Overcoming Religion

Of all the bondage discussed in Scripture, perhaps none is so detestable to the Lord as religion. Religion binds people. Relationship with Christ frees them.

When we look at today’s Scripture, we can’t miss the intensity in which Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees - the religious teachers of the day. If unfamiliar with the story, one might be tempted to think that the religious leaders would rank high on Jesus’ list of favorites, considering they were teaching God’s Word to the people. The problem? Their motives! The religious teachers of the day weren’t interested in teaching the commoners how to have more intimacy with the Lord and how to train themselves in His Word, to devote more of their lives to Him. They weren’t interested in bringing others into fellowship with God. They were prideful, wanting to direct glory to themselves and wanting to impress others with their “holiness.” They were interested in making themselves look good with their extensive knowledge of God’s Word. But God’s Word was never given to us to separate us from Him. His Word was never given to embrace an extensive list of laws that feel unattainable to keep.

There was a time in my life, immediately following salvation, when I leaned far too heavily on rules. I had lived so much of my life in sin of varying levels and kinds that when I had a deep understanding of Christ’s love and desire to please Him, I swung the pendulum too far in the direction of laws, rules, and attempting to earn God’s favor. This is where a spirit of religious pride can often enter our lives. To be clear, God’s holiness is to be honored and feared, and His precepts and principles are given to us in His Word to obey, but the religious spirit will take what the Lord gave to liberate and protect us and skew it towards rules and bondage.

In order to experience the unstuck life, we must first begin to understand the character of our Lord. He is grace and mercy. He is love and kindness. The fruit of a life with Him yields patience and gentleness. He has certainly been patient with us. The law was given in the Old Testament as a guide to illustrate to the Believer that God is holy and His level of holiness could never be attained in our own human effort. Therefore, the blood of animals must be shed to atone for our sins. We know the New Testament gives us Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. His shed blood forever atoned our sins. This great exchange (and the gratitude we should feel as a result) should compel us to want to obey God’s Word. But we must be careful not to make religion and theology an idol.

We seek God’s Word to be like Him, not to embarrass others, or to even take pride in our own performance. As you consider all that you have learned this week and the areas we’ve touched on, also consider what role religion has played in your life and if its role usurped God’s role in your life.

Points to Ponder:

• Are you open to receive new revelation from the Lord during this unstuck journey, even if it disrupts a denomination, theology, or religious habit you have committed to?
• Have you found yourself leaning more deeply on religious performance than strength in Christ?