Dr Greg Bahnsen - Proverbs: Proverbs 15:8, 21:3, 27; 28:9 (Vain Religiosity) (Part 68)

Please turn in God's most holy Word this morning to our Old Testament reading which we find in the Book of Proverbs, and we will begin reading in chapter 15 at the eighth verse, Proverbs 15 at verse 8. Hear Now God's Word. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. In verse 29 Jehovah is far from the wicked, but he heareth the prayer of the righteous, and then Proverbs 21:3. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination. How much more when he bringeth it as the price for a foul deed. And finally, Proverbs 28:9. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer, is an abomination. And that we might see the continuity of God's holy Word from Old to New Testaments, please turn with me now to James, the first chapter, where we'll read verses 22 to 27. James 1:22 27. Be ye doers of the word and not hearers, only deluding your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror. For he beholdeth himself and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth, but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing. If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his heart, this man's religion is vain, pure religion, and undefiled before our God and Father is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Thus far the Reading of God's Word if you look at the evidences of our culture and the mentality of our day, you get some idea of what we in our American late 20th century civilization think of as a religious man. We have some idea of what religious lifestyle is. If you'll watch TV or consider the movies, read some novels from our day. Notice the way, quote unquote religious people are portrayed. I think that our culture often has a shallow, indeed has a misleading understanding about religious devotion. Our culture does not truly understand piety and I think of a very good illustration of that. Many people in our culture, I would think probably most, if we were to do something of a Gallup Poll, most people in our culture think that ascetic practices that monks and nuns go through are something of a high form of moral purity. Now, by an ascetic practice, I mean the denial of creaturely comforts, the denial, for instance, of marriage or the denial of money, the denial of eating certain things, the denial of drinking certain things. The idea that if we deprive ourselves of these ordinary creaturely comforts which God has given us, then we are somehow very pious, very religious people. And that's why it's thought to be almost beyond comprehension in a polite society that you'd say anything against a nun. And to a certain. They are females as well as being ascetic in their practice, and to a certain degree, monks as well. But monks and nuns, you see, they're in a higher class of spirituality, aren't they? We think of them as really devoted to God because they deny themselves such things. And our culture reflects this in the way we treat nuns and monks, the way we talk of them, portray them in. In the arts and so forth. We also see this. And if you watch television, you watch movies, you want a person who is going to be immediately identified as a religious individual, you give them a reverse collar, right? Because that's associated also with Romanism and Romanism with the ascetic practices that I've just been speaking of. And what I'm saying now, having set this up, is that that is a very shallow indeed, it's a very misleading conception of religious devotion. If you look at 1 Timothy, the fourth chapter, verses 1 to 3, you'll find the correction. God's word corrects that false idea of religiosity. But the Spirit saith expressly that in latter times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. You hear that verse? And I think our tendency is to think, oh, it's going to be some kind of cultic practice, practice, falling away from the faith, some kind of demonic involvement, you know. But that isn't what Paul goes on to use as his illustration. Here's his illustration of falling away from the faith and listening to the doctrines of demons through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies branded in their own consciences with a hot iron. They forbid to marry and command to abstain from meats which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. Paul says those who teach this abstinence approach to life. Don't drink, don't dance, don't smoke, don't get married, don't have money, don't sleep a lot. Those who deprive themselves of these creaturely comforts are not, in fact, teaching a form of spirituality, a form of godliness. They're teaching a form of demonic living. This, to our cultural chagrin. This, in fact, is a falling away from the faith. This is not religiosity. This is not Christianity. This is what Satan would have you believe. He would have you think that we are religious if we just go through these outward forms of abstinence. He would have you to believe that that somehow makes you a spiritual person, because he knows it doesn't. And so if he convinces you that it will and you fall for that trap, then you won't become a truly spiritual person. You won't truly become a pious person. You'll just think of yourself as religious, and others will honor that. Now, today's message is really a lot more personal and I think a lot more painful to us than just talking about the misconception in our culture of religiosity. For I'm afraid that today's message is really directed not against the mistaken notions of religiosity in the world about us, but against the vain religiosity that is practiced in this church. Oh, and don't feel badly. I'm not particularly down on my congregation. It's practiced in a lot of churches. It's practiced in just about every church that I know. I would be surprised if there was a church that didn't have a lot of vain religiosity in it. Knowing the heart of man. But the fact of the matter is that we need to hear God's word today, directed to our own hearts, directed to people like you and me who are members of the church professing to follow Jesus Christ. And. And yet our religiosity turns out to be something very vain and futile, very empty, very hypocritical. Let's ask ourselves as we begin this morning, what are the marks of piety? What are the marks of a religious life in our popular imagination, especially among us as professing believers, what do we take to be the outward signs of a pious lifestyle, of someone who's a religious individual? I want to suggest to you that there are more than these, but four stand out, four in particular. As I've grown up as a Christian, as I've been in a Christian college, have gone to seminary, have ministered in a few churches and have taught in all these various settings that God has put me in, various arrangements and responsibilities, I've had an opportunity to, well, do a little bit of an empirical survey, a little bit of a scientific survey of what is religious in our circles. I want to suggest that I find four things are considered really religious among us. First is religious testimony. Those who talk religiously. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not against religious testimony, nor am I against any of the things I'm bringing up. But I do want to suggest that we put a lot of stock in that the person who will stand up in the meeting and give their testimony, or the person who will has a wonderful prayer list that he brings or she brings to church, or the person who, in talking to other people, is always able to incorporate religious phrases or religious expressions or religious concepts. We honor that. We say that person must be a very religious person, a very pious person, very good person. So talking religiously and I think visible prayer. Visible prayer is taken as a mark of religiosity in our day among us. And by visible prayer, I mean either prayer that is displayed or prayer that is divulged. You know, we have two ways of doing that. We display our prayers when we pray out loud. And so we think of a person being religious because they want to pray or they're willing to pray, say, at the prayer meeting at church or when you get together with friends, they're the one who's always willing to take the lead, say, well, let's pray. Let's go to God about this. Well, it's not just the displaying of prayer. It's also the divulging of prayer. You know how people talk about their prayer lives. Well, I got up a half hour early today, so I might pray about that matter or I'm going to prayer meeting or whatever it may be. Now you should go to prayer meeting, and you should get up a half hour early to pray, and you should talk religiously. Again, I'm not against these things. I'm just pointing out to you, am I not right, that when we see people like this, we think of them as being good Christians, good holy people, pious religious people. A third mark of religiosity is familiarity with the Bible. And by that I mean the Bible is regularly read. You either tell people we regularly read the Bible or we display the fact that we do because we bring up what's in the Bible. Or. And if I might step a little on our toes here in our Reformed congregation, we love to talk doctrine. We show that we are Familiar with the Bible. We carry our Bible sometimes. That's the way in which we show that we're. Or. And I've had professors and others who make quite a point of displaying their Bible. You know, it's on their desk or it's on the coffee table. It's always embarrassing when there's dust on it, too. But nevertheless, there is this Bible that is displayed. And so we display our familiarity with the Bible in what we say or actually visibly carrying it or putting it out. And then finally, and probably the one that would have come to your mind, first of all, the top thing in terms of our way of thinking today that shows that a person is a Christian and is religious is that you go to church, church attendance. And if you're really a good Christian, you're involved in other church activities, too. You not only go to church, you go to prayer meeting and Bible study, okay? And you take advantage of the Sunday evening activities. And you're at the afternoon services. And like today, you'll be at the installation because you're good religious people. You should be. Church attendance is certainly not being spoken against today. But I want us to be aware of the fact that we think of religiosity in these terms. Testimony, prayer, Bible familiarity and church attendance or involvement in church activities. But we really shouldn't put a lot of stock in those things, should we? We should promote them, as I'm trying to do today. They ought to be things that we do, but we ought not to put stock in them as the evidence of religion. And maybe you're already thinking, the most obvious example of what I'm saying right now are these television evangelists that have recently brought a great deal of embarrassment and indeed scorn upon the Church of Jesus Christ. These people talk religion and they do a lot of praying and there's a great deal of visible Bible reading and things in their midst. And they promote religious activities. And yet their lives are a seething, immoral mess. That shows that we are looking at surface appearances when we think that testimony and prayer and Bible familiarity is religion, vain religiosity. Another word, not quite as kind perhaps, is hypocrisy, having an outward show, a mask that you wear. But down deep, the heart has not changed. Down deep, the life of obedience and hearing God's word and heeding God's word is not there. Some of the most religious people we know are the least religious people there are. You might want to think about that for a moment. Those people who appear most religious often turn out to be the Least in fact, religious people. How could such outwardly good and pious things like prayer and Bible reading and religious testimony and church attendance, how could they prove to be wicked, unacceptable not only to us, but to God himself? Ask yourself that question. How is it possible that religious exercises like that, the outward signs of piety could in fact be abominable to God? And the answer from God's holy word is, when they do not arise from a godly heart and do not arise in the midst of a godly lifestyle of obedience to God's revealed will. Let me repeat that answer. These things, prayer, Bible reading, religious testimony, church attendance and like matters are abominable to God when they do not arise from a godly heart. And in the midst of a godly lifestyle of obedience, when you don't have the heart that gives rise to prayer, to Bible reading and testimony, when you don't have a lifestyle of obedience that those things nourish, then all you have is the outward form and no substance. What you have is, to put it bluntly, hypocrisy. In James, the first chapter, which we read this morning, you notice that James was very aware of this truth, this spiritual principle, when he says, if you are a hearer of the Word but not a doer, you are like a man who sees his face in the mirror, knows that he has to comb his hair, but walks away and doesn't do anything about it. When you come to church or when you open your Bible or you talk to your friends about the teaching of Scripture, it is always holding up a mirror to your life. It's always reflecting something back to you that shows you need to change. You may need to change doctrinally. You may need to change your mentality, you may need to change your attitudes, you may need to change your relations. You may need to change your obedience to certain commandments of God. But the Word of God is always like a mirror showing us where we fall short. And so James says, when you hear the Word, the mirror is held up to you, but then you walk away from it. You're not a doer of it at all. You're not a doer of God's Word, a doer of God's law. And he says, you delude yourself in your religiosity. If any man thinks himself to be religious when he doesn't bridle his tongue and he deceives his heart, this man's religion is vain. It is possible to have all the marks of piety visible, possible socially, to have a great reputation as a Christian. Man or woman. And not at all be a Christian, not at all have a heart that's right with God. And that ought to scare you. Scares me. Because I'll tell you, I have days when I wonder how God puts up with this wicked person that's inside me that you don't see. You just see the person that's behind the pulpit. The same for you too. You ought to be on your knees often saying, God, make sure my heart is in this. Make sure that this arises from a life of obedience. And it's not just the outward marks of religiosity. Because if that isn't true, then I'm a hearer of the word and not a doer. I deceive myself. And it's not simply because, as many of you know, I've done some doctoral work in the area of self deception. But if you stop yourselves and reflect on this. Self deception is one of the most dreadful diseases that could ever overcome a person's emotional spiritual life. Because you see, the self deceived person imagines that he doesn't need to be healed. The self deceived person won't even seek the rectification that is necessary in his or her life. It's one thing to be weighed down and humbled by your sin and to know how bad you are. And it's far worse to think you don't need anything at all. Jesus in the book of Revelation addresses one of the churches of Asia Minor in this very way. When he says, you think you are wealthy and yet you are poor. You think that you see, but you need eye salve for your eyes. Self deception. James is on that same theme. He says pure religion, undefiled religion is not found in these outward forms of religiosity. It's found in such simple private and humble things as service to the fatherless and widows in their affliction and keeping yourself unspotted from the world. Pure religion is found not in the person who makes quite a point about how wonderful his marriage is and how faithful he is to his wife. Pure religion is found in the person who resists lust, the person who keeps himself unspotted from the world. The person who can go out and make a lot of money in the business world and not compromise and not be doing things on the worldly principles that let people get ahead. These are not the people who blast their trumpets you see out in public and make a point of going to, you know, religious prayer meetings and the associations, whether at school or at business or whatever it may be, of Religious people. These individuals quietly go and help the widows and make sure that they're inwardly clean. That's pure religion, the hearing of God's word followed by the doing of God's word. If you turn in your bibles to the 50th Psalm, you'll notice as well, the psalmist speaks of vain religiosity in words which, if we could appreciate what the psalmist is saying, would be so cutting to us. Psalm 50. The Mighty One God Jehovah hath spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion the perfection of beauty God hath shined forth. Our God cometh and doth not keep silence. A fire devoureth before him, and it is very tempestuous round about him. He calleth to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice, he says, and the heavens shall declare his righteousness. For God is judge himself. God is coming to judge his people. God says, gather my saints, those who by sacrifice have made covenant with me. Let them appear before me, and out of the beauty of Zion I shall show forth my glory and fire and judgment around about me. It's a very dramatic scene. And the psalmist goes on. Verse 6. Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against thee. I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices and thy burnt offerings which are continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy fields. God says, I don't want your sacrifices. Don't bring them. In fact, I won't even bother to reprove you anymore about them. They disgust me. I don't need them. I don't want them. Now wait a minute, God. You're the one who laid down the ceremonial laws of sacrifice. You're the one who told your people to approach you by means of whole burnt offerings and sin atonement. God says, don't bother. I won't take your bullocks out of your houses anymore. I don't want to see your sacrifices before me. And notice what he says in verse 10. Every beast of the forest is mine. The cattle upon a thousand hills I know, all the birds of the mountains and the wild beasts of the field, they're mine. I don't need your sacrifices. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is mine and the fullness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats. God says, I don't want any more animals brought out of your homes. I don't care. I've got everything in the forest. If I wanted to eat what I want from you. Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the Most High. Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me. But unto the wicked God saith, what hast thou to do, to declare my statutes and that thou hast taken my covenant in thy mouth? The day is coming when the words that we've spoken so religiously will be a witness against us. You have my covenant in your mouth. You've declared my statutes, but what do I have to do with that? I don't want your vain talk. Seeing that you hate instruction and you cast my words behind you. God says you speak it, but you don't do it. You talk it, but you don't walk it. Here's some examples. When you saw a thief, you consented with him. You were a partaker with our adulterers. You give your mouth to evil and your tongue frames deceit. You know what that means? It means you sit there and you actually figure out how to deceive people. You frame it. You plot it. You see people doing wicked things and you consent to it. You sit and speak against your own brother. You slander your own mother's son. Now these things you have done. And I kept silence. God says you thought that I was altogether such a one as yourself. God says you thought that that's what religion was to me talking. You thought you could bring your sacrifices and not live a life of holiness. You thought you could consent with evil about you and be deceitful in your own thing. You thought it was enough just to go through the outward forms of religion and. And to your dismay you will find out you were mistaken to think I was like that. You thought I was altogether like you. But I will reprove you and set these things in order before your eyes. Now consider this. You who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver. Whoso offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me. And to him that orders his way aright will I show the salvation of God. Get right with God. Don't talk about it. Don't go through vain religious exercises. Don't offer sacrifices unless they're going to be the sacrifices of thanksgiving. A heart that's right with me. Order your life aright, and then you'll know the salvation of God. The Bible from COVID to cover is concerned with vain religiosity. But from church to church in our land, I find very little concern that we have anything more. But the outward show of religion, the outward visible signs that we talk religiously. We know our Bibles, we carry our Bibles, we come to church, we do our prayers, and yet God will say, you thought I was like you. You thought I was satisfied with that kind of religiosity. Sad thing is that religious exercises often give false relief to a guilty conscience. You, as a Christian probably have had times when you found yourself struggling with some besetting sin, maybe falling back into something that really depresses you, you feel very guilty about and what you will do. If you're anything like me, foolish as I am, you will probably think I'm going to read my Bible a lot more, pray a lot more. Well, by all means, read your Bible. By all means pray. But you know what we're doing, don't you? When we make that commitment, we're appeasing God. We're offering him a bargain. God forgive me. I promise I'll read my Bible. You may not do it just that childishly, but you do it, don't you? I know you do. Vain religion exercises that give the false relief to the conscience. But the Bible teaches us that hypocritical rituals cannot buy indulgence. They cannot buy favor from God. God says, you thought I was like you. You thought you can indulge me. I don't want your sacrifices. I don't need your meat offerings. I don't care for your prayers. Wait a minute, God, don't you need us? Don't you want us to talk to you? Don't you? Isn't Jesus supposed to be given a chance in our lives? God says, no, I don't need you. I don't beg you. And as a matter of fact, you disgust me with your religious ritual. And until you come to the place where you know how disgusting your vain religiosity is to God, you will not change it. Your heart will not turn from it. And so this morning, as much as it may not be an uplifting, joyous, happy go lucky message that you'll hear in other churches, I want you to come to terms with this. God is disgusted with our religion unless it arises from a heart that is godly. And in the midst of a life of obedience, sin must be dealt with. But not by offering some kind of a sop to heaven, just throwing this thing out here to God, something that's going to relieve our consciences. We must deal with sin in the way that God tells us to, and that is by means of frank confession of our sins and very practical repentance from our sins. Notice what Proverbs 28:13 teaches us. Proverbs 28:13 he that covers his transgressions shall not prosper, but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy. If you leave here today unwilling to confess your hypocrisy and willing to confess the vanity of your religious exercises, if you are covering your transgressions and pretending everything's okay and that the Almighty is just like you, then you really have very little hope of mercy. He who confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy. And then practical repentance is called for. Proverbs 16:6. By mercy and truth, iniquity is atoned for. And by the fear of Jehovah, men depart from evil. To put it in New Testament language, you vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come, but bring forth the fruit appropriate to repentance. And so the book of Proverbs taught us so many years before, John the Baptist said that you're nothing but a bunch of snakes running from the fire, unless in your running from the fire you're willing to bring forth the fruit of repentance. A practical life of godliness as well. God doesn't play games. In Matthew, the seventh chapter in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks words that should really wake us up this morning. If they don't, perhaps you're to spiritually dead. In Matthew 7:21, our Lord says, Not everyone who says unto me, lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name? And by thy name cast out demons, demons. And by thy name do many mighty works. I mean, we were well known, God, we were miracle workers. We cast out demons. People knew how religious we were. You know who we are, right? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye who work iniquity. The day is coming when a lot of people who think they know Jesus are going to find out he doesn't know them. And they're going to find out that that's all that really counts on the Day of Judgment. Whether Jesus knows you, your religious reputation, your outward visible signs of religion, will not cut it. Jesus will say, the only one that I know, the only one who belongs to Me is the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. And so, before we look at the Book of Proverbs in passing this morning, I'd like to ask you about a few marks of hypocrisy that perhaps are in your life that might jog you to begin thinking seriously about your standing before God. This is a very incomplete list. In fact, I'm going to limit it to the Book of Matthew. If I were to go through the whole New Testament, I'm afraid I would weigh you down to despair. I know I would, me. But just what does Matthew teach about hypocrisy? What does Jesus say there in the sixth chapter? He says that a man cannot serve two masters, God and money. Some of you are trying to do that. You really are. Now, you've also learned the good Christian rationalizations for that, and you're fooling yourself about it. But your heart is not sold out to Jesus. It's sold out to Jesus when you've got enough money that it's convenient. I'm sorry. I don't mean to hurt you, my friends, but if I don't hurt you, then you will not be healed. Matthew 7. 5. Jesus says you're a hypocrite if you judge yourself by different standards than you judge others. And who of us is going to stand up and say, well, I've never done that. I've never held a lower standard for myself than I apply to others when I criticize them. You're a hypocrite According to Matthew 15, if you dismiss God's commandments by convenience or cultural tradition. Well, God says this, but we say that. And Jesus says you've made void the word of God by your traditions. Do you think it's possible that your family traditions, that your personal conveniences, that even our cultural traditions have gotten in the way of wholehearted obedience to God's commandments? Is that even possible? Would you think about that? Perhaps you are making void the word of God and in so doing becoming a hypocrite. In Matthew, the fifth chapter of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, look, even the Gentiles can treat their friends nicely. But if you want to have the attitude of your Father in heaven, you'll love your enemies. I don't know when I've preached on this before. I've said, and I, at least subjectively still believe that may be the toughest command of all. I would almost rather that God told me to crawl on tax to Disneyland than to love my enemies, because I find it so natural to despise them. Jesus says, no, take care of your enemies. Do good to them that despitefully use you. Pray for those who persecute you. I find that very hard. Is our heart right with God? How about outward sexual purity, yet inward lust in our hearts? Jesus says, you hypocrite. How about avoiding violence outwardly, but verbally abusing people that we don't like? Jesus says. Says, you hypocrite about seeking self recognition as a religious person. In Matthew 23, Jesus really puts the finger on the Pharisees. He says, you love the chief places at the banquets, don't you? You love it when you go out on the street corner and people recognize you and so forth, you hypocrites. Jesus talks in that same chapter about weaseling our way out of obligations and weaseling our way out of promises and not being men of integrity. We find one excuse or one loophole after another not to do the things that we're supposed to do. He talks about straining at gnats while we swallow camels. I'm always amazed at how I can do that and how others as well, when they get around to criticizing people or criticizing the church, whatever it may be, are the same people that are swallowing whole camels. Why they don't think gnats should be going down our throats. In Matthew 23, Jesus talks about paying your tithes, but then omitting the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy and faith. People who can be fine tuners of the most minute detail of the law of God. There's a place for that. But people who do that and don't understand what it is to love, to show mercy and to be just in your dealings. Jesus has no place for that. You may say, lord, Lord, you have no place with him. He doesn't know you, you hypocrites. Your religion is vain. Carry your Bibles, come to church, pray out loud. Big deal. God says, I don't want your religious exercises. I want you. I want you. Give me your heart, give me your life, and then all of those other things will sustain you. All those other things will be the appropriate mark of a life given to me. But don't try to give me the outward signs without the heart and sound substance of them. Now, in the days in which Proverbs was written, finally, if I can explain this, but I won't take as long now, in Proverbs, I promise you, in the day in which Proverbs was written, what would be the outward signs of religiosity? Two in particular, Others are possible but two in particular. The pious Jew was a person of prayer, and the pious Jew brought his sacrifices or her sacrifices regularly to the altar. Bring your sacrifices and pray. Two very visible signs of piety and religiosity. And the Book of Proverbs uses both of them and talks about vain prayer and prayer that is pleasing to God, and vain sacrifice and sacrifice that is pleasing to God. Proverbs 15 at the eighth verse. Actually, both are incorporated as matter of fact. Proverbs 15:8 says, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination unto Jehovah, but the prayer of the upright. This is the delight, the outward religious show of someone who is wicked is not just displeasing to God, not just unacceptable to God, but the strongest word in the Hebrew language for disgust. God is absolutely revolted when a wicked man wants to offer a sacrifice or wishes to pray, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. Proverbs 15:29 says, Jehovah is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. We don't have the right to come into God's presence. We don't have the right to talk to him. God is so holy that he cannot even look upon evil. Sin must separate us from him. And when the wicked attempts to pray to God, he is far from him. God hears only the prayer of the righteous. Now there's another question. How does someone become righteous in such a way as to have his prayers heard? What does James tell us? James, the fifth chapter, verse 16, uses the example of Elijah saying that the prayer of a righteous man avails much. And the only prayer that I think God is going to hear that ever comes from my lips is going to be one that's mediated by the only righteous one, the Lord Jesus Christ. One has to be right with God. One must have a humbled heart that's trusting not in his own merits, but only in the mercy of Jesus Christ in Elijah's case, and the Savior to come, and someone who wants his life turned around by that commitment, then your prayer will be heard. God is very close to people like that that he can understand and that he loves. But when you come arrogantly thinking you have the right to talk to him and that your wickedness does not separate you from him. He is disgusted by your religion. Jesus In Matthew 6, verse 5 uses the example of the Pharisees. He says, now here's the way they pray. They love to go out on the street corners, right? They love to be heard of men. They use all these pompous expressions. Oh, their prayer life looks wonderful, he later would say, but inwardly dead man's bones, whited sepulchers looks good outside, putrid inside. Vain prayer is putrid to God. He will not listen. Proverbs 28:9. He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. Please don't listen to those false prophets in the Christian church today who tell you you don't have to keep the law of God. Don't listen to those who think they magnify God's grace by being antinomian against the law. Proverbs says, you turn away your ear from the law. You don't want to hang on God's commandments and do them. Don't expect your prayers to be heard. In fact, expect your prayers to increase your guilt because they are in fact disgusting to God. They are abominable to God. Even the prayer. Not just the fact that you don't keep the law, but even the prayer, the religious exercises of the person who won't hear the law. That prayer is disgusting to God. Vain prayer. The book of Proverbs also talks about vain sacrifice. Back to Proverbs 15:8, which we've already looked at. But to be reminded, it does say, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah. Proverbs 21:27 pushes it a little bit further when it says, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination. How much more when he brings it as the price of a foul deed? It's bad enough that you're wicked, but when you start going to church, reading your Bible, or bring your sacrifice thinking you're compensating for your foul deeds, how much more is God disgusted by it? And then finally, the theme of this morning's message, we get to the punch line here. Proverbs 21:3. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice. To do righteousness and justice, not to engage in outward religious show, not to bring your sacrifices, but to have a changed life that is more acceptable to Jehovah. You remember how Jesus talked about vain sacrifice again in the fifth chapter of Matthew's Gospel when he said, and if you are going to bring your gift to the altar, bring your sacrifice to the altar. And there you remember that your brother has ought against you. Jesus doesn't say, look, we're really glad that you want to go through this religious show. Go ahead, make your prayer, give your sacrifice, go to church, and then maybe you can get it worked out. With your brother. He says, no, leave it right there. Get things in the proper order. Have your priorities straight. Go be right with your brother and then come worship me. Then come offer your sacrifice. God says, I don't want your vain religion. I don't want your prayer. I don't want your Bible reading, your religious talk and your church attendance when you're not doing the things that I require of you to do. Righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice. In fact, that is a very theme of the prophets. How often we see the prophets saying the same thing. Let's go through this rather quickly. I know we're short on time, but I want this to be driven home to your heart first. Samuel, the 15th chapter. Here. As Saul has decided to make his own sacrifice to God contrary to God's commandment, Samuel comes. He approaches Saul, he indicts him, saying, to obey is more important than sacrifice. You think God wanted you to go through this ritual of offering something upon an altar? He wanted you to obey him. You've got it all wrong. Religious show is nothing without the heart of obedience. Look at Psalm 51, verses 16 to 19. The 51st Psalm at the 16th verse. For thou delightest not in sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are what a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. O God, Thou wilt not despise he. He despises our sacrifices, but he'll never despise a broken heart. Isaiah, the first chapter, beginning at the tenth verse. The prophet Isaiah has the same thing to say to those who dwell in Jerusalem. But notice he doesn't say they dwell in Jerusalem. He says, hear the word of Jehovah, you rulers of Sodom, give ear unto the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah. What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices, saith Jehovah, I have had enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fed beasts. And I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When you come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand to trample my courts, bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination unto me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with iniquity and solemn meetings. Your new moons and your appointed feast, my soul hates. They are a trouble unto me. I'm weary of bearing them. And when you spread forth your hands, I'll hide mine eyes from you. Yes, when you make Many prayers I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil from your doings, from before mine eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do well, seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. And then maybe your religion will mean something to me. But I don't want your solemn assemblies. Get out of church. I don't want to see you here. Don't bring your sacrifices. I've had it with your fed beast. Give me your hearts. Take care of the widows. Judge righteously, cleanse your hands. Come now, let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, I'll make them white as snow. God says, you hypocrites, don't you know only I can save you? Your only hope is to throw yourself on my mercy. And then from the heart, from the heart your prayers will be heard, and from the heart your sacrifices will mean something, because they'll come with Thanksgiving. Amos 5, 21, 22, Amos the fifth chapter. This well known passage from the prophet of Amos, I hate, I despise your feast. And I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them. Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beast. Take thou away from me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your vials. But let justice roll down as waters and and righteousness is a mighty stream. Show forth justice and mercy and truth. And then your songs and your assemblies and your prayers will have some significance to me. One more. Hosea 6, verse 6. Hosea 6 at the sixth verse. For I desire goodness, actually kindness and Hebrew, I desire kindness and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. God says, I don't want your outward show of religion. I want a heart that's made right. I want loving kindness from you. And so Jesus, twice in Matthew's Gospel, as he reproaches the Pharisees, they have come to indict him for doing what? Do you remember? His followers didn't wash their hands, right, because before they ate they didn't go through the little religious ritual that the Jews had added to the word of God. And then another time they came and they indicted him because he had broken the Sabbath by feeding his followers on the Sabbath walking through a field. And Jesus both times says, go back and read Hosea how God says, I desire loving kindness, not sacrifice. Go learn what it means when the prophet says, and then you'll stop bothering me with your little Trite details of outward religiosity that doesn't offer me a heart of loving kindness and faithfulness. Truthfulness. The 40th Psalm the Psalmist says in verses 6 to 8, sacrifice and offering you have no delight. In my ears you have opened burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then said I, lo, I am come in the roll of the book it is written of me I delight to do thy will, O my God. Yes, thy law is within my heart. God delights not in sacrifice, but in the attitude which seeks to do. His revealed will is found in his holy law. And those of you who are here Thursday evening at Bible study will remember that that's exactly what Hebrews the 10th chapter quotes at verses 5 to 7 about Jesus, who is the mediator of the new covenant. Hebrews 10:5,7. Where there the author of Hebrews points out that the only sacrifice that is acceptable to God is the sacrifice of one who does the will of God. Hebrews 10:5. Wherefore, when he comes into the world, he says, sacrifice an offering you would not, but a body you prepared for me in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have no pleasure. Then said I, lo, I am come in the roll of the book it is written of me to do thy will, O God. Only Jesus can utter those words. The psalmist said them by way of anticipation. The psalmist said them in some measure, but only in fullness and sincerity can Jesus say, coming into the world, God doesn't want these other sacrifices. He wants me. I've come to do thy will. And that's interesting, because as we come to a conclusion this morning, do you understand that for this reason only the sacrifice of Jesus is acceptable to God? God says, I don't delight in sacrifice. I delight in obedience. Jesus, who perfectly obeyed the law of God, Jesus, whose heart belonged to the Father, Jesus, who said, I've come into this world to do the will of my Father who is in heaven. Jesus could offer a sacrifice that God would accept. And you know what, my friends? When he did it, he sacrificed himself. Only the religiosity of Christ is acceptable to God, because only his is a religiosity without blemish, and only an unblemished sacrifice will do. And so Jesus, having come into this world to do the will of God, laid down his life for the sins of his people, for you and me, for your vain religiosity, Jesus said, I'll make the sacrifice that God will accept. I will utter the prayer that God will hear. And so pray your prayers in my name and come through my perfect sacrifice, because it's your only hope. Only the sacrifice of Christ as the spotless lamb will be acceptable to God. And that's the only sacrifice that is going to atone for the hypocrisy of which you and I are so guilty today. No more vain religiosity, believe me. If you're not going to follow Jesus, if you're not going to give him your heart, if you're not going to say on principle, no matter what I take up my cross, I will follow him today. Please don't carry your Bibles and don't come to prayer meeting. And frankly, don't pray. Don't come to church. We love you. We'd like to see you at church. Love to see you at Bible study and a prayer meeting. We'd love to hear your religious testimony, but we don't want to hear what disgusts God. So do it from the heart. And if you're going to do it from the heart, you'll do it through the only sacrifice available to men that will be acceptable to God. And that's the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Will you this morning give your heart to him and not just your religiosity. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we are so ashamed of ourselves. We haven't loved you the way we should. We've talked a good line. All of us here confess that we've probably convinced a lot of people by our Bible carrying and our spouting of religious phrases and our church attendance that we're good and pious and religious people. And yet as we stand before you, you see through us. We acknowledge that we are not what we should be. We're hypocrites. We put on a front. And we want yout today to turn us around, to take hold of our lives, to govern us, to rule over us, to so possess us, that as we look into the mirror of youf holy Word and see what yout Law requires, that we would not walk away unchanged, that we would this morning be doers and not just hearers, that we would understand what pure religion is all about, that it's not tied up in sacrifices and prayers that don't have substance, but rather in obedience. And so save us by your Son and change our lives, tame our hearts, take control of us, that we might truly obey you as godly people whose lives have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, the one sacrifice that we are assured you receive. Lord, we trust your promise that that sacrifice will never be despised. And for that reason, we will not be despised now. We thank you in Jesus name, Amen.