Are You Religious?
by Pastor Kimberly Lemler
Many times over the years people have asked me if I am "religious". My response to that question has always been and always will be, "No, praise God!" My answer is then interpreted to mean that I don't believe in God. But nothing could be further from the truth…
Christianity is not a religion – it is a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's a relationship where His Spirit dwells in us and by faith we believe His Word and trust Him completely with our lives. There is a special bond between the Creator and His children. We live in Him and He lives in us.
Religion is merely a set of man-made ideas, rules and regulations that appear on the outside to be a good thing, but in God's reality, are only smoke and mirrors. Jesus hated "religion" and spoke harshly to the Pharisees who were judgmental, full of spiritual pride, power hungry and outright hypocrites. They were spiritually dead in their hearts.
‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter nor will you let those enter who are trying to." - Matthew 23:13
"Woe to you…you are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men's bone and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." – Matthew 23:27-28
Jesus did not mince words! He could very direct and harsh with his criticisms. People tend to think of Jesus as this mild-mannered man who tiptoed through the tulips, but in truth, He was bold in His statements and told it like it was. It was His way or the highway and we all need to be mindful of this, as this sentiment is reflected in John 14:6… "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Religion is a cocoon. The cell wall of that cocoon is impermeable, not allowing God's truths to enter in and keeping toxic beliefs and actions trapped inside. It has a choke-hold on people and it strangles and kills from the inside.
Any religious practice that becomes more important to a person than our Lord Jesus Himself is an idol and the people bowing down to it are idolaters. This happens within the life of the church and we see this in the form of excessive focus on the committees, the fundraisers, the worship music, the building, the routine, the statues, and even the denomination itself. People get hung up on all of these things and make it their focal point and motivation for attending services. Church becomes a Christian country club instead of a place to simply worship Jesus.
A friend of mine went to hear a famous preacher one time, and she said that the people in the audience were chanting his name, awaiting his arrival upon the stage. They were putting that man upon a pedestal like a rock star, and folks, this is pure idolatry. Now , that preacher was the one taking the heat from other ministries looking for a reason to criticize him; but the fact is those people in that meeting were the ones at fault…those CHRISTIAN people, I might add.
So many in the church today are performing perfunctory religious practices that are void of a true connection with our Lord and deep down inside, they are empty souls, hungering and thirsting for something with meaning. That "something" is a true, loving relationship with our Lord. We need to trust in Jesus and what He did on the cross for us out of His love, and not what we can do in our own merits.
Are you religious? Do you believe that keeping rules and regulations will please God and win you a ticket to heaven? Examine yourselves today…
"Keep examining yourselves to see whether you are continuing in the faith. Test yourselves! You know, don't you, that Jesus the Messiah lives in you? Could it be that you are failing the test?" – 2 Corinthians 13:5
©Words To Heart Ministries, Inc. Pastor Kimberly Lemler. 2009.
(All articles to be reposted on other websites need the permission of author, Pastor Kimberly Lemler.)
Many times over the years people have asked me if I am "religious". My response to that question has always been and always will be, "No, praise God!" My answer is then interpreted to mean that I don't believe in God. But nothing could be further from the truth…
Christianity is not a religion – it is a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's a relationship where His Spirit dwells in us and by faith we believe His Word and trust Him completely with our lives. There is a special bond between the Creator and His children. We live in Him and He lives in us.
Religion is merely a set of man-made ideas, rules and regulations that appear on the outside to be a good thing, but in God's reality, are only smoke and mirrors. Jesus hated "religion" and spoke harshly to the Pharisees who were judgmental, full of spiritual pride, power hungry and outright hypocrites. They were spiritually dead in their hearts.
‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter nor will you let those enter who are trying to." - Matthew 23:13
"Woe to you…you are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men's bone and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." – Matthew 23:27-28
Jesus did not mince words! He could very direct and harsh with his criticisms. People tend to think of Jesus as this mild-mannered man who tiptoed through the tulips, but in truth, He was bold in His statements and told it like it was. It was His way or the highway and we all need to be mindful of this, as this sentiment is reflected in John 14:6… "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Religion is a cocoon. The cell wall of that cocoon is impermeable, not allowing God's truths to enter in and keeping toxic beliefs and actions trapped inside. It has a choke-hold on people and it strangles and kills from the inside.
Any religious practice that becomes more important to a person than our Lord Jesus Himself is an idol and the people bowing down to it are idolaters. This happens within the life of the church and we see this in the form of excessive focus on the committees, the fundraisers, the worship music, the building, the routine, the statues, and even the denomination itself. People get hung up on all of these things and make it their focal point and motivation for attending services. Church becomes a Christian country club instead of a place to simply worship Jesus.
A friend of mine went to hear a famous preacher one time, and she said that the people in the audience were chanting his name, awaiting his arrival upon the stage. They were putting that man upon a pedestal like a rock star, and folks, this is pure idolatry. Now , that preacher was the one taking the heat from other ministries looking for a reason to criticize him; but the fact is those people in that meeting were the ones at fault…those CHRISTIAN people, I might add.
So many in the church today are performing perfunctory religious practices that are void of a true connection with our Lord and deep down inside, they are empty souls, hungering and thirsting for something with meaning. That "something" is a true, loving relationship with our Lord. We need to trust in Jesus and what He did on the cross for us out of His love, and not what we can do in our own merits.
Are you religious? Do you believe that keeping rules and regulations will please God and win you a ticket to heaven? Examine yourselves today…
"Keep examining yourselves to see whether you are continuing in the faith. Test yourselves! You know, don't you, that Jesus the Messiah lives in you? Could it be that you are failing the test?" – 2 Corinthians 13:5
©Words To Heart Ministries, Inc. Pastor Kimberly Lemler. 2009.
(All articles to be reposted on other websites need the permission of author, Pastor Kimberly Lemler.)
