Religion
- Venus Jackson
- Apr 21
- 4 min read
The word religion causes mixed emotions.
While growing up in the South, if you were labeled as religious it automatically meant that you were a Christian. That is no longer the case. We have to be specific about beliefs these days.
When the world asks what religion we fall under, we explain that we believe Jesus had a miraculous birth, lived a perfect life and died on the cross for our wrongdoings to keep us from everlasting separation from God - the creator of all.
But according to James 1:27, ' Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.'
According to God our Father, Jesus' birth and crucifixion is not a religion. It is a fact. It is more true than George Washington being the first president of the United States. The religious part according to Him is making sure that we don't get side-tracked by the world.
Religion can cause a fact to be vulnerable. Any fact can have a negative religion to sprout - especially if we don't know all the facts. And any religion can be twisted to function as needed. We have heard of church leaders who preach about the facts of Christ in the pulpit but we find later that they aren't practicing what they preach. Their religion has gotten out of control and they use their religion to misrepresent their facts and use it to defend their wrong-doings.
But even the best of us are guilty of it. We believe in Christ but, for example, our religion may not include prayers for our enemies, Bible study, forgiveness, consulting Him when situations get difficult, generosity, patience, and grace.
And when we get a whole church full of people who are wrestling with our individual religions, then think how easy it is for God's facts to be misrepresented.
Taking it a step further, think of how vulnerable it leaves us when we try to share Christ with others.
If we don't study the Bible, how can we be trusted to know when it is being misrepresented?
If we are full of anger, resentment, and unforgiveness how can we be trusted to lead another person to Jesus when His death was all about forgiveness?
How can people who have been systematically beaten down trust us enough to hear about God's grace if we don't meet their physical and mental needs first?
God our Father accepts a religion that reflects His heart - pure and faultless - so that more are drawn to Him. We are an extension of Him. He uses us to help the vulnerable. He uses us to try and save the world. Let's make sure that we not only share the same facts but also share the same religion as God the Father.
Discussion notes and Comments
We know we had another great discussion but I took too long in getting it posted so some of the conversation was lost! The following are the two comments I wrote down. Please feel free to add other comments.
In James 1:13 it explains that God does not tempt us but instead in James 1:2-3 he tests us.
'because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.'
There was a mention of the Crusades and the question of how it represented Christ.
Response:
There is a difference between defending oureselves and fighting wars for our own benefit.
lesson for
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Wednesday Walk and Talk
April 23 5:15pm-6pm
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Paved Terrain
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