Jesus turned our perception of God and religion upside down and made it personal and intimate!
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10b
Jesus came to give us life and give it more abundantly. The Jewish people had religion but their religion didn’t give them life and neither did it provide them an abundant life. Over the centuries, the very commandments that God had designed to bring life, meaning, and value to people had turned into tradition, rules, regulations, and cultural customs.
who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:6
Jesus came to offer us a relationship with God that can grow stronger and become dynamic. When you look at the scriptures in the book of Acts, Jesus’ own disciples could not imagine what would happen to them after Jesus was resurrected and taken up to heaven. On the day of Pentecost, it was God touching humanity and pouring out His spirit on them rather than man trying to please God by trying to hold certain standards and regulations.
As a Christian, we already have a relationship with the Lord, but if we are not watchful, we can become very religious. While we witness and encourage people to move from a place of holding onto religion to a relationship with Jesus Christ, we should also be aware of our relationship with Jesus turning into a religious experience.
There are some factors that contribute to our relationship becoming religious:
A. We get accustomed to doing things a certain way
We can become set in certain ways of doing things such as in worship, prayer, or interpretation of the word of God. In humility. we should consider that we don’t know everything about the Lord and his operation in the body of Christ. We should also remain open to receiving new revelation and new ways of relating to Him, which can make us closer to Him and stronger in our relationship to Him.
Apostle Paul (formerly religious Saul), thought he knew everything about his faith. before he met Jesus. This made him a dangerous man prior to his conversion because he thought Jesus’ followers were a threat to his faith. He couldn’t see that God was doing a new thing, and it looked different than what he was used to.
When the Lord healed Apostle Paul’s vision on the road to Damascus, he saw the truth in a new and profound way. This caused him to become one of the most powerful apostles who reached multitudes and planted many churches. Apostle Paul was even willing to be persecuted and imprisoned for the sake of the gospel!
What do you do as a habit that is not necessarily spirit led but religious!?
B. Christian Activities become more important than the Great Commission
If you have walked with the Lord for any length of time, you’ll find your hand in a variety of Christian activities and ministries. If we are not careful, our relationship with the Lord can turn into a social gathering with other Saints to the point that we would rather be in the church than outside talking to an unbeliever!
No matter what we do for Jesus in the church, we must always have a heart for the lost and a desire to reach them even if it means saying “no” to some of the church activities! Jesus gave the Great Commission to be fulfilled by all believers not just a few evangelists.
How often do you spend time with unbelievers where they can see your light and taste your salt?
I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.