Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).
Since my conversion from religion to a personal
relationship with Jesus, when asked what’s my religion, I no longer answer,
Christianity. I now say I do not have a religion. I have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ, my Savior, and Lord. In my deliverance from
religion, I have learned that religion is an unclean spirit that is derived
from the spirit of lying and deceit.
Religion tells you to practice Christianity, but
Jesus tells us to be a Christian and follow
after Him (Matthew 16:24 and Acts 11). The Greek definition of a Christian means to
be a follower of Christ. To be a follower of Christ, we must have a personal
relationship with Him. We cannot follow someone whom we do not know. Religion
keeps us from having a personal relationship with Jesus because it implies that
we must work our way into His heart, but Jesus loved us before we came to know
him. Jesus died for us while we were still in our sins (Romans 5:8). We cannot
work our way into Jesus’ heart. We obey Jesus because we love Him. We love Him
because we come to know more about Him, and the more we know about Him, the
more we desire to please Him. For example, when you are in a healthy
romantically involved relationship, the more you spend time with your
significant other and get to know them, your love and desire to please them
increases.
You do not want to do things that disappoint or
upset them. This sentiment is also true when you have a personal relationship
with Jesus. The more you spend time with Jesus and get to know Him, you have a
desire to obey Him. When you follow Him, your faith in Him increases. Over time,
your character becomes more Christ-like, and the passions that you once had in
the world start to change. However, with religion, this (becoming more Christ-like) is not so.
Religion places a yoke on you to keep the law,
which is impossible for you to do – if you break one law, then you're guilty of
breaking them all (James 2:10). Religion also encourages saints to serve Jesus
in fear to keep from going to hell. Jesus wants us to honor Him as our God, but
He doesn’t want us to serve Him in fear because we’re afraid to go to hell. Jesus
wants us to want to have a relationship with Him – He wants a Father to
daughter relationship with us. Religion suppresses us, but a relationship with
Jesus incites us to go out and be the people God has called us to be and live
the lives that God has called us to live. In Jesus, there’s freedom. In
religion, there’s bondage. If you are going to follow after religion, Jesus
said true religion is visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction
and not conforming to this world (James 1:26-27). Even in doing this, you
cannot serve others in love without a relationship with Jesus, and you cannot
be changed from this world if you do not know Jesus.
So if you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, start one today by accepting Jesus as your Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9). If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, then spend time with Jesus and examine your relationship. Do you serve Jesus in religion or love?
Stay tuned for next week’s post on How to
Develop a Personal Relationship with Jesus.
XOXO,
Jay
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