Hating Religion

“Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:2-6 NIV)

I hate religion.  This may sound extreme and, to some, offensive, but I think I have good reason.  Religion poses as something godly when it really is something far apart from God.  It is a system, regardless if it is Christian, Jewish, Islamic, etc., that poses as the way to God and a way to please Him.  It is a system filled with rules that, if obeyed, claims to draw followers closer to God.  

I hate religion because it is a lie and a tool of the Enemy to pacify those who have some longing beyond themselves.  Paul hated it, too.  That is why he was so upset with the Christians in Galatia.  They had embraced the Gospel and its central message that no one is righteous and, therefore, salvation can only come through God’s grace.  Now some people were telling them grace wasn’t enough.  They had to go further and be circumcised, which was a long held Jewish tradition, symbolizing God’s covenant with His people.  

Paul had been raised with this belief.  Yet when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), he realized the religious system in which he had been raised and to which he had committed his life was leading him away from God, not closer to Him.  

The great danger of religion is it gives us a false sense of security.  We go to church; we read the Bible; we’re a good person, or at least we think so.  We believe we’re in good with God, just as Paul did.  In reality, however, we’re far away from Him.  Why?  Because a relationship with God is not based on what we do, but on what He has done.  We cannot earn God’s favor by what we do.  

A relationship with God can only be possible when we recognize our own inability to establish it.  It can only come when we surrender our will to Him and accept His grace. 

Today, be very wary of any religious system.  Being religious doesn’t get you or keep you in a relationship with God.  Only God’s grace and your faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8-9) can do that.

© Jim Musser 2014