity fades
into nothingness in the presence of God's majesty. Man's pride
fades into nothing in the presence of God's glory. What are we? What do we have we didn't receive?
Man's righteousness and merit. Do we dare talk of our merit?
Do we dare talk of our righteousness? Do we dare talk of our holiness
when we stand in the presence of God who is holy? God is holy? And when we talk about a person
as a holy man, there's none good, there's none that seeketh after
God, there's none that understandeth. all its sin and come short of
God's glory. Man at his best state is altogether
vanity. Our righteousnesses are filthy
rags. We all do fade as the leaf. Dare
we tag the title holy on any man, godly on any man? God is holy. All flesh is grass,
and the glory of man is the flower of the field. The grass withereth,
and the flower fadeth, for the Spirit of God floweth upon it.
Cry, God said to the prophet. Cry, he said, what shall I cry?
Cry, all flesh is grass. That's what you cry. You cry,
holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts, and then with the other
breath you cry, ungodly, unclean, and guilty is fallen man. True religion. True religion. I'm not talking about religion.
I'm talking about true religion. And thirdly, true religion. arises
from a sense, an understanding of the great and mighty and merciful
things God has done for fallen sinners by his grace through
Christ Jesus. David said, who am I and what
is my house, that you should show mercy unto me. Now you think about, when you
consider the greatness of God, his majesty and holiness, his
independence, his sovereignty, And when you consider the filthiness
and guiltiness and corruption of man by nature and by will
and by choice and by practice, who am I and what is my house
that God should condescend to even look my way, much less to
reach my way, much less to give me strength to lay hold on him?
Ephesians 2, 2 through 4 says in times past, we all walked
according to the course of this world. According to the prince
of the power of the air, that's Satan. He was our leader. We
had our conversation, citizenship and behavior in the lust of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind
and were by nature children of wrath, even as others. That's
our condition. That's what we were. That's what
we are by nature. But the next two words, but God.
We didn't move that way. He moved this way. We were dead
and depraved and helpless. We didn't want God. We loved
our sin. We loved our hogwaller. We loved our darkness. But God,
but God, who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith
He loved us. We didn't love Him. He loved
us. Herein is love. Not that we loved God. He loved
us. For His great love wherewith
He loved us even when we were dead in sin. hath quickened us
together with Christ. By grace you are saved." John
3, 16, "...for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son." And then Galatians 4, 4 and 5, "...in the fullness of time
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were born under the law." Yes, true religion.
True religion consists of a right knowledge of who God is. His holiness and majesty, His
righteousness and justice, and what man is by nature and by
practice, and then the great things which God has done for
us through Jesus Christ our Lord by His grace. And then fourthly,
true religion produces something. It produces. It's not lifeless. It produces something. It produces
a well-grounded hope. based on the Word of God, of
course, of our own interest in His mercy. Men who have true
religion not only have a knowledge of who God is and what they are
and what Christ has done for them by His grace and by His
blood and by His death, but they have a well-grounded hope and
assurance based on the Word of God of their own interest in
that gospel and in that grace. John said, we know we've passed
from death unto life. Paul said, I know whom I have
to leave. Job said, I know that my Redeemer
liveth. David said, the Lord is my shepherd. Peter said, for as much as you
know, you are not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver
and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your
fathers, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ as of a
lamb without spot or blemish. Paul said, He was made sin for
us. He knew no sin. But He was made sin for us that
we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Isaiah wrote,
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes
we are healed. We know, we know, we have confidence
and assurance. John wrote in 1 John 5, this
is the record. This is God's Word, this is true.
that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his
Son, and he that hath the Son of God hath life, and he that
hath not the Son of God shall not see life, hath not life,
hath not life. Then fifthly, true religion produces. It produces. It consists of a
knowledge, an awareness, but it also produces. It produces
in the fifth place a principle of sincere love to God. That's
exactly right. True religion is not a sideline.
True religion is not a hobby. True religion is not a vocation.
It's an experience. It's a state of being. It's a
condition of life. It continues. And it produces
a principle of sincere love to God. Not pretense. Not just profession. I kind of dislike the term profession
of faith. I don't know how it just smacks
of something that a fellow shows off that really doesn't exist
at all. Peter, Christ said, do you love me? Do you love me? And Peter said, Lord, you know
I love you. Feed my sheep. Peter, do you
love me? Lord, you know I love you. Then
feed my lambs. Peter, do you love me? Lord,
you know all things. You know I love you. Feed my
sheep. I tell you this, my friend, true
love produces service to Christ, worship of Christ. True love
leads men to serve Christ. True love motivates and constrains
us to walk with Christ. True love casteth out fear. It produces. It always produces. In fact, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians
13, now you listen to this, and this stresses the importance
of a sincere love for Christ. has sincere love for Christ,
not a love for self, but a love for Christ, a dedication, a consecration
to Christ, an obsession with Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 13,
listen to it. He's been talking in the previous
chapter 12 about the gifts of the Spirit, and a lot of folks
are making a whole lot out of that now. about the gift of tongues,
and the gift of discernment, and the gift of healing, and
the gift of faith, and the gift of knowledge, and a word of knowledge,
and all this sort of thing. You know, like play pretties
is what it is to most people. Just play pretties. In 1 Corinthians
13, right after he gets through talking about this, Paul says,
though I speak with tongues, though I speak with tongues,
the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I'm become
as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. And there's nothing more
empty than a sounding brass. There's nothing more nerve-wracking
and miserable than a tinkling cymbal. And that's all we are. He said, though we speak with
these tongues, though we have these gifts, we're nothing. We're
nothing but a sounding brass, though I have the gift of prophecy.
And though I have the gift of faith and the knowledge, and
I understand all mysteries, and have not love, I'm nothing, Mr. Nothing, Mr. Nothing. That's what he's saying.
And though I bestow my goods to feed the poor, though I tithe
my income, though I give my designated amount, though I even give my
body to be burned as a martyr for the principles of law and
religion for which I stand, and have not love, It profiteth me
a big nothing. Now you think about that. So
this true religion, it's a heart experience. It's a heart relationship
with the living God. It's not just pretense or profession. It's a heart condition. And it
produces a sincere love for the living God. And then true religion
makes the goodness and grace of God to me. to be the motive
and model of my behavior and attitude toward others. Have
you ever seen anything like it in our day? The crookedness of
religious people, the materialistic attitude of religious people,
the bad spirit, the bigotry and the prejudice. They call the
South the Bible Belt and you won't meet any more bigotry or
prejudice or anything like that. Anywhere any more than in what
we call the Bible belt. There's something wrong with
this. True religion produces. And it produces a godliness.
It produces grace. And it makes the goodness and
grace of God to be my motive and model and the spirit of my
behavior toward others. Listen to these verses. He that
loveth not knoweth not God. No man can hate his brother and
love God. That's an impossibility. If any
man say, I love God and hate his brother, he's a liar, and
the truth's not in him. We're taught even to pray, forgive
us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. I'm speaking
on this next Sunday. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven
you. The motive and model of my behavior and conduct and spirit
toward other people. depends upon my understanding
of God's mercy to me. Do I want to learn how to love?
I'll tell you where to learn how to love. Go to Calvary. God
so loved, He gave. You want to learn how to forgive?
Go to Calvary. Father, forgive them. They know
not what to do. You want to learn how to be merciful? Go to Calvary. That's where mercy
flowed from His very veins, from His very pierced hands and feet. And then last of all, the goal
of true religion, where I started this message, that the heart
and substance of true religion is to win Christ and be found
in Him. To know Christ and the power
of His resurrection. Paul said it, he said, I count
all things as loss. All of my religious heritage,
all of my religious accomplishments, all of my religious laws and
duties and ceremonies and traditions. All of my religious theology,
orthodoxy, I count it but loss and rubbish and as nothing compared
to that priceless privilege of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ."
In other words, he's saying, I'll give anything to know Christ.
I'll give up anything to know Christ. I'll forfeit anything
to know Christ. I'll despise anything to know
Christ. and being brought to a vital
saving union with Him. That's my goal and aim and objective. And that's the very heart and
essence and substance of true religion. Paul says, I renounce
all earthly heritage. I renounce all earthly heritage.
I renounce all worldly honor. I renounce all worldly possessions.
I renounce all personal pride and merit and profession and
pretended piety just to know Christ and be found in Him. just to win Christ. This is the
substance and heart of true religion. Is this my desire? I ask you
this morning, is this your desire? If it is, our Lord promises,
blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness,
they shall be filled. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness, and these things will all be added
to you. I want to give you, just in closing, some questions that
I read from the writings of an old faithful minister of the
gospel by the name of John Flable. He asked these questions. He
was preaching along this line, a desire to know Christ, a desire
to know Christ. And he asked these six or seven
questions. I can give them to you in the
brief time we have left. He asked this question, Are my
desires for Christ genuine and sincere? Are they genuine and
sincere? He's the bread of life. I must
have Him. He's the water of life. I must
have Him. He's the door. through which I must enter. He's
the rock in a weary land. Is my desire for Christ genuine
and sincere? Do I know that He is all things,
and I covet Him? Secondly, are my desires for
Christ honoring to Him? Will they bring glory to Him?
You know, the hypocrite wants a divided Christ. He'll take
Him as Savior, but not Lord. He'll take His grace, but not
His government. He'll take His love, but not His righteousness,
His benefits, but not His person. And then, does my desire for
Christ lead me to seek Him? We say we desire Christ. Well,
what are we doing to find Him? What are we doing in our seeking? Are we seeking Him in His Word,
in His worship, in prayer among His people? Are my desires for
Christ of a permanent nature, or just a sudden fit of emotion?
Maybe because of some religious atmosphere. that comes and goes.
Sometimes I want Christ and sometimes I don't. You know, the psalmist
said, Thy praise shall continually be in my mouth. Here's another
question. Will my desire for Christ find
no satisfaction till I'm found in Him? David said, I'll be satisfied
when I wake with thy likeness. That's the goal and objective
of my very being. And then last of all, do my desires
for Christ arise from a sense of a deep need? Now, hunger makes
bread necessary, thirst makes water necessary, sin makes Christ
not an option but an essential necessity. I must have Christ,
oh that I may win Christ and be found in Him. Now this message,
the substance and heart of true religion and the foundation of
all grace that I'll be bringing next Sunday, both these messages
are on one tape. You write for it, I'll send it
to you. It cost us $2 to make it and send it to you, and that's
what we'll send it to you for, $2. Ask for this tape that I
preached this morning, we'll send it your way, along with
next Sunday's message. Until then, may God bless you,
everyone.