adechan
08-31-2007, 07:02 PM
1. CHRIST IS SOMEONE TO KNOW AND TRUST. Christ is more than a system, tradition, or belief. He is a Person who knows our needs, feels our pain, and sympathizes with our weakness. In exchange for our trust, He offers to forgive our sins, to intercede for us, and to bring us to His Father. He cried for us, died for us, and rose from the dead to show that He was all He claimed to be. Conquering death. He showed us that He can save us from our sins, live His life through us on earth, and then bring us safely to heaven. He offers Himself as a gift to anyone who will trust Him (John 20:24-31).
2. RELIGION IS SOMETHING TO BELIEVE AND DO. Religion is believing in God, attending religious services, taking catechism, being baptized, and receiving communion. Religion is tradition, ritual, ceremony, and learning the difference between right and wrong. Religion is reading and memorizing Scripture, offering prayers, giving to the poor, and celebrating religious holy days. Religion is singing in the choir, helping the poor, and making amends for past wrongs. Religion is something that was practiced by the Pharisees, those Scripture-loving, conservative, separatistic, spiritual leaders who hated Christ enough to call for His death. They hated Him not only because He broke their traditions in order to help people (Matthew 15:1-9) but because He saw religion through their hearts.
3. RELIGION DOESN'T CHANGE HEARTS. Jesus likened the religious Pharisees to a group of dishwashers who clean the outside of a cup while leaving the inside dirty. He said, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?" (Luke 11:39-40). Jesus knew that a person can change his image without changing his act (Matthew 23:1-3). He knew that religious credentials and ceremony cannot change the heart. He told one of the most religious men of His day that unless a person is "born again" by the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Yet from that day until now, many of the most religious people in the world continue to forget that while religion can give attention to outward appearance, only Christ can change the heart.
4. RELIGION MAKES MUCH OF LITTLE. Jesus spoke to religionists who had a passion for detail when He said, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you the mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone" (Luke 11:42). Jesus saw our tendency to make rules and to focus on 'morally correct" behavior instead of keeping our eyes on the bigger issue of why we are trying to be so right. While the Pharisees were big on knowledge carrier out to its logical conclusions, they forgot that God doesn't care how much we know until He know how much we care. It was this greater "why" that the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal・ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing"(1 Corinthians 13:1,3).
5. RELIGION OFFERS THE APPROVAL OF MEN RATHER THAN GOD. Jesus reserved His strongest criticism for those religious people who used their spiritual reputation to get social attention and honors. To such religionists Jesus said, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces" (Luke 11:43). Then, speaking to His disciples, He said of the Pharisees, "All their works they do to be seen by men" (Matthew 23:5).
6. RELIGION MAKES HYPOCRITES OF US. Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hyprocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them" (Luke 11:44). What looks better than being dressed right, attending religious services, and doing things that mark us as decent, God-fearing people? Yet how many religious scholars, ministers, and faithful followers withhold honor and encouragement from their wives, attention from their children, and love from their doctrinal enemies? Jesus knew what we often forget: What looks good may have a heart of evil.
7. RELIGION MAKES A HARD LIFE HARDER. Because religion cannot change a heart, it tries to control people with laws and expectations that are not even kept by the religionists who interpret and apply the rules. With this "burden factor" in mind, Jesus said, "Woe to you also, lawyers [experts in religious law]! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers" (Luke 11:46). Religion is good at describing high standards of right behavior and relationships, but poor at giving real and merciful help to those who realize they have not lived up to those expectations.
8. RELIGION MAKES IT EASY TO DECEIVE OURSELVES. It's been jokingly said, "I love humanity. It's people I can't stand." The Pharisees acted out a similar idea, but it wasn't funny. According to Jesus, the Pharisees prided themselves in honoring and building memorials to the prophets. The irony is that when they met a real prophet they wanted to kill Him. Barclay says, "The only prophets they admired were dead prophets, when they met a living one they tried to kill Him. They honored the dead prophets with tombs and memorials, but they dishonored the living ones with persecution and death." This is the point Jesus made in Luke 11:47-51 and in a parallel passage in Matthew 23:29-32. The Pharisees had fooled themselves. They didn't think of themselves as prophet-killers. Religionists don't see themselves as the God-rejecting people they are.
9. RELIGION HIDES THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE. One of the greatest dangers of religion is that it causes us to be a danger not only to ourselves but also to others. To the very religious biblical experts of His day Jesus said, "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered" (Luke 11:52). Religionists take away "the key knowledge" by distracting people from the Word of God and from a "right attention of heart" by the unnecessary additions of denominationally correct traditions and expectations. Rather than leading people to God, religionists are those who trust, the beliefs and actions of their religion to do what only Christ can do.
10. RELIGION LEADS ITS CONVERTS ASTRAY. In Matthew 23:15, Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." Converts of religion are in double jeopardy. They bring a double enthusiasm to their new way of life, and with zeal they blindly defend their blind teachers. They put themselves in the trust of people who have exchanged a system of rules and traditions for the life, forgiveness, and relationship of a infinite Savior. Religion is important in its place(James 1:25-27), but only when it points us to the Christ who died for our sins and who now offers to live His life through those who trust Him (Galatians 2:20:Titus 3:5).
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
You're not alone if you are convinced that Christ is all He claimed to be. But keep in mind that He promised God's help to those who have honest questions about who He is and what He taught. He said, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own" (John 7:17 NIV). Jesus will give divine help to those who want to know the truth and are willing to surrender to it. If you do see the reasonableness of faith in Christ, keep in mind that the Bible says to the family of God, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works[religious efforts and accomplishments], lest anyone should boast"(Ephesians 2:8-9). The salvation Christ offers is not a reward for religious effort but a gift to all who put their trust in Him.
THE RIGHT KIND OF FAITH
The Bible says that Jesus is to be the object of our faith. W must put our trust in Him if we are to have our sins forgiven and to be at peace with God. When the Philippian jailer asked the apostle Paul, "What must I do to be saved?" he replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:30-31). Elsewhere, the Bible says:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). He who believes in Him [Jesus] is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God (John 3:18). This is the testimony: That God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believed in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:11-13).
According to these verses, the one who refuses to put his faith in Christ is already condemned and does not have eternal life. But he who believes in Christ will be saved, will not perish, and will not be condemned.If your faith is in anyone or anything other than Christ, it is the wrong kind of faith. To have the right kind of faith, take the following steps:
1. Admit your sinfulness, and desire to turn from it. Jesus said, "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish"(Luke 13:3).
2. Believe that "Christ died for our sins・and that He rose again the third day"(1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
3. Trust in Jesus Christ alone as your personal Savior and Lord. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." The time to choose to trust in Christ, to make Him the object of your faith, is now (2 Corinthians 6:2). You can do it today by bowing your head and praying something like this: Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and that in my own strength I cannot do anything to please You or to earn eternal life. I believe that You love me and that You sent Your Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin. I will now put my faith in You and trust completely in Jesus Christ to rescue me. I desire to turn away from my sin and to let You take control of my life. Save me and be my Lord. Amen.If you prayed that prayer in all sincerity, you can say, "Now I have the right kind of faith!"
2. RELIGION IS SOMETHING TO BELIEVE AND DO. Religion is believing in God, attending religious services, taking catechism, being baptized, and receiving communion. Religion is tradition, ritual, ceremony, and learning the difference between right and wrong. Religion is reading and memorizing Scripture, offering prayers, giving to the poor, and celebrating religious holy days. Religion is singing in the choir, helping the poor, and making amends for past wrongs. Religion is something that was practiced by the Pharisees, those Scripture-loving, conservative, separatistic, spiritual leaders who hated Christ enough to call for His death. They hated Him not only because He broke their traditions in order to help people (Matthew 15:1-9) but because He saw religion through their hearts.
3. RELIGION DOESN'T CHANGE HEARTS. Jesus likened the religious Pharisees to a group of dishwashers who clean the outside of a cup while leaving the inside dirty. He said, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?" (Luke 11:39-40). Jesus knew that a person can change his image without changing his act (Matthew 23:1-3). He knew that religious credentials and ceremony cannot change the heart. He told one of the most religious men of His day that unless a person is "born again" by the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Yet from that day until now, many of the most religious people in the world continue to forget that while religion can give attention to outward appearance, only Christ can change the heart.
4. RELIGION MAKES MUCH OF LITTLE. Jesus spoke to religionists who had a passion for detail when He said, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you the mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone" (Luke 11:42). Jesus saw our tendency to make rules and to focus on 'morally correct" behavior instead of keeping our eyes on the bigger issue of why we are trying to be so right. While the Pharisees were big on knowledge carrier out to its logical conclusions, they forgot that God doesn't care how much we know until He know how much we care. It was this greater "why" that the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal・ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing"(1 Corinthians 13:1,3).
5. RELIGION OFFERS THE APPROVAL OF MEN RATHER THAN GOD. Jesus reserved His strongest criticism for those religious people who used their spiritual reputation to get social attention and honors. To such religionists Jesus said, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces" (Luke 11:43). Then, speaking to His disciples, He said of the Pharisees, "All their works they do to be seen by men" (Matthew 23:5).
6. RELIGION MAKES HYPOCRITES OF US. Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hyprocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them" (Luke 11:44). What looks better than being dressed right, attending religious services, and doing things that mark us as decent, God-fearing people? Yet how many religious scholars, ministers, and faithful followers withhold honor and encouragement from their wives, attention from their children, and love from their doctrinal enemies? Jesus knew what we often forget: What looks good may have a heart of evil.
7. RELIGION MAKES A HARD LIFE HARDER. Because religion cannot change a heart, it tries to control people with laws and expectations that are not even kept by the religionists who interpret and apply the rules. With this "burden factor" in mind, Jesus said, "Woe to you also, lawyers [experts in religious law]! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers" (Luke 11:46). Religion is good at describing high standards of right behavior and relationships, but poor at giving real and merciful help to those who realize they have not lived up to those expectations.
8. RELIGION MAKES IT EASY TO DECEIVE OURSELVES. It's been jokingly said, "I love humanity. It's people I can't stand." The Pharisees acted out a similar idea, but it wasn't funny. According to Jesus, the Pharisees prided themselves in honoring and building memorials to the prophets. The irony is that when they met a real prophet they wanted to kill Him. Barclay says, "The only prophets they admired were dead prophets, when they met a living one they tried to kill Him. They honored the dead prophets with tombs and memorials, but they dishonored the living ones with persecution and death." This is the point Jesus made in Luke 11:47-51 and in a parallel passage in Matthew 23:29-32. The Pharisees had fooled themselves. They didn't think of themselves as prophet-killers. Religionists don't see themselves as the God-rejecting people they are.
9. RELIGION HIDES THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE. One of the greatest dangers of religion is that it causes us to be a danger not only to ourselves but also to others. To the very religious biblical experts of His day Jesus said, "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered" (Luke 11:52). Religionists take away "the key knowledge" by distracting people from the Word of God and from a "right attention of heart" by the unnecessary additions of denominationally correct traditions and expectations. Rather than leading people to God, religionists are those who trust, the beliefs and actions of their religion to do what only Christ can do.
10. RELIGION LEADS ITS CONVERTS ASTRAY. In Matthew 23:15, Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." Converts of religion are in double jeopardy. They bring a double enthusiasm to their new way of life, and with zeal they blindly defend their blind teachers. They put themselves in the trust of people who have exchanged a system of rules and traditions for the life, forgiveness, and relationship of a infinite Savior. Religion is important in its place(James 1:25-27), but only when it points us to the Christ who died for our sins and who now offers to live His life through those who trust Him (Galatians 2:20:Titus 3:5).
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
You're not alone if you are convinced that Christ is all He claimed to be. But keep in mind that He promised God's help to those who have honest questions about who He is and what He taught. He said, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own" (John 7:17 NIV). Jesus will give divine help to those who want to know the truth and are willing to surrender to it. If you do see the reasonableness of faith in Christ, keep in mind that the Bible says to the family of God, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works[religious efforts and accomplishments], lest anyone should boast"(Ephesians 2:8-9). The salvation Christ offers is not a reward for religious effort but a gift to all who put their trust in Him.
THE RIGHT KIND OF FAITH
The Bible says that Jesus is to be the object of our faith. W must put our trust in Him if we are to have our sins forgiven and to be at peace with God. When the Philippian jailer asked the apostle Paul, "What must I do to be saved?" he replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:30-31). Elsewhere, the Bible says:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). He who believes in Him [Jesus] is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God (John 3:18). This is the testimony: That God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believed in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:11-13).
According to these verses, the one who refuses to put his faith in Christ is already condemned and does not have eternal life. But he who believes in Christ will be saved, will not perish, and will not be condemned.If your faith is in anyone or anything other than Christ, it is the wrong kind of faith. To have the right kind of faith, take the following steps:
1. Admit your sinfulness, and desire to turn from it. Jesus said, "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish"(Luke 13:3).
2. Believe that "Christ died for our sins・and that He rose again the third day"(1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
3. Trust in Jesus Christ alone as your personal Savior and Lord. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." The time to choose to trust in Christ, to make Him the object of your faith, is now (2 Corinthians 6:2). You can do it today by bowing your head and praying something like this: Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and that in my own strength I cannot do anything to please You or to earn eternal life. I believe that You love me and that You sent Your Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin. I will now put my faith in You and trust completely in Jesus Christ to rescue me. I desire to turn away from my sin and to let You take control of my life. Save me and be my Lord. Amen.If you prayed that prayer in all sincerity, you can say, "Now I have the right kind of faith!"