Pine Grove Christian Fellowship

I've lost count of the times I've read (or heard) someone say that Jesus criticized "the religious people of his day," as though that somehow means Jesus would similarly indict religious people of our day. If there was ever a non sequitur (that's Latin for "it doesn't follow"), there it is.

I am not saying that Jesus automatically approves of "religious" people (whatever that means to you.) A person can be very religious and still be a very bad person. It's true that "religious" people are not necessarily in tune with what Jesus wants from us. Being religious can be stifling. It can rob us of joy. It can be misguided. It can foster self-righteousness and instill sinful pride. It can cause us to do evil. It can definitely take us in some very wrong directions.

When Jesus expressed disapproval of religious people, he used words like "blind guides" and "whitewashed tombs." Those are a couple of ways Jesus described the negative things that being religious can do to people. In fact, the conspiracy against Jesus that resulted in his crucifixion came, at least partly, from wrong religious motivations.

It's easy to see that being religious isn't necessarily good. And so it's no wonder that people don't want to be called "religious." But the problem with being religious isn't that being religious is bad. It can be good, but it can't be good enough.

You see, Jesus doesn't merely want people to be religious. That's not what he is calling us to. Being religious can be a way to avoid real heart-change. It can be a way to avoid a transforming encounter with Jesus. We can indeed be religious without knowing Jesus. Lots of people are.

But the fact that Jesus criticized and rejected some of the most sincere religious believers of his time (that's what the Pharisees were) does not mean that being a religious believer today stamps you as "rejected." 

After all, Jesus never actually called anyone "religious." Have you ever stopped to realize that few Christians use the word "religious" of themselves? It's almost universally a word that non-religious people use to describe religious people.

Many of us who might be called "religious" by others often don't think of ourselves as particularly religious. We might even deny that we are "religious," and we might especially deny that describing us as "religious" says very much about us at all. At least, it doesn't say what's important.

The question I would ask of anyone who implies a link between the religious people Jesus criticized and people who follow Jesus "religiously" today is this: "Was Jesus religious?" Of course he was. He was very religious.

He kept all the commandments. He even affirmed the religious practices of one Pharisee when he told him it was good that he tithed even on the spices he grew in his garden.

So, Jesus never said there is something wrong with being religious. It's just not enough. It's not enough to do religious practices, which today might include church attendance, Bible reading, prayer, charity, and many other things.

But if being religious isn't enough, then what is enough? How do we go beyond being just religious?

How about abandoning the pride that being religious can instill? How about stopping our thinking that we can save ourselves by our religious practices? In fact, how about setting aside our personal "goodness"? Let's get self-righteousness out of the way. Then, for the sake of Jesus and those for whom he sacrificed himself, we can think of others by practicing justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

So, go ahead and be religious. You have no reason to avoid it. Read your Bibles. Pray. Attend church. Even contribute money. Be known as a practitioner of religion. Do all the disciplines of the Christian life.

But if you are religious (and I'm talking to believers here, people who have experienced the "new birth," who are regenerated, who know Jesus as savior), remember that being religious is not enough. Remember that you, like everyone else, are broken. And remember to confess and repent of your pride, and your self-righteousness. And be known as a practitioner of the things that show you love Jesus and you care about other people more than yourself. That's what Jesus did.

And don't fall into the trap of criticizing religious people. If you do, you risk slipping right back into the self-righteous attitude Jesus wants to free you from. 

Micah 6:8 -- He has showed you, O man, what is good.

       And what does the LORD require of you?

       To act justly and to love mercy

       and to walk humbly with your God.

~Steve