IS YOUR RELIGION REALLY YOURS? #2
By David J. Riggs

Intro.
   A. Religion involves: one's relation to God, love of God, hope of
      eternal life, moral standards, and the like.
   B. We studied in our last lesson last Lord's day:
      1. One's religion should not be organizational.
      2. It should not be based on family loyalty.
      3. It should not be founded upon social relationships.
   C. In this lesson we want to study the positive side, and answer
      the questions,  "How can I make my religion mine?"
      1. This is a broad subject, but we will look at a few
         passages which show that religion must indeed be a
         personal thing.

I. Gen. 48:15
   A. He fed me. His own personal God. Not that he fed us.
      1. Remember, too, that Jacob was a third-generation
         believer.
   B. Heb. 11:13-16 - "their God."
      1. Over and over, we read of the God of Abraham, Isaac,
         and Jacob.
      2. Wouldn't you like to have the kind of faith and the kind
         of life that, all through the centuries, God would be
         referred to as, "I am the God of, David, Jo, etc.?
      3. It can be - 2 Cor. 6:16-18.
         a. God must be my God. He must be my Father. Acts
            17:28; Heb. 12:9-11.

II.   Psalm 23
   A. The Lord must be my shepherd.
      1. It's not enough that the Lord is my parents' shepherd,
         brother so and so's shepherd.
         a. The Lord must be my shepherd.
   B. Why does the 23rd Psalm have such an appeal to people?
      1. Psalm 23 is acclaimed to be the most favorite piece of
         literature ever written. Why is that so? What's the special
         appeal?
      2. It is that personal nature of the Psalm.
         a. If it had said, "The Lord is our shepherd. We shall
            not want" it would not have had its marvelous
            appeal.

III.  Matt. 22:35-38
   A. The word "you" here is singular in the Greek. The ending
      attached to the word shows that it is singular.
      1. In other words, its got to be my love for God.
      2. I can't go through life attending services, reading my
         Bible, and living a good moral life on someone else's
         love for God.
   B. The Greek interlinear: "Thou shalt love the Lord the God of
      thee, with all the heart of thee, with all the soul of thee,   
      and with all the mind of thee."
      1. This brings it down to the individual. It's my God, my
         love, with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my
         mind.
      2. My own personal relationship to God is what counts.

IV.  1 Pet. 3:15
   A. Notice that he didn't say you must be ready to give a defense
      for what your church believes, or why brother so and so has
      hope.
      1. It is a "reason of the hope that is in you."
   B. Each one of us must have this hope. You have hope. I have
      hope.  Each one of us must be ready to explain why we live in
      hope of eternal life.
      1. In the midst of persecutions, someone is bound to ask,
         "Why are you suffering these things?" Look at the
         context - verses 14, 16.
      2. "Hope" defined means, "Favorable and confident
         expectation; it has to do with the unseen and the future;
         Rom. 8:18-25" (Vine).
   C. 1 Pet. 1:3-4 - Thus, each one of us must have personal
      convictions, and our hope must be built upon those
      convictions.
      1. I need to be ready to explain why I have hope; e.g., give
         the convictions which produced that hope.
      2. Heb. 11:6 - There is a difference in: What is your faith?
         And, Why do you believe?
         a. I once was working on a job with an older man who
            was a member of the church of the Nazarene." I
            asked him, "What does the church of the Nazarene
            believe?" He said, "I don't rightly know." I asked,
            "How is the church of the Nazarene different from
            other churches?" He said, "I don't rightly know." I
            said, "Why is it called the church of the Nazarene?"
            He said, " I don't rightly know." I said, "I hope you
            don't mind my asking all these questions." He said,
            "I don't mind. If you don't ask questions, how will
            you ever learn anything?"

V. Gen. 39:7-9
   A. Joseph was hated by his brothers. His brothers sold him as a
      slave into Egypt.
      1. Joseph probably thought his father would come and
         rescue him.
   B. Gen. 39:7 - Joseph said, "How can I do...
      1. He had his own moral standards, not his father's.  He
         was a young man at this time. Gen. 37:2
         a. Depending on how long he had already been in
            Potiphar's house, he was 17 to 19 years old.
         b. How many 17 to 19-year-old's make their stand for
            God when tempted to commit adultery?
   C. Parents must set bounds and restrictions. However, within
      time, the children must come to see that these are God's
      bounds and restrictions.
      1. A mother told a daughter to choose where to put the
         hem of the skirt.

VI.  2 Tim. 2:15
   A. "To present yourself approved."
   B. We should be concerned about what God thinks of us, not
      what man thinks of us.
      1. "Does God appreciate me?" This is an all-important
         question.
   C. Each one of us must take heed regarding ourselves first.  1
      Tim. 4:16
      1. When it comes to one's own salvation, one can be very
         selfish.
      2. In other words, be concerned about yourself first and,
         then, you are in position to help others.  Acts 2:40; Phil.
         2:12
      3. You yourself, and I myself, must personally strive to
         enter in.  Luke 13:23-24
         a. Sometimes we are not as diligent as we should be.
         b. A man went to his doctor and said, "Doc, I have
            been feeling so tired lately; I don't feel like doing
            anything around the house anymore; I'm gaining
            weight like crazy." After many expensive tests, the
            man said, "Now, Doc, I want you to give it to me in
            plain laymen's terms. Please, no medical terms. I
            want only the truth. What's wrong with me?" The
            doctor said, "Your problem is that you are lazy."
            The man said, "Could you please give me the
            medical terms so that I can tell my wife?"
      4. 2 Tim. 2:15 says, "Be diligent to present yourself
         approved to God..." Often, our problem "in plain
         laymen's terms" is that we are lazy.

VII.  Phil. 3:13-15
   A. Notice how he emphasizes that this is his own personal goal. 
      Then, vs. 15
      1. It is not enough that it is the goal of the Oak Ridge
         church to reach heaven.  It must be my own personal
         goal.
      2. We must patiently continue to do good.  Rom. 2:7
      3. Eventually, we will reap, if we continue to follow our
         goal.
      4. "A good name is better than precious ointment, And the
         day of death than the day of one's birth..." (Eccl. 7:1).
         a. When you were born, you cried, and the world
            rejoiced. Live in such a way so that when you die,
            the world cries, and you rejoice.
         b. "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from
            henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest
            from their labors; for their works follow with them."
            (Rev. 14:13 ASV).

Concl.
   A. Again, we ask, "Is your religion really yours?"
      1. God must be my God; He must be my Shepherd.
      2. It must be my love for God, with all my heart, with all
         my soul, with all my mind.
      3. There must be a hope within me.
      4. I must have my own moral standards.
      5. I must show myself approved to God.
      6. It must have my own personal goal.
   B. Thus, I begin to understand and experience what religion is all
      about.