Spiritual Maturity—Vitalities Over Formalities; Psalm1; I Peter 1:13-25
In this week’s installment of our series on spiritual maturity, we look at the idea of our religion being measured by vitalities (or what gives it life) and not formalities (which is just repeating the same thing). Now, in some circles, that concept of “the ‘R’ word” is never used. We’re not a religion; we’re a faith. Oh, we’re not just a religion…we’re a movement. I wouldn’t call us a “religion,” we’re a way of being. Call it what you want, but when someone switches from Baptist to Methodist, no one asks, “Which way are you being today?” Instead, we are asked, “What is your religion?” As the number of faithful have declined, we have blamed it on this idea of “religion,” and we have used any other name for it ranging from the reasonable to the ridiculous.
Religion is not a bad thing. The literal definition of “religion” is “a system of faith and worship.” Religion is the word to describe the ways you use to worship your God. And yet, we constantly hear people say that they’re faith is “more than a religion.” I think we’ve misdirected our concern. The question should not be whether or not what you believe is a “religion” or something else. The question should be how you measure your belief. Is it just a mindless, spiritless set of formalities you follow, or is there something living and vital within the faith you practice here and in the world around us each week. The scripture in I Peter gives us three of the markers to measure the vitality of our faith: new hope, new holiness, and new life.
In verse 13 we read that our minds should be prepared, and we read that our hope should be Christ’s power to save us. Our faith and the way we practice faith should give us some kind of new hope. There are a couple of ways to get something new. The first is when we come here seeking God from a place of nothing—no relationship, no love, no grace in our lives. It draws us back to that first time we found and felt God’s presence in a place of worship and people at worship. But many of us are a few years down the road in our faith and worship. That’s the point where danger can set in. Worship can be interesting but just a formality. Prayer can be well-worded, but just a formality. Bible Studies can be informative, but just a formality. We can come to a place where there is nothing living and vital about the way we practice faith.
Each time we encounter worship, a sacred space, or the children of God we should find something living, transformative, which gives us new hope. This makes us like trees which bear new, good fruit each season, as Psalm 1 says. That’s a two-way street to receive new hope. First, our worship and faith must offer us something of God, but our hearts and minds must also be prepared to engage. I hear people say they’re getting nothing out of their church or their faith. I wonder if they are offered the opportunity to find growth in their relationship to God. But also, I wonder if they are willing to receive it. God cannot speak to closed ears. I Peter tells us to prepare our minds for action—to receive new, revitalized, and living hope.
A vital practice of faith also offers us new holiness. This is another word we struggle with. Some struggle because holiness doesn’t give much wiggle room. Some other struggle because they take “holiness” to mean “holier than thou” and make no room for grace and love. Verse 16 doesn’t command us to be perfectly holy. That’s impossible in our lives. What God says through these words is “be like me.” In a relationship, there is a desire to grow closer to the other person. So it is with God. We should be drawn by our faith, our love, and the Spirit to be more like and closer to the way God calls us and the example Jesus gave us.
A pastor was once asked how to know when a church got the idea of holiness wrong. The pastor replied, “Look for the rules. Where rules are more important than relationship, the church has turned away from being a living and vital place of faith.” Remember Psalm 1 tells us to meditate on God’s law, but over and over in New Testament, we are told Jesus came to “fulfill the law.” Fulfillment doesn’t mean ending one big old set of laws and giving us another. Jesus came to end the need for religious rules because we have a relationship with him. It’s a new holiness built not on religious rule, but on relationship with a loving redeemer and savior.
And finally, a vital and living faith has new life. I Peter 1: 23 says, “Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. But 1 Peter 1: 14 also warns us not to slip back into old ways of living. Some faiths and churches tend to focus in on this idea of new life as only getting into heaven. And in fact, we believe in a faith that promises us an eternal reward of heaven, but there is still something transformative which happens to us here on earth.
If the only point of our belief was to pop through the pearly gate, we wouldn’t have needed the example Jesus gave us. There’s two main things Jesus did here on earth: the redemptive work of the cross and resurrection, but also the example of a Godly or Christian life through years of ministry. Surely there is something to be done in this life as we live here 50, 60, 80, 90 or more years. New life begins immediately, with a relationship and a call to live Christ’s example of hope, holiness, and forgiving grace on earth. Jesus healed. Jesus loved (even the most unlovable). Jesus fed and taught. Jesus sought to make a difference in his ministry, and it brought life and vitality to a people whose faith which had become just a bunch of formal practices.
So, as we live and practice our faith here on earth, we must be careful that our worship and our actions bring life and vitality to our faith and the world around us. When we sing, pray, proclaim the Good News, and respond to it, we must do so with the power and energy that come from a relationship with Christ compeling us to be grace in this world. May we then have new or renewed hope each and every morning. May we practice holiness by becoming less worldly and rule oriented, and instead focusing on a relationship that pushes us to be Christlike. And may we proclaim the Good News of new life which rises above suffering on earth and calls for love, justice, and a people of God focused wholly and completely on God instead of the evils around us. Prepare your hearts and minds, and be renewed in your hope, relationship, and life of faith.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/297284502374083