What the world needs right now is a whole lot more of the real love and message of Jesus and a whole lot less of fake and negative religion. Of course there is no such species as a perfect Christian, but every real Christian will constantly aim to be more Christ like rather than just being religious. Jesus Himself was unjustly convicted, cruelly beaten and crucified as a result of the politics and lies of religious leaders.
In Mark 8:15 Jesus gave a very strong warning not to get caught up with religion, saying ‘look out; keep on your guard and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.’
Just as yeast is a tiny, single-cell organism that can affect a whole loaf of bread, so also just a little bit of wrong religious influence can contaminate many others. Basically, Jesus is saying that if you want to live as a real Christian you had better not be like the Pharisees and you need to very much guard yourself from those who have that kind of spirit. So we see contrasts that show why religion is such bad news and real Christianity is good news:
1. Religion stops people, rather than helps people, in getting close to God (Matthew 23:13-14; Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 4:16)
2. Religion lays great stress on the external; Christianity focuses on the internal (Mark 7:1-23)
3. Religion trusts in self-righteousness instead of God’s righteousness (Luke 18:9-14; James 4:6)
4. Religion breeds stubbornness and hard-heartedness instead of a gentle and giving attitude (Luke 6:6-13; Mark 3:4-5)
5. Religion is miserable but real Christianity is joyful (Matthew 21:14-16; Romans 14:17)
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Have you experienced Jesus or religion? Does how you live your life model Jesus and help others come close to God? Sadly many people who were brought up in church schools, church families and church communities may never have come into a real experience of Christ (Matthew 23:13-14). Maybe they became disillusioned because their parents or others publicly appeared to be faithful Christians but in private, they were critical, cynical and compromised. Or maybe they experienced a form of religion that was all rules and duties rather than being about a powerful, life-giving relationship with God. Matthew 27:51: says that when Jesus died on the cross ‘At that moment the curtain of the temple’ (that separated an unholy people from a holy God) ‘was torn in two from the top to the bottom.’ This means that we can now come directly to God (Hebrews 4:16).
Are you more concerned about how you appear to others or about the state of your heart? In Mark 7:1-23 The Pharisees criticised the disciples of Jesus who were eating without giving their hands a traditional ceremonial handwashing. Jesus, however, insisted that what was most important was whether their own hearts, not their hands, were clean. Very often religious people focus on how a person looks or how much charisma they have rather than what they are like in their attitudes and character. They split hairs over non-essential doctrine, or tell you what food or wine you can or can’t have, or even what movies you can watch. Real Christianity has no room for petty regulations and does not stand on religious ceremony. Rather it always gets down to the basic issues of what we are really like and whether we are living right (i.e. Jesus defined adultery as not just the act but the thought, and said we are like murderers when then is anger in the heart). Racism has often flourished under the cover of religion (i.e. apartheid South Africa and in so-called gospel churches). But as a real Christian or genuine church community, you cannot be racist. In the ministry of King’s Church International we continue to be strongly committed to being a multi-racial, multi-generational church for all people.
Are you self-righteous or focussed on God's righteousness? Luke 18:9-14 tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector who went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee could not see or admit his need of God. He felt superior to the miserable sinner next to him. It was the tax collector, however, who God accepted because he was real and humble. You must humble yourself to become a Christian by admitting that you are a sinner in need of God’s grace and mercy (James 4:6). And to develop as a disciple of Christ you must be obedient to Him and always remain teachable.
Have you been religious, stubborn and hard-hearted, or do you have a gentle and giving attitude like Jesus? Luke 6:6-13 gives the account of Jesus healing a man with a shrivelled hand which made the self-important religious people mad (Mark 3:4-5, Luke 6:11). All the religious leaders wanted to do was to trip Jesus up and pull Him down because He was a threat to their position and reputation. They had no concern whatsoever for the man who needed healing. Religious people, often in positions of influence, can become hard-hearted and unbending, critical and mean spirited because their self-will has never yielded to Christ. Even the highly trained and violent Pharisee Saul had to be broken in by God, totally taken apart and put back together before he could be of any use as the great apostle Paul. To be a real follower of Christ you must have a gentle, generous and softened heart.
Is your life full of joy or do you feel miserable most of the time? The religious leaders were not happy with people freely praising God, especially the children (Matthew 21:14-16). Religious people so often are miserable people: they don’t have the joy of the Lord and they don’t like people who have happily drunk of the new wine of the Holy Spirit. They are like the elder brother who is mad that the Father throws a big party for the lost son who has returned home from his messed-up life in a far country. But the Father wants everyone to rejoice in the amazing grace of God. He wants to show forgiveness to the son who has sinned and to give him new hope and dignity. He wants to welcome him home with hugs and kisses and feasting. This is what God’s kingdom is really like (Romans 14:17). So what are you going to be: religious or a real Christian? If you have been religious in ways mentioned above, then you should face up to it, totally repent and make a clean break from its highly toxic influence. And if you are a real Christian, enjoy every day and stay well clear of the leaven of the Pharisees.
