How do we know if our relationship with the Lord is becoming religious!? There are some indicators that we can use to assess our relationship with the Lord.
F. More concerned about Others’ Being Convicted than Ourselves
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. Luke 18:11
We must always keep ourselves available for the work of the Holy Spirit and being convicted by Him. Just because we may not have the big sins in our lives anymore, it doesn’t mean that there is no sin or disobedience in our lives.
Jesus pointed this out to the religious Pharisees; they thought they were better than others because they were comparing their lives to other non-Pharisees. Similarly, we are hoping others get convicted because they have the big sins in their lives instead of letting the Lord use the message to convict us as well.
The comparison of our lives should be to the Word of God. If Christians around us are living a sinful life, it doesn’t mean we are living a holy life just because we look better in comparison to them.
G. We set our own standards for right conduct and holiness
If we are not watchful after years of walking with God, we start developing our own doctrine that we impose on others. Our experiences that gave us success in our relationship with the Lord become the standard for others that we expect to follow. This is even more dangerous if you are in any leadership capacity because people will take you very seriously.
This could be in the area of marriage, parenting, clothing, home life, relationships, and so on. The Word of God must be our standard. We can encourage people by our experience, but we should not expect them to do things our way. There is no cookie cutter Christianity! We need to allow people to hear the Lord for themselves and not try to be the voice of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord knows His children well; just because their process doesn’t look like ours, it doesn’t mean they are doing it wrong.
H. We are led more by our experience than by the Holy Spirit
As Christians we are called to be reliable and consistent people. That’s a part of our character development. However, we always want to give room for the Holy Spirit to override something we are going to do or say.
Jesus stated:
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
The spirit is like wind; it blows and you don’t know where it came from and where it is going. Our lives should have stability in the Lord but unpredictability because we are led by the Spirit, and we don’t do things by rote.
Our relationship with the Lord is just like all the other relationships we have. It takes work, time and sacrifice to develop an intimate and growing relationship with the Lord. If we start relying on our past experiences or rely on other people’s information about the Lord, soon we will know the Lord more as an acquaintance. We will begin to lose our intimacy with Him. Let’s guard this relationship just as we guard close relationships!