Religion Kills

Have you ever stopped to take a close look at Jesus - independent from the religious baggage we've attached to Him? I was talking to a guy at Peet's Coffee who asked me what I do for a living. When I told him I was a vocational pastor (which is unfortunately a predictable conversation-killer in most cases), he promptly told me that he wasn't a religious person, but that he respected those who have faith.

You should have seen the look on his face when I responded that I am not a particularly religious person either. "But I thought you just said you are a pastor," he replied, "How can you say you're not a religious person." I began to explain my opinion that there are crucial differences between those who are religious and those who follow Jesus.

When Jesus came into the world, the last thing on His agenda was to launch a new religion. The Jewish culture into which He arrived was chock full of religion. In addition, the Roman Empire was a cesspool of pagan religious practice as well - from Caesar-worship to Greek mythology to ritualistic cults. Jesus came to launch a rebellion - not a religion. In essence, religion is virtually all the same. Sure there are key differences among man-made religions, but they are all essentially about pleasing or appeasing their Deity or Deities through some form of human effort. Even the Eastern philosophies such as Buddhism - while not so much affirming belief in any one "god" - operate on a system of Karma and essentially working one's way to a higher state of reincarnated life.

Jesus' message was quite literally: "To hell with all that!" The rebellion Jesus started was focused on an upside-down way of relating to God - one in which God did all the work, initiating a loving relationship with His creation and salvation that comes as a free gift rather than something you work for. For some people, this message is too good to be true. It is a blatant affront to the prideful human sense we all share - that somehow we want to prove ourselves at least partly "worthy" by contributing to our own salvation.

In the Book of Matthew - chapters 5-7 - Jesus shocks His audience with a message Christians commonly refer to as "The Sermon on the Mount". In that message He challenges religious thinking head-on. The entire foundation of the sermon is built upon a very key phrase where Jesus says, "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees, you cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven." This was so shocking because from the outside looking in, the Pharisees were the most pious religious sect among the Jews. They were known for their outward religious adherence to the strictest interpretation of God's Law.

You can imagine how the common people felt when Jesus told them that in order to receive salvation they had to be MORE righteous than these so-called "perfect" religious folks. But that - we would eventually find - was precisely Jesus' point! He wanted to drive them to the desperate realization that in and of their own effort, it is impossible to live up to God's perfect standards. In stating this, Jesus was setting the stage to introduce what for them would be an entirely new concept - namely, that we could exchange our lives for His life. He was claiming that God had sent Him to live the perfect life on our behalf, and that through simply believing in His perfect life and sacrifice on the cross, we could exchange our sinful lives for His perfect life even though our behavior remains imperfect.

The exchanged life that Jesus proclaimed is a radical rebellion against religion. Whereas religions says, "There's a lot of work to be done," the message of Jesus is, "The work has already been done." There is a radical difference between religion and the message of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, humans have neutered the raw power of the rebellion by attaching all kinds of religious baggage to Jesus. But even through the 2,000-year-old fog we've created, the clarity of Jesus' voice rings through loud and clear: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in (your) weakness..." (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Jesus is not about mustering up enough strength to be religious. He is exactly the opposite. He is about admitting your weakness and need for a Savior - and allowing Him to begin living His supernatural life THROUGH you by faith. That's how our lives are changed and become filled with power and joy. Religion kills. Don't let it kill you! Come to the Author of life and let Him exchange His life for yours. And remember, if you hear someone talking about Jesus and the message doesn't sound too good to be true, then you're not hearing the true message of Jesus. His grace ALWAYS sounds too good to be true. That's precisely what makes it grace!

I can hear some of the religious combatants now... "What are you talking about, Jeremy? If you teach people that Christ's grace is an unconditional, irreversible disposition of favor and tenderness toward people - then they will be tempted to abuse God's grace as a license to sin." To which I reply, "DUH! If grace were not open to the possibility of abuse, it would at that very moment cease to be grace!" And yet, when we truly begin to catch a glimpse of God's irrationally free gift of grace toward those who simply receive it though faith in Christ, that same grace begins to change us into grateful creatures. We begin to respond to His unfathomable tenderness with a disposition of surrender to Him as our Heavenly Father, Friend and Lord. But this cannot happen until we rest in the all-sufficiency of His grace. Grace is what sets Christianity apart from man-made religious bondage. it's what makes the message of Christ unique.

If you are reading this and your experience of Jesus has been the kind with all the religious baggage attached, I encourage you to join the rebellion and meet the real Jesus - the One who will never leave you or forsake you. The One who loves you as you are and not as you "should" be. The One who loves you so much that He would rather die for you than live without you for eternity. And yes, the One who loves you exactly the way He finds you - but also loves you WAY too much to leave you that way! He has the power to change your life. Will you let Him?

That's the way I see it. I welcome your thoughts... :)