Set free from ‘Christian’ religion

Set free from ‘Christian’ religion

I grew up in what could be considered a fairly typical Christian home. Going to ‘church’ was part of my life for as long as I can remember. Having a family with Christ-like values is an obvious blessing. There are however many additional religious activities that many think are ‘Christian’ but are nothing less than cleverly devised deceptions to keep us away from the genuine stuff. Paul was obviously grateful that his strict Jewish heritage was a great advantage over the pagan alternatives of his day. Yet he also came to the place of realising that religion is a false alternative to personal relationship with God.
I came to a place where I felt about religion, very much like God did in Is 1:13,14 (Message):
"Quit your worship charades. I can't stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings-- meetings, meetings, meetings--I can't stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out! I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion.

I am sure not many people know that this is the way God feels about religion! There came a day that I saw through the haze of ‘Christian’ religious activities and discovered a heavenly Father who simply enjoyed me and wanted me to enjoy Him. This intimacy He offered, had nothing to do with the Christian traditions and religious activities that were such an important part of my life. He offered this intimacy as a sheer gift! Nothing to do with my performance – all to do with His love.

What a release; what a new found liberty. I discovered that a big portion of salvation was deliverance from religion. As in the days of Jesus even so today, the most deadly tool of Satan is the counterfeit religious institutions he sets up to look so much like the real thing. Being set free from the peer-pleasing religion, the man-made traditions that have become synonymous with Christianity, is a major part of this great salvation.

Once you’ve tasted intimacy with God; once you’ve had a glimpse of His heart, you can never again be satisfied with man-made religion. This relationship is free and it makes you free.

The first letter Paul wrote was the letter to the Galatians. These people faced a situation we all have faced or will face! Years before, Paul came through this region and proclaimed the good news of God’s favour. What made this news so extraordinary is that God did not require any payment for this favour. He loved them because He made them, and in Jesus He bought them back because they were originally His. All they could do was enjoy this new found life!

A while later some big shots from Jerusalem came to ‘bring some order’. Religion always wants to control and manage others. Take note that these were Christians! You can read more about this in Acts 15. There are many Christians that want you to again become bound to their brand of ‘Christian’ religion. Although they just wanted to introduce some ‘minor’ regulations, Paul recognised their potent poison of mixing the free life with any measure of religion. Let’s follow the thought of Paul through the book of Galatians:

Gal 1:6-9 I can't believe your fickleness--how easily you have turned traitor to him who called you by the grace of Christ by embracing a variant message! It is not a minor variation, you know; it is completely other, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God. Those who are provoking this agitation among you are, let me be blunt: If one of us--even if an angel from heaven!--were to preach something other than what we preached originally, let him be cursed. I said it once; I'll say it again: If anyone, regardless of reputation or credentials, preaches something other than what you received originally, let him be cursed.

Paul wrote this letter to ordinary people, he addresses the whole congregation, and tells them that the freedom they discovered in this message carries greater authority than anyone’s credentials. Nothing and no-one has greater authority than Christ in you.

Gal 2:4,5 While we were in conference we were infiltrated by spies pretending to be Christians, who slipped in to find out just how free true Christians are. Their ulterior motive was to reduce us to their brand of servitude. We didn't give them the time of day. We were determined to preserve the truth of the Message for you.

Here Paul refers to another, similar incident, not the one in Galatia.
Have you allowed your relationship with Christ to be reduced to a certain brand of servitude?

Gal 2:20,21 Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.

Here we get to the heart of the matter. Our intimacy with God has nothing to do with acting good, trying to impress one-another or God. “O no, I’d never do that!” – I can hear many saying that. However, consider how much of your ‘Christianity’ is simply the product of enjoying intimacy with Christ, and how much is peer-pleasing activities. Never, never, NEVER, abandon your personal and free relationship with God and exchange it for routine ‘Christian’ activities. That is not Christian at all.

Gal 3:2 ,3 Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?

Remember the first time you connected with God. Was it your achievements that impressed Him so much that he was obliged to meet with you? Was it your good meeting-attendance record; your humble attitude? Of course not! You simply opened yourself up to what He was doing! It was all His initiative that you simply accepted. The rest of our relationship is exactly the same: Responding to His initiative!

Gal 3:11 ..The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you.

Our focus could never be on what we are doing for God. That is completely missing the point. He wants us to remain focussed on what He is doing for us. Our spontaneous response to 'seeing what He does', is all He wants. And if I start defining what the response should be, it would no longer be spontaneous. You just focus on His goodness, the rest will come naturally.

Gal 3:25, 26 But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God.

Religion, counterfeit ‘Christian’ practises will always try and persuade you that you still have much to do. Next time someone asks: “Who thinks they have arrived”, raise your hand boldly! How much higher do you want to go than being seated with Christ in heavenly places? What destination can compete with the place of direct relationship with God?

Gal 3:28 In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ.

Religion thrives on placing levels of importance between people. False Christianity just replaced the terminology of these status descriptions with titles such as Apostle, Prophet, Pastor. These are never used as titles in the New Testament. They are simply descriptions of what people did. The message of the gospel is clear: “Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ.” To allow hierarchies of relationship with God, would be to deny the gospel of Christ.

Gal 4:17 Those heretical teachers go to great lengths to flatter you, but their motives are rotten. They want to shut you out of the free world of God's grace so that you will always depend on them for approval and direction, making them feel important.

When you share the gospel with a friend, make sure that you never make them spiritually dependant on you! And whenever you encounter a person who allows others to become dependant on them for spiritual nourishment, RUN. Do not submit yourself to such oppression. It could happen very subtly. A church institution can give you the impression that if you are not attending certain meetings, you are drifting away from God. They want people to be dependant upon them. Paul’s message throughout this book of Galatians is to resist with all that is within you, such manipulation. Even if it comes from those with great credentials, resist it!

Gal 5:1 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. I am emphatic about this.

Me too!

Gal 5:13-14 It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom.

Freedom from religion is central to our message. Our freedom needs only one boundary and that is love! Allow love to direct you, and without giving heed to any other voice, obey love.

Gal 6:14-15 For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can't you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do--submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!

By Andre Rabe
andre.rabe@gmail.com
http://eclesia.blogspot.com