Why I am Religious…

For some reason several years ago someone decided that practicing religion was wrong. In 2012 a young man named Jeff Bethke wrote a poem called, Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus. It has been viewed close to 20 million times on YouTube. The idea that religion is wrong is really not something new. I have heard this kind of thinking for decades, and I am ashamed to say I even bought into it. But I have changed my mind, which at my age is getting hard to do. I have decided that practicing religion is not only right but also that the rejection of religion is responsible for most of the turmoil and opposition the Church is facing.

In my view practicing religion means that I actually live out my beliefs. I believe in God. And because of that belief my life has to be lived accordingly. If there is in fact a real God who created everything and controls everything then I had better find out if that God has expectations of me. And guess what? He does! I know this because I read, study, and teach His Word (the Bible).

I live and work off of lists. In my position as pastor I have to be self-disciplined in order to get everything done that I need to do. So every Monday I make a list of the things I must do. As I have read and studied the Bible I have found dozens of lists many of which contain God’s expectations of me. Many of those lists actually tell me how I should live. I follow those lists as best I can…wait for it…RELIGIOUSLY! That’s right the Bible it has led me into a religious life style! The Bible makes me a religious person.

Religion actually conveys the idea of consistency, devotion, faithfulness, and Godliness. Those actually sound like positive traits to me. So I not only believe being religious is good, I also believe it is necessary. By being religious I try to live out my beliefs. I use the word try because often I am not successful, but I have a helper, the Holy Spirit who guides me into living a consistent, devoted, faithful, and Godly life, hey wait a minute that’s the very definition of being religious! Get It?

Here’s where we have gone wrong. Not only does our salvation rely on belief but also practice. That 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. (Romans 10:9) The Bible is very clear that the acceptance of salvation requires two steps. First I must confess with my mouth Jesus is Lord. As I say to my congregation all the time if Jesus is Lord, than He is the boss. That means He gets to tell me what to do! That sounds religious to me! Secondly, I must believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. Notice the first is something I must say with my mouth. If I say with my mouth that Jesus is my boss now I am going to be held accountable to everyone who heard me say it. That means as a believer I have to back up my beliefs with what I have said. Which in turn means I have to live a life of consistency, devotion, faithfulness, and Godliness. There it is again, Religion! If you think you can live without being religious, instead following your own way you are dead wrong. Way too many believers think they can follow their own opinion…ignoring the Bible and those genuinely teaching the Bible. If you reject religious living then you are rebelling against Jesus. (Wow, I hope that doesn’t sound too harsh)

One more thing, Most of the time the believers that have this attitude are really those who are rejecting the Church, they says things like, “I don’t believe in organized religion.” They are speaking of the Church. Where else do you find organized religion except in the Church? The problem with this is that if you try to live without religion than you are trying live without the power of the Holy Spirit. Like it or not the power of the Holy Spirit is given to believers for the benefit of the Church. You cannot have the genuine power of the Holy Spirit operating in you unless it can benefit the Church. If you reject the Church than you are rejecting the very Jesus is doing. He told the Disciples He would build His Church. He is building the Church right now through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. When we reject religion we are rejecting the very power we need to live in these last days. Jesus said the gate of hell will not prevail against it, the Church. Therefore the Church is literally the only thing standing between the gates of hell and the world.

So I invite you to stand with me between the world and hell. Let’s block the gates of hell by becoming religious again!