Relationship, Not Religion
| FAITH based on RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD | RELIGION based on RULES & RITUALS |
|
|---|---|---|
BASIC VIEW of |
• Human beings are basically sinful • No one seeks God by nature • God reveals himself to those who seek him |
• Human beings are basically good & evolving • People strive to reach God through religious rules & rituals |
OTHER IDEAS |
• God's covenant love & offer of forgiveness of sin for a response of love & obedience based on faith in Christ |
• Religion based on legalistic observance of rules & rituals • Forgiveness of sins from doing good works & keeping rules & rituals |
MAIN FOCUS |
• God's grace & love for sinners shown by Christ's death on the Cross. • Relationship based on gratitude for his love |
• Man's efforts to keep the rules • God's forgiveness based on keeping man-made rules & human effort to please God |
RESULTS |
• Forgiveness of sins & eternal life by being born again by the Spirit |
• Failure to keep God's laws • The wages of sin = death & separation from God for ever |
To enlarge the diagram, click here.
When we are born again by the Holy Spirit, we enter into a relationship with God as our heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally with an everlasting love. The ultimate proof of this is Jesus' death on the Cross in our place to forgive our sins and put us right with God. When we put our faith in Jesus, God adopts us as sons and daughters EPHESIANS 1:5.
RELIGION comes from the Latin word religio, which means to "bind someone with an oath to someone else" (usually the Roman emperor).
It involves obeying a set of rules and following a set of rituals. FAITH on the other hand means putting my trust in God based on what I know about him from the Bible, from my personal experience of him and by having a real relationship with God as Father. In MATTHEW 23:1-12 Jesus had some hard words to say to the Pharisees and Jewish religious leaders about being religious and having a real relationship with God as heavenly Father.
Read about John Wesley's journey from being sincerely religious to a real relationship with God by clicking on JOHN WESLEY.
To watch a brilliant video by bball1989, click LOVE JESUS, HATE RELIGION