A young man wrote and told of his negative experiences in a church. One such experience was his exclusion from a teen camp because of his recent facial piercing. More: “Every time I walked in those doors I felt judged.” Making the decision to leave that place at the age of 16, his feelings were confirmed it would seem; he was told he was going to hell! “I’m so confused as to what the religion (Christianity) is as a whole…… I’m just so clueless now and not sure what is the right way.” Young or old, perhaps someone reading this can identify with this young man and his negative church experiences.
Getting no indication from him that Jesus Christ is his Savior and Lord, I addressed this most vital issue first by declaring what the true gospel of Jesus Christ is and what action is required by someone to become a recipient of it. For I delivered to you first of all that which I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. One must believe Jesus died on a Roman cross in their place for their personal sins – for their personal rebellion and personal offences towards God. If one refuses to believe this declaration then hell is one’s only alternative at physical life’s end. People say, “How cruel!” Jesus says, “How merciful!”
Next: 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. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation Romans 10:9-10. No bogus lip service here; one’s entire being is surrendered to Jesus Christ and He’s in charge from now on. That’s what bona fide repentance is; it’s more than just being sorry for one’s sins. Most people are sorry but they don’t surrender to the Lord. No surrender means no eternal life. The gospel message never changes regardless of all attempts to do so. People say, “How delusional to believe this!” Jesus says, “How delusional not to believe this!”
The young man is not the first person to speak of confusion about “the religion.” The gospel of Christ is not confusing. Repent and believe Mark 1:15. That’s it! Then as soon as is possible, get water baptized by full immersion. Too, For God is not the author of confusion but of peace… 1 Corinthians 14:33. Confusion comes when we listen to men more than we listen to God. They are not one and the same in spite of what one may have been told. If they were one and the same, Jesus and the apostles would not have given the extensive warnings they do give in Scripture about making one’s self aware of and staying clear of false teachers and their false doctrines. In practice, that means everything we hear from men must be checked for its biblical accuracy.
False teachers and false doctrines describes perfectly the church the young man left. No wonder he was confused, so too are they. Worse than that, they are deceived and sadly that has been the history of the place for decades. They are one of many churches in Christianity today to overrule the plain-sense interpretations of Scripture in favor of spiritual and allegorical interpretations. This is why it would not have mattered in any case, had the young man been able to tell the leaders Jesus was his Savior and Lord, based on a correct response to the Scriptures above. In addition, they probably would have taken one look at his facial piercing and come to the conclusion that he was not truly in Christ. He would have been judged according to appearances John 7:24.
As for feeling judged every time he “walked in those doors,” of course he felt judged! He was seen by them as not measuring up to their standards. That’s the reality in such places where the greater emphasis is placed upon religious men and their doctrines and not on Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the plain-sense interpretations of Scripture. What he needed to hear however, people whose emphasis is placed upon religious men and their doctrines are unsure of who they themselves are in Christ. That’s the primary reason why he felt judged (and analyzed) in their presence. The feeling was very real indeed, but it didn’t come from the Holy Spirit, it came from the unholy spirit – the spirit of religion! How many of us know religion is the devil’s masterpiece?
It wasn’t the Spirit of God Who energized the Pharisees and Sadducees to attack Jesus Christ from all quarters, it was the spirit of religion. Jesus’ attackers were not junkies, whores and thieves; they were religious people, steeped in religion. Hypocrites, yes. Corrupt, yes. Liars, yes. Deceitful, yes. Unscrupulous, yes. Unprincipled, yes, Double-dealers, yes. Not all religious people are like that, but they are great spiritual attackers nevertheless. That’s why religion is the devil’s masterpiece; he’s got something for everyone! Religion is a magnet to people careless for biblical truth. But not so, Bible Christianity. That exposes the spirit of religion within moments of coming into contact with it. That’s why good people go for the jugular as much as bad people go for it.
“I’m just so clueless now,” said the young man. If that was true, one could say the spirit of religion had achieved its goal with him, but I don’t believe it was true. Religious people don’t think of themselves as clueless in the things of God, that’s what they think of us who reject spiritual and allegorical interpretations of Scripture! The young man had been listening to a lie because that’s all the spirit of religion can offer, regardless of how much truth it mixes with its error. In any case, Jesus has the solution. If you abide in My word (read it daily, study it in context and live it out), you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free….. If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed John 8:31-32, 36.
The Person of Jesus, the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus and the word of God are the antidotes to all who believe the devil’s lie that they’re clueless. The one who embraces these daily will never stray too far from the track. Jesus Christ can be hard to find in a church these days but He is never hard to find in the Scriptures, provided one sticks to the plain-sense interpretations of them. For someone unsure of where to begin in the Scriptures, I would begin at the gospels so as to get to know Jesus and His methods of operation. Then I would proceed to the New Testament books directly following. I would also read from the Psalms daily, plus one chapter of Proverbs daily. Keep that up for a few months and you’ll be greatly surprised at how much you have grown in Christ.
At some point in the Lord’s timing He will reveal more of Himself in the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. The spirit of religion will never do that. Yes, it will have them reading parts of the Old Testament, but only so as they can criticize it. It will not reveal the Pre-Incarnate Jesus Christ within its 39 Books, only the Holy Spirit will do that! That’s the explanation for so many religious people denying God’s 6-day creation and the Adam & Eve disaster. That’s the explanation for them to sneeringly ask, “Where did Cain get his wife?” That’s the explanation why many will speak of “your Old Testament God” as cruel and tyrannical. That’s also the explanation why multitudes of religious people possess a hatred for Jews.
The Spirit of God and the spirit of religion are diametrically opposed to one another. The former will not compromise the Scriptures of the Bible, the latter will compromise them. The former will never speak outside of the Scriptures of the Bible, the latter will always speak outside of them. The former centralizes Jesus Christ, the latter sidelines Him. The spirit of God leads one away from sin, the unholy spirit leads one into sin, especially the sins of religious pride, smugness and self-satisfaction; hence, the Holy Spirit and the unholy spirit. Whatever the sins the Pharisees and Sadducees were trapped in, those 3 topped the list and it is no different today. These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me Matthew 15:8. NIV
The young man told me he believed, “Church is meant to be a place of happiness and security.” He was informed one can only get that from Jesus, not from people. But to experience such requires commitment – getting real, not religious. Getting real costs one everything, getting religious costs one nothing! However, with the Spirit of God comes spiritual liberty; with the spirit of religion comes spiritual slavery. So sad it is indeed that many in all generations have confused the latter with the former! That’s the price one pays for being careless about truth. Religion is the devil’s masterpiece. Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon his God Isaiah 50:10. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth John 17:17.
“He was seen by them as not measuring up to their standards.”
The One who died for us made it possible for all of us to measure up to His standards and that’s what counts.
God bless you.
Aha, Larry … a comment from a man who knows the Spirit of God. Thanks and bless you today.