1 Chronicles 16:25-27 “For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place.”
Continuing, Pastor Herk looks at the fourth way how general religion can pose a danger. (4) Natural man in their unsaved state has no relationship with the One true God. One of the definitions for the word “god” is: A false god; a heathen deity; an idol. We tend to think of idols at an image, form or representation consecrated as an object of worship; a pagan deity. Or, a person loved and honored to adoration (like in entertainment or hero). But, is also anything on which we set our affections; that to which we indulge an excessive and sinful attachment. Ultimately, an idol is anything which usurps the place of God in the hearts of his rational creatures. Literally, anything that comes between your face and God’s face. So, we can have many idols/gods in our life, but having a relationship with any of them is a completely foreign concept. We can worship them, giving them obsequious or submissive honor, respect and adoration), but how can anyone have a relationship with an idol or false god? But now, through Jesus Christ everyone on earth has been given the privilege of an intimate relationship with the infinitely, awesome Creator God in true religion.
Romans 5:1-5 “Therefore, since we have been justified [that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God] by faith, [let us grasp the fact that] we have peace with God [and the joy of reconciliation with Him] through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah). Through Him we also have access by faith into this [remarkable state of] grace in which we [firmly, safely and securely] stand. Let us rejoice in our hope and the confident assurance of [experiencing and enjoying] the glory of [Almighty] God [the manifestation of His excellence and power]. And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, or trouble) produces patient endurance; and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation].
Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
General religion can fall short and in two specific aspects that keep us from the kind of personal relationship that God desires for us. (1) Pride – the Scriptures tell us in Proverbs 29:23 “A man’s pride will bring him low, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.” All are created equal by God, all have fallen short of the glory of God by sin, and all are in need of a Savior. We have been blessed, to be a blessing to others. Do not lose sight that you only look down on someone else in order to compassionately give them a hand to pull them up and restore them to an upright position. President Andrew Jackson wrote in 1835: “You know charity is the real basis of all true religion – judge a tree by its fruit. All who profess Christianity believe in a Savior, and that by and through Him we are saved.” There, except by the grace of God who save me, go I. Christ’s disciples, allow God to use you in the lives of others for their good.
(2) Deception – the Scriptures tell us in Isaiah 29:13 the Lord God said, “this nation approaches Me only with their words and honors Me only with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me is a tradition that is learned by rote (routine repetition and vain memorization) without any regard for its meaning.” Salvation is free, but it is not cheap and it is conditional. It cost God his only begotten Son. It cost Jesus His life on the cross; He purchased our salvation “with His own blood”. Yet, like any gift, it must be accepted, and like any remedy, it must be taken, but with a repentant heart, believing in Jesus as your personal Savior, and receiving Christ as the Lord of your life unto born-again transformation of the soul and regeneration of the spirit. Willfully obey God and follow Christ with a grateful heart of genuine love and pure faith, for that is true religion.
Ephesians 5:1-11 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
In Christ, Brian
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