Got Religion?

If anyone can tell you about religion, it is Paul from the bible. This man was the top of the top Pharisee...I guess you could call him the top chef. Paul was a religious man who strived in his own human effort to keep all of the Jewish laws to maintain his own perfection...and that "perfection" just so happened to be the fact that Paul was actually running around killing Christians and persecuting them until the infamous Damascus road encounter with Christ. Anyone who has given their hearts to the Lord can attest they have truly had a "Damascus Road" encounter with Christ...God filled you with peace and joy, and then throws that heart of yours on the potters wheel where the remolding and reshaping begins...where you have come out from religion and begin to recognize the importance of

R.E.L.A.T.I.O.N.S.H.I.P.

"I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin-a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault"

(Philippians 3:5-6)

If I am honest and transparent, I was much like Paul...very religious and even after I gave my life to Christ, that religious spirit carried over...but God is a God who delivers!

Anyways, where am I going with this?

Religion is self-centered focusing on all we can do to "save ourselves" and measure up to what we think God wants from us when really, if we could have measured up to begin with then Jesus would not have die on the cross for our sin and for the sin of all the world. The religious spirit is a dangerous spirit which also causes a deep root of pride. Christianity is not all about what we can do for Christ, but it's about what Christ has already done for us. We wouldn't be able to even do anything for Him if He didn't died on the cross to save us from ourselves, our sin and our mess.

Growing up I was very religious...I sang praises to the Lord in my room when no one else was around from a hymn book I actually stole from the church...and had NO conviction...why? Because I had no relationship with God....I was so busy serving a God I didn't even know. 

I sang in the teen choir.

I was a peer leader/peer minister.

I was the president of the youth commission ministry group.

I went on mission trips every summer for about 4 years.

I went on retreats and even an "optional" retreat.

I served in homeless shelters and soup kitchens.

I went to church every weekend.

I wore "Jesus" apparel.

I HID my "church music" on my ipod in fear.

I wore a cross around my neck.

Sounds good, huh? I was doing all the right things for the wrong reasons...serving a God I didn't even know....I thought I knew Him, I pretended to know Him, but the truth is my heart was FAR from Him. At one point I remember even questioning heaven...a conversation I had with a cousin of mine and said it just wasn't logical, it doesn't make sense and begin to talk about science. I was too carnal minded to even think about heaven. But God, He takes the weak and foolish things of this world and puts the wise to shame (1 Corinthians 1:27). I am not saying the things I did were bad (minus the stealing--that was bad)...in and of itself they were good things, but I had it backwards...like Paul, I was relying on my own human efforts to make myself "good"....not in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of the church...I was church minded, not Christ minded. I was serving a God I didn't know the first thing about. I can't even say I was working to be saved, I didn't even know what being "saved" meant. I didn't even know there was a heaven and a hell. I was so blinded by this mask called religion until Jesus stripped the scales from my eyes.

I was a living, breathing, walking definition of 

Matthew 7:21-23

 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

This may step on some toes, but no amount of good works can get you into heaven. No amount of serving in the church will make you good enough. No amount of religion will make you good enough. No amount of reading the bible will make you good enough. No amount of anything besides Jesus Christ will ever make you good enough. It is not enough to know OF God, we need to KNOW him...to know someone is to be in relationship with them...someone you're in relationship with is someone you talk to and spend time with, someone you sacrifice for if you really love them.

It is only through the precious, spotless lamb of God where we can find rest for our souls. That is why Jesus tells those who are burdened with religion, heavy burdened trying to work their way TO HIM, to simply come and rest in Him (Matthew 11:28). If I am transparent, this was one of my biggest battles and challenges throughout my journey with Christ. But God, sets the captives free and I am no longer bound to the chains of religion. There are moments where I still have to fight it through the strength of Christ to STAY FREE. But God! His Grace. His Mercy. His LOVE.

Don't hide behind your mask. 

Religion relies on the law; relationship relies on Christ

"For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are trulycircumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have effort in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!"

Philippians 3:3-4

Relying on our own human effort to overcome sin or follow the law will leave us running in circles, falling short of Gods glory every time. Romans 3:23 reminds us, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"...every time you fall short, religion will be there telling you have to measure back up to Gods standards, working your way back to Him instead of repenting and confessing your sin, simply receiving the forgiveness God has for you. Most Christians have gone through this, and I know it's something I battled with for what felt like forever. Religion makes everything complex, but faith can make everything so simple. 

We cannot finish in the flesh what was started in the spirit (Galatatians 3:3). Even as a saved, born-again believing Christ follower, there have been times where I have begun to try and finish in the flesh what was started in the Spirit. Times where I have taken the gifts God has given me for His glory and begin to turn them into a good work of something I need to do in order for God to love me or accept me. Those gifts quickly became "Beth centered" and not "Christ centered". God says HE will COMPLETE the good work HE has STARTED in me. It doesn't say that the good work will be completed in my own strength and striving for perfection...but that God will finish and complete the work He has started in me. (Philippians 1:6) Yes, we still need to do our parts, but leave Gods part up to Him.

No amount of praying, fasting, tithing, serving or doing can save you or me. Yes, those things still NEED to take place as we grow and mature in Christ, but it needs to take place in order. These good works are a result of salvation, not something we do to earn brownie points with God. It's so easy for Christians, myself included to get worked up in a performance mentality. "Oh, I missed my quiet time with the Lord today, that must mean God doesn't love me as much today as He did yesterday when I spent my first hour with Him"....but...God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He doesn't love us based on our performance, but based on Christ's performance. Don't get me wrong, we still need to serve, pray, tithe and be doers of the word, but why do we do what we do? Are we relying on Christ and the FINISHED work, or are we trying to add to the cross by the efforts of our own human flesh? The cross is enough. It cannot be added to, it cannot be taken from.

Let's make sure we are seeking after Christ,

not after religion!

Love,

Beth

Me and two of my sisters in Christ that I

am humbled and blessed serve in ministry with.

Check out Pinky Promise Movement and
search for a group of Christian women seeking
after the heart of God:

www.pinkypromisemovement.com