DAY 26: RELIGION II (CHRISTIANITY)

 PHRONESIS DEVOTIONAL

30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM

September 26, 2023.

Topic: RELIGION II (CHRISTIANITY)

Bible Reading: Matthew 23:1-13

Verse for Meditation: Mark 7:9 MSG

He went on, “Well, good for you. You get rid of God’s command so you won’t be inconvenienced in following the religious fashions!

Many believe that Christ’s earthly ministry led to the starting of a new religion; some materials have it documented that Christianity emerged from Judaism. That looks true, but actually religion was never God’s plan to man; His plan ever since was to establish a relationship with man. Thus the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ was to oppose man-made religion and to explain the Law, that it was all about a relationship all the while.

When God gave His Law to the Israelites, His desires was that they “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37). “Love” speaks of relationship. Obedience to all the other commands had to stem from a love from God. However, by Jesus’ time, the Jewish leaders had made a religion out of God’s desire to live in a love relationship with them (Ref. Rom. 7:17; 1Tim. 1:8). Over the years, they had perverted God’s Law into a works-based religion that alienated people from Him (Matt. 23:13-15; Lk. 11:42). Then they added many of their own rules to make it even more cumbersome (Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:9). They prided themselves on their ability to keep the Law- at least outwardly- and lorded their authority over the common people who could never keep such strenuous rules. The Pharisees, as adept as they were at rule-keeping failed to recognize God Himself when He was standing right in front of them (Jn. 8:19). They had chosen religion over relationship.

Just as the Jewish leaders made a religion out of a relationship with God, many people do the same with Christianity. Entire denominations have followed the way of the Pharisees in creating rules not found in Scripture. Some who profess to follow Christ are actually following man-made religion in the name of Jesus. While claiming to believe Scripture, they are often plagued with fear and doubt that they may not be good enough to earn salvation or that God will not accept them if they don’t perform to a certain standard. This is religion masquerading as Christianity, and it is one of Satan’s favourite tricks. Jesus addresses this issue in our devotional text when He sternly rebuked the Pharisees. Instead of pointing the people to God, these religious leaders were keeping the people out of God’s kingdom.

Holiness and obedience to Scripture are important but they are evidences of a transformed heart, not a means to attain it. Yes, God desires that we must be holy as He is (1Pet. 1:16), and He also wants us to grow in grace and knowledge of Him (2Pet. 3:18). But you see, we do these things because we are His children and want to be like Him, not in order to earn His love.

Christianity is not about signing up for a religion; but about born into the family of God (Jn. 3:3). It is a relationship. And when we join His family through faith in Christ’s finished work, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside our heart (2Cor. 1:21-22). He then empowers us to live like children of the King. He does not ask us to try to attain holiness by our strength, as religion does. He asks that our old self be crucified with Him so that His power can live through us (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20). Our consecration and devotion to Him are not religious practices but an expression of our relationship to Him.

PRAYER:

FATHER PLEASE HELP ME IN MY WALK WITH YOU TO ALWAYS SPUR OUR OF YOUR LOVE FOR ME. AMEN.

DECLARATION:

NO RELIGION WILL EVER KEEP ME BOUND FROM ENJOYING MY WALK WITH GOD.

Bible Reading Plan: Colossians 1; 1 John 1; Proverbs 27