Religion Or Intimate Relationship

Many know about religion but they know nothing about an intimate and personal relationship with the Lord!!  Many want to hear what their itching ears want to hear and there seems to be many that are willing to do just that, telling them the things that make them feel good but leaving out the most important things and that being what they need to hear.  We live in a day of the itching ear syndrome; it’s sort of like saying you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.  There is a lot of deception in our congregations.

Read what God’s inspired Word says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Now read what it says in 2 Timothy 4:1-4, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

If all you have is religion you may end up living like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law in the days that Jesus walked the earth.  These religious leaders were puffed up and very proud and arrogant men thinking that they were better than anyone else and also far more godly and righteous than others; they were so blinded to the truth.  This may help you if you don’t know what a religious Pharisee was like, read Luke 18:9-14, “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

I know firsthand how easily this kind of attitude can manifest itself in a person at times, even when you are born again, and how much more in a person that hasn’t a relationship with the Lord who is just full of religion.   Thank the good Lord that even a person that has this kind of attitude can be marvelously saved and forgiven and become a child of God if they are willing to repent and turn away from their sins!!

Now I want you to hear the good news that Jesus spoke to a Pharisee, please read John 3:1-21, “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

This is the truth from Jesus Himself, so you have no excuse if you don’t receive it.  I have given you something to think about.  My prayer is that you will leave your religiosity and seek to have a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus, the only one that shed His blood for the sins of the world so that we could be forgiven and be made righteous and have eternal life.  Praise the Lord!!  May God bless you and yours and may you all have a super day!!