Why I Love Jesus AND Religion…
The video “Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus” is quickly becoming the newest viral video for Christians to repost on Facebook or retweet via Twitter. I watched the video for the first time last night, and was initially pleased with my viewing. The video is clearly well made, professional and evokes high levels of emotion within the viewer. And I will be the first one to admit that many of the individual points the speaker makes are valid and should challenge and convict Christians. However, after a second time watching the video this morning, I was left with grave concerns regarding the potential implications this video can have not on Christians, but for non-believers and the unchurched we as Christians are called to reach with the gospel.
My primary concern with this video is something I doubt the speaker did intentionally, but even unintentional neglect can carry with it very negative ramifications. While certainly no one would doubt that Jesus did in deed speak out against the Pharisees and their outwardly driven religiosity, this is by no means the full scope of meaning that Scripture covers when referring to the word religion. The religion of the Pharisees is one that Jesus did condemn and is a false religion that finds its assurance in the outward working of man rather than the inward, indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
But there is also religion that is true, genuine and is close to the heart of God Himself. James 5:17 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” The word religion cannot be covered by a simple blanket statement in reference to loving Jesus more than we love religion. For by living our lives in accordance with this verse, there is no way we could be loving Jesus any more than by striving to live a life of religion that is pure and undefiled before Him. Religion must always be seen in two distinct categories, that which honors God and that which attempts to glorify man. We as Christians must be in constant desire to achieve the former while speaking out against the dangerous pitfalls of the latter.
Living out the Christian life is not as nearly as simple as condemning religion in light of loving Jesus. The two should and must co-exist together in our lives. Organized religion has sadly been responsible for many atrocities throughout history, however, this was never the intended purpose when given by God. Organized religion and the church as we know it today is advocated by God throughout Scripture. This is not to say that our attendance or participation in church merits us favor or grants us righteousness before God, but it is that structure that keeps us on the path of the Christian life and encourages us to keep moving down the road and to remind us why we are on the road to begin with. Hebrews 10:25 shows us that we need church and organized religion; not in order to mark it off our spiritual checklist, but that our religion is what gives us the encouragement and support system necessary in order to endure the day in and day out struggles that will befall the Christian.
It is this automatic connection with “religion” and the church that carries with it dangerous conclusions that many unchurched and non-Christian people can reach upon viewing this video. In a world in which the church has inherited such a negative reputation, many will find any way possible in order to avoid it no matter the cost. And such a staunch tirade against religion will leave many feeling validated and justified in the way that they live their life, rather than being drawn to the life-transforming power of the gospel. If religion and church are the problems, then avoidance would seem the easiest solution.
But this is not what the church and the religion of Christianity has been called to do. It has been called to be a light in a sea of darkness, a city set upon a hill. And simply because false religion has existed in our past does not mean it must continue to reign in our present and in our future. We as Christians and the church of Christ have been called to be agents of change in the world, taking the gospel to the multitudes and allowing the Holy Spirit to draw men and women to Himself. And our religion and our churches must exist to be that beacon to our communities and to the world that there is a place of hope, comfort, safety and security for all who enter through our doors. And that through a true relationship with Christ, true religion can exist. Life transformation can exist in place of mere behavior modification. A group of people can encourage one another to continue to live the life Christ has called them to rather than their own life of self-interest that merely adds God to our list of priorities. He must be our driving force and motivation in our lives and in our churches.
We as Christians cannot simply say religion is the problem. False religion is the problem and this must be a truth we proclaim with freedom and urgency so that the world we see we no longer live by our own standards, but God’s alone. True religion must be seen as our undying passion and that for which we strive to achieve. Our hearts must be so in tune with God’s that we forsake everything else except for knowing Him more, loving Him more, and spending our lives caring about that which He cares about most. And such true religion finds its culmination in the church of Christ, a group of called out believers who are on the same journey of Christ-likeness every single day.
We MUST begin to see ourselves as those who can be the difference today and not simply call out or condemn the shortcomings of the past. And we must become wise and discerning to see how what we say and what we post will do to a world that seeks after any reason to reject Christ and to denounce the church that He has instituted. Our call is to go and reach the lost with the gospel, and it is time we begin to think what that means in their hearts and their minds, more than what it means for ourselves. What a lost world needs to hear is that the church has fallen in love anew with the gospel of Christ, and that the false religion of our past will never be seen in our future again. And that when the world sees the church they no longer see the hypocritical Pharisees of Christ’s day, but it sees a group of people whose lives have been radically transformed by Christ, striving to live up to a religion that pleases the very heart of God.
This post is much appreciated, couldn’t have written it better myself. And had a hard time expressing why I was frustrated with that video. Thank you!
This is a very well written insightful article. Read if you get the chance.