Religion or Relationship?

The United States is filled with people of religion, but do not have relationship.

Those with religion regularly deceive themselves. They attend churches, they give their money to good causes, they pray, they do as much good as they possibly can do, they even talk to their neighbors, and help out their friends. They believe that all these things ensure that they will have a place in heaven, but these things alone do not ensure that they have eternal life. Their message is a wide gospel, love conquers all, God is love, God wants the best for you now, and if you experience the opposite, you are in sin and in danger of hell!

If this were true, I wouldn’t be writing what I am writing this very moment. It would not weigh so heavily on my heart, because all of that sounds so good, but it’s so far from the ultimate truth.

What I am about to reveal is offensive, and I don’t care if it offends you, because if I truly love you, I will reveal truth to you.

You must have a relationship with God.

You must have a relationship with your Creator, the one who made the heavens and the earth, the one who designed you to be who you are.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
8Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
9Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

God sent Jesus Christ to die, be buried and resurrected because of mankind’s disobedience. Mankind did not fall away from God because there was something better to do, no, they were tricked.

There is a way to relationship with the Creator, our heavenly Father and that is through Jesus Christ.

Luke 13:22-30

²² Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, ²⁴ “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. ²⁵ Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’

²⁶ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’

²⁷ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

²⁸ “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. ²⁹ People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

Matthew 7:13-14

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

That way is by entering a relationship with God through Jesus.

It’s simple, but do not be deceived, simple is rarely easy.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

and

Romans 10:9-11

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

There are no other requirements to entering into relationship with the father than this. To believe.

And here is where relationship and religion divide.

Relationship is the beginning of talking with God, the conversation between you and your heavenly father.

Religion is the beginning of doing what some words written on a page, in order to finally have that relationship with God in heaven, not now, but when we get there. It involves a myriad of good works to make sure that you are in right standing with God! It is clear in the scripture that good works do not make you right with God!

Matthew 7:21-23

21“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. 22On 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.’ 23But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

The key words in this passage are “I never knew you.” Religion grabs onto the last part of the text ignoring the first part of verse 23.

Relationship, through our high priest, the narrow gate, the narrow way, is not dependent on how good we were that day, or days prior, or how many minutes we stand praising, and doing good things before God will have a conversation with us. Read all of the book of Hebrews, and you will see that we can boldly enter into the presence of God at any time. In the book of Romans (10:3), we learn that our own good works mean nothing. Nothing!

There is only one way to please or gain the favor of God and that is through faith.

Read Hebrews 11

Let’s discuss the deeds of these heroes of faith.

In each instance, these people heard the voice of God and then acted upon it. They all had interactive relationships with God. Where they listened to the voice of God and believed.

It wasn’t what they did, but what they believed.

Out of their belief and walk with God, they saw God do great things through them. But in each case, it was out of faith. Not fear, not for some distant candy dispenser in the sky, not for a reward or trophy in heaven, but out of relationship with God.

Relationship with God begins with the word.

John 1:1-4

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

Relationship agrees that not everything that someone experiences in this life, good and bad, is a reward system. (Have you read Job?)

Religion blames negative experiences on sowing bad seed and ignores scriptures like these:

James 1:2-4

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Religion forgets that the man who wrote most of the new testament wrote this:

1 Timothy 6:8

8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

The only way that anyone can persevere and have joy (Galatians 5:22) in all seasons and circumstances in life is through relationship.

If you try to live this life by religion, it will kill you.

Religion breeds competition, jealousy, striving for position, hiding flaws and presenting ones best self at all times in order to ‘stay in favor.’ Religion sees mans favor as an indication that God is pleased with your observations of rules. Religion looks for external confirmation.

With relationship, you have internal confirmation, you don’t need the approval of giftings, callings, etc, because God has spoken that to you already. Prayer is not a one way addressed letter, it’s a conversation.

Maybe you think you believe, but you haven’t heard God’s voice speak to you. To begin, it starts with your Bible. Not just speedily reading it, or endless hours of studying it in an academic manner, while those are good and beneficial, it’s reading the Bible to encounter God himself. It’s meditating upon the Word of God, thinking about Jesus and His worthiness. The only way that you can experience the richness of God’s love fully is by spending time in reading the word of God.

Faith starts with a footstep towards God.

God has already stretched out his right hand towards us, it is up to us to reach back.

Relationship starts with the word of God.

Religion is a set of rules and things to do and pray in certain circumstances, using a book like a manual for a job.

Relationship is encountering the living God through His word.

What do you have?