Religion or Relationship?

Throughout the book of Matthew there is a contrast between those who are religious but don’t know God and those who are humble and repentant and do know God.

In Matthew 15 Jesus speaks to The Pharisees and teachers of religious law. Jesus said to them, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man- made teachings’.” In Matthew 18:30 Jesus, speaking about eternity, tells His disciples that “But many who seem to be important now will be the least important then, and those who are considered least here will be the greatest then”. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first, as this passage is worded in other Bible translations. God knows our hearts. Outward piousness and ritual have nothing to do with our true relationship with God or our salvation.

Righteousness, not religiousness, will bring us into The Kingdom of God. How can that be? Romans 3:10 says, “None are righteous, no not one”. So how can we be righteous or right with God? God gives us directions in His Word. Matthew 5:6 says that if you hunger for righteousness you will be fed or satisfied. In and of our own selves, in our own flesh, we cannot satisfy. Romans:3 tells us that all people are sinners. It then says that Christ took our punishment. Verses 21-23 say, “But now God has shown us a different way of being right in His sight – not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the scriptures long ago. We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. Our acquittal is not based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith. We are made right with God through our faith, not by obeying the law. We are justified by faith and because of our faith we want to follow the laws of God. We follow the law because we believe. We don’t follow the law to be saved. There is only one God and one way to be accepted by Him. The plan of salvation is found throughout the Bible’s Old and New Testament. If you don’t believe this, search the entire scriptures for yourself. God will make His words and His plan come alive in your life. Romans:4 tells us about Abrahams faith.

God’s plan to make us righteous in His sight, to save us, is given to everyone. No one is born a Christian. To become a believer, a Christ follower, is a decision that is open for anyone to make. The Messiah, The Christ, has become alive in the hearts of people from all backgrounds; Gentile, Jew, Muslims, and all other peoples and races. As individuals seek the truth they will find it. Religions and doctrinal differences within religions cause strife and dissention. Knowing God, as He wants us to know Him, in a personal relationship, brings us into His will and makes us like minded with each other. God has a perfect plan. We certainly won’t always understand His ways, but by faith we can become united with Him and each other. God uses the foolish to confound the wise. Let us keep seeking for truth, the way, and life in a personal relationship with God through Christ.

We must all ask ourselves, “Do I have religion? or a personal relationship with The One and Only Living God?”