Teaching tip 34 - Religion or Christianity.
Teaching tip 34 - Religion or Christianity.If I were to ask people to name some of the things God loves, I would probably get answers such as :- People, Righteousness, Truth, Obedience and Faith. If I were to ask them some of the things God hates, I would probably get answers such as Sin, Sickness, Death and the Occult. However, one answer that I probably would not get - yet I believe it rightly belongs to the list of things God hates - is Religion!
Some of you may be thinking "Oh come on Teacher, you must be kidding. Aren't you here to teach us Religion?" No. I go to groups to teach them Christianity, not religion. And there is a vast difference between the two. In fact, they are actually opposites. Basically, religion is about people trying to reach up to God, or please Him, by following a set of rules - which they will invariably not be able to keep. On the other hand, Christianity is about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is all about God reaching down to us through His Son, Jesus. A true Christian then is someone who realises he is a sinner, that he is incapable of doing anything about it on his own, but accepts God's free gift of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus.
I really think that religious people (no matter what particular religion they may be following) must be the most miserable people on earth. Why? Because they find they are unable to follow their particular set of rules, and thus feel guilty when they break them. Thus, unlike the pagan, they can't even enjoy their sin! The true Christian, on the other hand, doesn't deliberately sin, but knows that if he does there is always instant forgiveness available. No matter what happens, God will always love him, and his eternal destiny is secure.
But why does God hate religion? For two reasons. Firstly, it keeps people from coming to Christ. Religion desensitises people to their need of Jesus, and leads to a false sense of security. They are "doing their best", so what more do they need? I have personally met many 'good' people who because they are trying to follow a set of rules, cannot see their need of Jesus. It is far easier to witness Christ to an 'out and out' sinner who realises what he or she is, than to a 'religious' person.
Secondly, religion is, and always has been, the cause of most of the world's conflicts. Religious groups of every persuasion tend to be intolerant of others. They think 'their set of rules' is the right one and try to force others to follow them. Thus religious groups are often in conflict with each other, and also often in conflict with other factions of their own 'religion'. As well as the obvious suffering and misery that this causes, it proves a real barrier to evangelism. The most common objection that people give for not considering the Christian message is "Religion is the cause of all the wars in the world." And it is hard to argue with that!
God doesn't call us to 'beat' others into submission so that they will follow Christ. Rather His way is the way of love. We are called to both tell and demonstrate His wonderful love for all mankind.
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 8:01 PM
