Religious Nuts:
As a Christian I am often asked what my religion is. The odd thing I don’t understand is when I’m asked by Christians, knowing that I believe in Christ, what religion I belong to. Now, realize what they mean to ask is “what denomination are you?” While my true religion is Christianity, I don’t prescribe to follow a particular denomination, I follow the word of God. Each and every denomination has things I don’t agree with. That being said, in my humble opinion as long as the word preached in the pulpit is the word of God, and it’s not being perverted, misquoted, or being used for personal gain, I’m not going to argue with someone about the minutia within. I believe getting stuck in the argument over religion takes away from the true nature of the Spirit, and distracts us from the real enemy. James 1:26-27“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” When we argue over small details we allow ourselves to let the Devil into our hearts and sew dissention among God’s people. How sad is it that churches can be divided over what clothes people wear, the color of the carpet, and even worse a bag of potatoes. When we take our eye off the ball of course we’re going to strike out, and that’s exactly what’s happening within the body of Christ right now. If we truly want to hit a home run we should be more focused on, John 14:6“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” At the heart of Christianity is this verse right here.
Galatians 5:22-2622 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. When we go forth from our homes, we must remember that we are ambassadors for the Lord. We are the face people see, and we represent our Lord and Savior. We make mistakes yes, and we are all sinners, but it’s in our actions every day that we must hold ourselves accountable to the light of Christ.
What are your motivations behind what you do? When you’re at church on Sunday are you there because you’re getting your religious fix for the week? Are you there because your great, great, granddaddy helped set up the church? Are you pretending to be a good Christian but in your heart it’s as black as night? While your actions may fool others around you, your heart will always been crystal clear to God. On the flip side, are you so religious that you persecute others who don’t live up to your standard? Do you go around judging everyone for actions you deem to be a sin? Years ago, I was preparing for a funeral of a friend of mine, a fallen soldier who died in combat. During that preparation I found that a Religious sect of Christianity, (if you can call them that) was planning on protesting at his funeral. They were shouting profanities like ‘God hates fags’, ‘Soldiers are murderers’, ‘Pray for more dead soldiers’, and so on. Needless to say this is not scriptural, this is not what Jesus taught, and those people do not represent Christians. Sadly though, to some people, they are the representation of Christianity. There have been cases throughout history of those who would use religion to further their agenda. The Pharisee’s of old used the Jewish faith to live in luxury, to keep control of their power, and to control the people.
As a Criminal Psychology major I find myself always considering someone’s motives behind what they do. Years ago I read a book called the Anatomy of Motive by John Douglas. In this book he talks about his many years as an FBI criminal profiler. He discusses a few cases he was a part of and broke down how his profile of a crime led to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible. Each type of crime dictated a different standard of motives. For instance, 15 stab wounds to a person would lead you to believe there was rage, and hatred involved. If you also find the body face down meaning it was turned to lay prostate, it’s likely the victim and the suspect knew one another. Often this type of crime is considered to be one of passion, thus you’re probably looking for someone who was recently in a relationship, or someone as a past relationship that never got over that relationship. Everyone from the smallest crime, the smallest actions, have motivations for what it is they do. Christians, and other faiths are no different. When you start to believe that Religion is what God can do for you, verses what you can do for God, you’ve perverted the word, thus, are on the path to becoming a religious nut. What are your motivations? Do you gossip at church? Do you nitpick every little thing you don’t like to others in the church? Do you go to your pastor on a regular basis and complain about what someone did? If these are some things you do, you may need to reevaluate your motives with Christ.
Romans 12:2“2 Do not be conformed to this world,[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.[b]” I have been thinking back to a few incidences that just make me sick. The Catholic crusades, and the Salem Witch trials. Both of these sad points in Christian history show how religion can be very dangerous. Religious rules and regulations don’t make you right with God. 12 Hail Mary’s, a collection plate, a white collar, a dress, or the color of the carpet, none of which makes you right with God. You will never be able to keep and uphold all the law, which is why under the new covenant we are taught to seek salvation, we must follow Christ, love our neighbors, and spread the Gospel. One sin can keep you out of heaven. Heaven cannot allow imperfection, and thus if works alone could get you into paradise, one infraction would undermine everything you’ve worked for. Those people who preach the Jesus plus one sermons are not following Christ’s teachings. When you add a plus one to salvation beyond the blood of Christ, what’s to stop you from adding another thing, then another, and another, much like Jesus spoke on about the Pharisees. We will never deserve Heaven, but it’s by grace and mercy of our Abba Father, and the blood of Christ we are washed away of our sins upon acceptance of Jesus in our hearts, and a true desire to repent and change our ways.
There is but one way into Heaven, Jesus Christ. No matter if you’re Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, or any other denomination, no matter what you call yourself look deeper into the facets of your rules. Grace is found in Christ’s sacrifice, not in the laws. Love shared for us by a self sacrifice shows us how we are saved. We are saved by the long-suffering, the endurance, and the pure agape (love). Do not be confused about the love we are called to share with others. We are to love, not enable them. We don’t want to judge someone, but we are to hold others accountable for their actions. Love is the action of serving the Lord above all else. We must do this with love in our hearts, and walk with a tender foot. We must show ourselves reliable and dependable. We must do what we say we will do, and uphold our word in front of God. We must show ourselves with meekness, which is having power under control. This power is important because when we are in a position of power we are more in the spotlight of those in our influence. We must respect that power, and thus maintain a Godly standing. I am reminded of a movie I saw recently. Some of you may have heard about it, it’s called Avengers: Infinity War. When I think of meekness I think of what Thanos was not. Thanos, possibly the strongest being in the universe sought power. He did so because he felt the universe was headed for disaster, and he alone could harness the power to save it. He would do whatever it took to obtain that power and with it, answered the question, ‘if I have the power, should I use it?’ His position was yes, no matter how grotesque the outcome. This leads into my word, temperate: self-control, led by the spirit or led by foul fruits of the flesh. I believe Thanos was led, but he was led by his own misguided quest. He misused his power, and destroyed half the universe.
Truth is eternal. Truth doesn’t change over time because it’s tested by time. The truth we seek is the truth of Christ. Sadly when time goes on, sometimes the truth of the word is twisted and corrupted to meet the needs of someone’s sick ideology. “God loves fresh fruit of the spirit, but necessarily religious nuts.”(Dr. M David Chambers, senior Pastor Antioch Baptist Church). Religion is about what you can do for God, but not in a perverted manner. When you believe that you can do enough for God and that it’s your works that makes you a good Christian you’re wrong. Further more when you do it to boast yourself up about what you have done, verses doing it because it’s God’s work, you may be towards the religious nut side. When you become so consumed with the rules, the laws, and continue to make up new laws along the way, you have begun to pervert the word. If we are to bare good fruit you must allow the fruits to be produced in the right environment. It’s not about your own personal opinions; it’s about the word of God. It’s about the humble works for the Lord, not the works for your own personal gain. That personal gain can also be to make yourself feel better to mask your own sins.
When you’re so focused on rules and laws, much like the Tomb of Jesus. There’s a ladder that has been on a ledge left behind when work was done back in the 18thcentury. It’s called the immoveable ladder because the counsel for the tomb cannot agree on what to do with this ladder. People become so consumed with rules, and opinions that it’s no longer about the Love and sacrifice of the Lord. The truth is we are able to enter Heaven because we have grace and mercy. We are able to have perfection because we got away with sin. In closing, don’t come across as a religious nut. Don’t loose sight of the love and grace of God and don’t sit so high and mighty that you believe you are better then someone else. Paul himself spoke in depth about him not being anything more then anyone else. Sin is sin, and we are all equal at the foot of the cross. Learn to pick and choose your battles, and always make sure that whatever your opinion may be, it falls in line with absolute, incontrovertible truth, scripture. We see religious nuts everywhere we look, and see it in all walks of life, but all we can do is pray for those people. Remember, serving the Lord is by doing God’s work. We can never do anything for God, but we can do God’s work. There is a difference. We will never do enough for God to enter into heaven. Committing murder in the name of God is not for God. Protesting death, or a people is not for God, it’s for self. Don’t be a religious nut, because you will do more harm to the cause. Religious nuts are very off putting and dangerous. Stop with the Jesus plus one beliefs you may have come up with. Learn when to push, and when to listen. Don’t open your mouth and allow stupid to fall out. Don’t allow the Devil to enter into your mind and slowly change the word to meet your own self-interests. Allow yourself to be an environment to allow growth in the spirit to everyone you encounter, by being different and allowing people to see you as different. God will use you but you must be willing to be a servant, humble yourself, and crucify your own flesh to allow the spirit to grow within you. In all things remember where truth can be found, between the covers of the one incontrovertible truth, The Holy Bible. We must keep the faith and continue to fight the fight. Don’t loose sight of what truth really means. 1 Timothy 6:12-16“12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” Scripture inspires us, guides us, leads us in the ways of the Lord. The word instructs us on our behavior, and thus we must be equipped with God’s truth never our own substitution. 2 Timothy 3:16-17“16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God[a] may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
The God I Know, By: Love & The Outcome
If it was all about religion
What to do, what to say
What to wear on a Sunday
All about perfection
Black and white, wrong or right, never grey
Well, I’d never make it
I’d never be good enough (oh-oh-oh)
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