Religion is defined as A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. Relationship is defined as A connection by blood or marriage; kinship. In today’s Blog I want to talk about the difference between Religion and Relationship. For far to long Christians have confused the two, “Religion and Relationship”. There is a major difference in being loyal to religion and being loyal in a relationship with Jesus. Its important to note that religion is man made and does not take the place of having a genuine relationship with Christ. The problem I have with religion is if your not careful it will fool you into thinking growth is taking place. A relationship with Jesus is the only thing that truly encourages growth. When searching the New Testament you will find that Jesus came against the Pharisees for there religous traditions. In Mark 7:9 Jesus said "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions”! It’s sad but many times that’s what religion does, it sets aside the flawless Word of God in order to keep its tradition. There are many things that I was taught in religion that is not hell sending. Many times Religion will leave you scratching your head and asking many questions that can not be answered. Growing in relationship with Jesus your questions will always be answered. 1 Corinthians 2:10 "God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God”.
Religion can leave you unfulfilled. Its almost like Chinese food, it taste good but an hour later you will be hungry again. A real relationship with Christ will always fill you up. He is truly the bread of life. John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst". I am convinced that many people think having a relationship with church is the same as having a relationship with Jesus. A true relationship with Jesus goes way beyond the four walls of your church. Religious teaching provides information about God. A relationship with Jesus enables us to actually know God.
Perhaps the first instance of organized religion can be found in Genesis chapter 11. The descendants of Noah organized themselves to build the tower of Babel instead of obeying God’s command. They believed that their unity was more important than their relationship with God. God stepped in and confused their languages, thus breaking up this organized religion. Please don’t get me wrong I don’t have a problem with religion, I have a problem when we promote religion and leave out relationship. Some religions are essentially nothing more than a list of rules, do’s and don’ts that a person must observe in order to be considered a faithful adherent of that religion. The two most common ingredients in religions are rules and rituals.
As we are closing I pray that you would ask God to strengthen your relationship with him. Ask him to separate you from mans rules and rituals and bring you into a deeper level in him. True religion is receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and thereby having a right relationship with God, and then doing things (rules and rituals) out of love for God and desire to grow closer to Him.
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Religion can leave you unfulfilled. Its almost like Chinese food, it taste good but an hour later you will be hungry again. A real relationship with Christ will always fill you up. He is truly the bread of life. John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst". I am convinced that many people think having a relationship with church is the same as having a relationship with Jesus. A true relationship with Jesus goes way beyond the four walls of your church. Religious teaching provides information about God. A relationship with Jesus enables us to actually know God.
Perhaps the first instance of organized religion can be found in Genesis chapter 11. The descendants of Noah organized themselves to build the tower of Babel instead of obeying God’s command. They believed that their unity was more important than their relationship with God. God stepped in and confused their languages, thus breaking up this organized religion. Please don’t get me wrong I don’t have a problem with religion, I have a problem when we promote religion and leave out relationship. Some religions are essentially nothing more than a list of rules, do’s and don’ts that a person must observe in order to be considered a faithful adherent of that religion. The two most common ingredients in religions are rules and rituals.
As we are closing I pray that you would ask God to strengthen your relationship with him. Ask him to separate you from mans rules and rituals and bring you into a deeper level in him. True religion is receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and thereby having a right relationship with God, and then doing things (rules and rituals) out of love for God and desire to grow closer to Him.
Thanks for Checking out WattsFactory Blogs
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