Satan has a new ally: Religion. Well, maybe not new. Religious people have been sabotaging the Kingdom of God for centuries, some so stealthily successful that they have been able to deceive even the most devout of believers.
I have a new Enemy: Religion.
I hate it. It is trickery at its finest, rules at their most hypocritical, and hatred at its height.
Wait, before you cry "heresy" let me explain: there is a wide chasm between religion and Restoration. One is a laundry list of rules, prerequisites for membership, and dont's, the other is the freedom to live faithfully by God's Grace through Jesus's sacrifice. Religion is the worship of worship. Restoration is the worship of God Himself. Religion is pride in putting others down. Restoration is humility in the presence of the Almighty's holiness.
"Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They're only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren't above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents." - Romans 16:17-18 (MSG)
"Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be shamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they're not backed by a godly life, they accumulate as poison in the soul." -2 Timothy 2:14b-17a(MSG)
We as Christ-followers need to heed Paul's warnings in these timeless letters. Religion no longer defines worshipful surrender to the one true God, as perhaps it once did. Say the word to anyone on the street, and you'll most likely get a bad reaction. Why? Well, for a lot of reasons, none of them having to do with any fault or lack on God's part. Because of the devil's schemes, religion has become pious poison, empty talk, nitpicking cynicism, and sly abuse of the unsuspecting.
When someone makes an assumption about me and says, "Oh, you're religious, then," I must answer with a bold NO, to dispel all evil conclusions they might jump to before they take the heedless leap. I follow Christ. I believe in His saving Grace. Because of the glorious love He poured out for me, I choose to live my life as His willing, grateful servant, doing the good He created me for and avoiding the evil with which His enemy tries to tempt me. I must almost forcefully lay down that distinction so as not to lose my witness with the potential new follower.
Let us not fall into the trap of religion - it is an empty shell of true Restoration - real Relationship with the God who saves, the Creator who loves, The Jesus who IS. I challenge you to live your life in sanctified rebellion against anything less.
