Have you heard about Christians leaving the church because they get tired and frustrated at the friction and problems of differing Christians within it’s membership. Surely you have heard people talk about desiring Christ but quiting the church. Many people that end up making poor decisions based upon Christian’s sinfulness in the church, often tend to express a desire to hang on to Christ and leave the church. They seem to want and even need a form of spirituality, but give up on religion in general. In the world, people talk about being “non-religious”, and ‘expanding our consciousness’, or meditating into a new self realization…. instead of taking Christianity and the church serious and trying to be a part of the solution instead of the problem in leaving the things of God.
The apostle Paul put it this way. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (Ist Corinthians 2:14).
The Lord’s brother James wrote about religion, he said, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 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. ” (James 1;26-27). So we know from then to nowadays, that if Christians let their tongues get out of control, they make their religion truly worthless. This is why some Christians just give up. But if we understood what is truly valuable in Christianity, we would not leave it because of the sin. We would value it and try to be part of solution by helping people in need. This is real religion that both God and the world is benefited by. We need pure religion in order to attract worldly people to a God who will save us and them from our own sins.
Religion itself, no matter how pure and valuable will not give us forgiveness and redemption. The deliverance of our soul from the dire consequences of our sin, only comes from the rich grace of God. Paul told Titus, ” But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and his love toward man, appeared, not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that, being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7) It is so important to understand what God’s Spirit will do for our hearts, if we will submit to his washing, regeneration and renewing. This is explained by Paul in Romans 6:1-7, where baptism is appointed the venue for God’s work of cleansing us and giving us life from the victorious death of Jesus. Thank God for his grace in this work of His on every human heart that trusts and obeys this precious promise.
Epaggelia 