A Practical Religion

Romans Chapter 1, Verses 22 to 25 provides the basis for this thought, as well as the definition of the word Practical.

Rom 1:22-25

(22)  Professing to be wise, they became fools,

(23)  and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for a likeness of an image of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and reptiles.

(24)  Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of the own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies among themselves,

(25)  who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Practical

PRAC'TICAL, a. [L. practicus.] Pertaining to practice or action.

1. Capable of practice or active use; opposed to speculative; as a practical understanding.

2. That may be used in practice; that may be applied to use; as practical knowledge.

3. That reduces his knowledge or theories to actual use; as a practical man.

4. Derived from practice or experience; as practical skill or knowledge.

People today are looking for a practical religion – one that they can practice.  One that they can use every day, in all situations that they find themselves in.  What use is a religion that is not applicable in day to day life?  A practical religion explains things - to many people this is the foundation of religion.

A practical religion that fits in with what they know to be true.  Any religion requires an element of faith, and faith is much easier to follow if it does not contradict proven scientific facts. So, humans are looking for a religion that fits in with what they know already.  Why? Because everybody wants to be accepted by others.

So, a practical religion is one that can be practiced without separating people from their group. They can still be one of the company.

And in the past, people have worshipped at the temples and the shrines of their practical religions.

If we were living in the times of the Greeks, maybe we would find people there who worshipped Zeus.  This was the father God, and well known for his unfaithfulness to his wife.  And so there would be people who were unfaithful to their wives, who worshipped Zeus, excusing their behaviour because of their God. They could justify their actions based on their religion.

So their religions became the justification for human behaviour.  As Paul said in his letter to the Romans, they changed the glory of God into something less glorious. Their Gods were not gods, but human inventions of the divine – and so could excuse human behaviour.

And old mythology and religions are rife with Gods that are unfaithful, angry, jealous, dishonest and badly behaved.  We know that this is because all these Gods are based on the same characters – Nimrod and his wife – who were humans who enjoyed all the excesses of the flesh.

And people take those Gods as gods because it is a very practical thing to do.  It is far better to have a God who will excuse some of the excesses of the flesh that we live in than to have one that condemns each part of the flesh as unholy.  Its practical to live in a way that is “good enough” and be assured of salvation, because humans enjoy living that way.

They want to have their “inner peace” and still feel righteous about getting angry when someone does them a wrong.  They want to have their Gods approval in all that they do – to they picked a God with human traits – who’s priests and prophets would excuse their weaknesses.

And this is a very practical religion.  Not only is it easy to put into practice, it is also based on the experiences and practices of mankind.  And traces of this false religion are still with us today.

Today, people still want a God that meets their expectations.  They want a God that will judge themselves in the same light as they see themselves.  They want a God that is all good, and all love (to them) and will smite down the child abusers and murderers that they despise to stop them harming anyone.  At the same time, this God of theirs will make sure that no tsunami or earthquake ever kills thousands of people.  Because "if God is real, that is what he would be like".

A very practical religion.

The biblical approach is slightly different.  From the Scriptures we learn that God is God, and his ways are past understanding.

1Co 3:18-19

(18)  Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

(19)  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

The wisdom of this world – the practical religions of this world - are foolishness to God.  They are as children playing “hospital” and pretending to be doctors.  They don’t really know what is going on, but they think they do.

There is only one practical religion – Seek ye first the kingdom of God.  Follow God, and do what He says, for that is the most practical way to be saved.  It is proved to be the most practical by God coming down as a human and living it among His people.  It is practical the fact that it can be carried out, and practical in the fact that it has been proved by experience to work.

But most people do not want to embrace this religion.  Why?  Because to follow this, you have to deny yourself and the world.  And to most people, that isn't practical.  It isn't something they want to practice. They want to have God in a way that does not impact their lives. Human behaviour does not change, and we find examples of this in the Gospels.

Luk 9:57-62

(57)  And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

(58)  And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

(59)  And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

(60)  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

(61)  And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

(62)  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Thinking humanly, not having a house isn't practical.  Not saying goodbye, or burying a father int practical!  It is not something that you would actually want to do.  Christianity, in its true Biblical sense, is not a humanly practical religion!

The early church had that same problem – people wanted to have their religion, but in a way that suited them.  A practical way.  A way that let them give everything to the church, but keep something back.  A way that let them celebrate the Lords supper, and have their own supper at the same time.

And we see the results of that in this day and age.  People have gotten so far away from the Bible in the way they do things, the way they believe – why?  Because it is impractical today to say certain things.  It is impractical to do things certain ways.  It is impractical to believe that Jesus is returning, and live that way from day to day.

So we need to ask ourselves – what are the things that we still practice that are not according to Gods practical way?  Are we trying to excuse those things by saying we need a practical religion?