We, humans are prone to worship God and involve ourselves in any spiritual means to attain our connection with Him. Since people become aware of this, man tries to make efforts to reconcile with God through different religions and spiritual awareness.
We can always try our best to be good and to do service for Him, but these things cannot bring us to heaven, except Jesus. The scripture tells us that our righteousnesses are as filthy as rags (Isaiah 64:6). Then, there is Christianity and Jesus’ message of salvation is called good news. (How can I be saved?)
We all know that we can be saved by grace through faith alone, but why is it that there are times when religion creeps into us unaware?
I have seen many Christians who have fallen for apostasy because as they journey the Christian life, they would realize that it is just the same as religion. They never truly understand the very essence of Christianity is not us but Jesus Christ who did it all without our participation in His plan of salvation.
Last year, I got hurt by this well-known author who was a Christian and wrote so many useful Christian books and it happened that I had been reading his books since I was in college. He renounced his faith. He became an atheist. There are so many questions that lingered on my mind, “what is happening around?” He was a faithful man as far as the content of his books, and now, he is an atheist. How come those books are biblical in so many ways and now, he does not believe in the Bible anymore” I remember him stating on his blog that Christianity is full of hypocrisy, and it is tiring to pretend. “Well, all these years, you are just pretending?” I tried to look deeper into the reasons why at times people fall away from the faith. I don’t want to judge as I do not have the right. However, it came across my mind that maybe he was not in the first place. He might not understand the grace of God in terms of salvation.
Let’s take a look at 4 things that help us evaluate religion and Jesus.
1. Religion is about us and what we can do for Him. When we try to mix religion and Christianity, I guess it would be tiring. We always need to do things for the Lord to make us feel that we are worthy of His salvation. Let me tell this to you. We are never worthy of His salvation. That is why it is grace – an undeserved favor. The good news is that Jesus did it all. He died, was buried, and rose again, so we can attain salvation. We do not need to do anything. (Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) Even when we are already saved, our day-to-day is also through and by His grace. God will finish the work that He has begun in us (Philippians 1:6) and He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). We can do all things thru His strength.
2. We try to reciprocate the grace of God. From the time that men became aware of religion, there is always that paradigm of trying to reciprocate God’s goodness out of duty and guilt out of appeasing ourselves with the righteous God when we sin. This will never work out. God saves us and lets us stay longer here on earth for His purpose. He never forces anyone to serve Him because He does not need us. It is our privilege to serve the One who graciously saved us from damnation. We serve Him not out of reciprocation which brings performance, but out of love and a heart of gratitude.
3. Performance-based Christianity. We exaggerated the fact that our moral and good works will be favorable to Him and so, we should do more to be more pleasing to Him. There is truth and danger in this kind of thinking. Performance Christianity is never biblical. Although, of course, God is pleased whenever we do the right thing. But it will never make Him love us more or less. God loves us unconditionally. But like a loving father, he grieves when we are rebellious and delights when we are obedient. Nonetheless, he loves his children, doesn’t he? Remember, our righteousness is a filthy rag in Him. We could not boast about the things that we do for Him. So many professing Christians are trapped in this pitfall along the way. Perseverance of the faith as Calvinism teaches is nowhere in the Bible. Serving out of performance can be tiring physically and spiritually. Yet, serving Him out of love can be tiring physically but never spiritually.
4. We are more concerned with the outside rather than the inside. You can be religious outside and empty outside.” You can always be present in church but far from God. Jesus clearly stated this in Matthew 23:27 when he was talking to the Pharisees and ascribes, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. “ Good works such as service, attending church faithfully, and participating in different kinds of ministries are always pleasing to God and always encouraged to be present in the lives of Christians. However, these things cannot measure the depth of our Christian life and fellowship with the Lord. The inside matters more than the outside. Our love towards God and others, our compassion to the lost, and our character at home in the church, and outside indicate our walk with God. Remember, God rebuked the Pharisees and scribes who by the way know the law and traditions more than anyone else, who do good deeds in front of the people to see, and the best tither, yet God was not pleased, and he did not accept them.
Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector (Luke 8:9-14)
And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Living a Christian journey is not burdensome if we have the right perspective. Remember, no amount of good works and good morals can save us. Nothing can keep us away from the love of God. His love is unconditional. His Salvation is not earned. It is freely given.
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