By Drewe Zanki
'Religion' is not a bad thing right? I mean, we all should have some religion in our lives?
True. If by religion you mean loving God, and accepting Jesus Christ as the one who paid the penalty for your sins. But more often than not, religion to us is just a 'thing we do'. It becomes monotony, something to get done because we have to.
We descend from the heights of loving God - from good intentions to serve Him, to love Him, to do the right thing by Him, into 'religion' - whereby we continue doing these things, but without God in them.
Matthew 15:8-9
'This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men'
Why do you go to Church? Is it because you love God? Because you want to worship Him? Because you want to serve God and the other saints in the church? These are all right answers - and often where we start. But if you ask yourself honestly - why do we go to church? The answer may not be as holy.
You see, many of us have descended from love of God, and a desire to do His will - into religion. We get up on Sunday morning because that is what we do. We grumble about it, grumble about the music, grumble about the preaching, grumble about how hot or cold it is, how uncomfortable the pews or seats are, how the guy behind us always sings loudly and out of tune, and how on earth we put up with that lady in the corner, you know, with all her faults. And we think about what we will do after church, hoping we will have time to grab some take out before the game starts. Maybe we even pray that our team will win today...
Revelation 2:4-5
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
And yet, the solution to religion, to vain worship and false teaching is simple - return to our first love.
I am not saying don't go to church - the Bible says not to 'forsake our gathering together' (Hebrews 10:25). What I am saying is that we need to not go to church because 'that is what we do'. We need to return to our first love - have a passion for Jesus Christ and His church. Have a passion to serve Him, wherever He places us in this life.
I chose church because it is a common factor for most of us. But remember this can happen with anything - that starts as love for God or good intentions, yet in the end descends into religion. How about your giving, or your service, or your Bible reading, or your volunteer work. Anything you do in the name of Jesus.
Examine yourselves, find those things that you 'do for God', and return to your first love.
True. If by religion you mean loving God, and accepting Jesus Christ as the one who paid the penalty for your sins. But more often than not, religion to us is just a 'thing we do'. It becomes monotony, something to get done because we have to.
We descend from the heights of loving God - from good intentions to serve Him, to love Him, to do the right thing by Him, into 'religion' - whereby we continue doing these things, but without God in them.
Matthew 15:8-9
'This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men'
Why do you go to Church? Is it because you love God? Because you want to worship Him? Because you want to serve God and the other saints in the church? These are all right answers - and often where we start. But if you ask yourself honestly - why do we go to church? The answer may not be as holy.
You see, many of us have descended from love of God, and a desire to do His will - into religion. We get up on Sunday morning because that is what we do. We grumble about it, grumble about the music, grumble about the preaching, grumble about how hot or cold it is, how uncomfortable the pews or seats are, how the guy behind us always sings loudly and out of tune, and how on earth we put up with that lady in the corner, you know, with all her faults. And we think about what we will do after church, hoping we will have time to grab some take out before the game starts. Maybe we even pray that our team will win today...
Revelation 2:4-5
But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
And yet, the solution to religion, to vain worship and false teaching is simple - return to our first love.
I am not saying don't go to church - the Bible says not to 'forsake our gathering together' (Hebrews 10:25). What I am saying is that we need to not go to church because 'that is what we do'. We need to return to our first love - have a passion for Jesus Christ and His church. Have a passion to serve Him, wherever He places us in this life.
I chose church because it is a common factor for most of us. But remember this can happen with anything - that starts as love for God or good intentions, yet in the end descends into religion. How about your giving, or your service, or your Bible reading, or your volunteer work. Anything you do in the name of Jesus.
Examine yourselves, find those things that you 'do for God', and return to your first love.
About the Author:
Drewe is married to Kerry with 2 children, a full time IT manager, and part time Bible scholar. He posts verse by verse studies at delvinginto.com . His key passion is the Bible - that it is the Word of God and the ultimate guide to a relationship with Jesus, and therefore worthy of significant time and study.
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