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“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Galatians 2:16 NKJV)
The Lord Jesus Christ did not come into the world to pioneer a new religion; instead, He pioneered a new and living way for us to approach God. By His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus had opened the way for sinful men to have an intimate, loving, and eternal relationship with the Holy God (Heb. 10:18-22).
In other words, the Lord Jesus offered us a “Relationship” with God, not a “Religion” about God. The eternal life Jesus gives to those who receive Him is intimacy with God.
John 17:1-3 – NKJV
1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
2 “As You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.
3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
The Greek word translated as “know” in this verse is “ginosko.” It means knowing, understanding, perceiving, having knowledge of, or becoming acquainted with. It is also a Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. It implies intimacy. Paul used the same word in his prayers for the Church in Ephesus (Eph. 3:14-19).
There is so much confusion about religion today, or it is somewhat better to say there is so much confusion today because of religion. There is stiff competition and palpable hatred, enmity, or hostility among hundreds of religions and religious adherents today.
Today, many people confuse relationships with religion, thereby ignorantly mistaking having or practicing religion for a loving and intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Therefore, it is necessary to highlight the profound differences between loving and intimate relationships with God through Jesus Christ and practicing a religion about God.
First, a loving and intimate relationship with God is based on Grace, but religion is based on Works.
We all are sinners by birth, nature, or inheritance. We were born dead in sins, alienated from the life of God, not because of our sinful actions but because of the sin or disobedience of the first man (Adam).
Similarly, our redemption or reconciliation to God is not the result of our good works but the result of the finished work of Jesus on the cross (Eph. 2:8-9). Apostle Paul aptly presents this truth in his epistle to the Romans.
Romans 5:10-11 – NKJV
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Intimacy or loving relationship with God is purely a gracious gift of love made available to all men by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. No one can earn, merit, or deserve God’s love, acceptance, favor, or blessing through self-righteousness, performance, or good works.
The only way to have a loving and intimate relationship with God is through faith in the person and the finished redemptive work of Jesus (Eph. 2:8-9).
On the contrary, every religion’s subtle goal or pursuit is to earn, deserve, or merit God’s love, acceptance, favor, or blessing by good works, self-righteousness, or strict adherence to some religious rites, rules, or regulations.
Religion despises and rejects the righteousness of God as a gift through faith in the person of Jesus and His finished work. However, it promotes and pursues self-righteousness based on the works of the law (Rom. 9:30-33, Heb. 10:1-4).
Religion is not based on faith alone in Christ and His redemptive work but on men and their good works. Religion takes pride not in the finished work of Jesus but in men’s works or acts of holiness.
Second, a loving and intimate relationship with God is Christ-centered, but religion is Self-centered.
Because intimacy with God (eternal life) is God’s gracious gift to all who put their faith in the person and the finished work of Jesus Christ, it makes the believers primarily Christ-conscious, Christ-focused, Christ-centered, and Christ-dependent.
Understanding that your justification, redemption, reconciliation to God, or adoption as God’s son is not based on your self-righteousness, performance, or good works but on Christ and His perfect work alone will make you become preoccupied with Christ and His pure love for you (Gal. 4:4-7; 2 Cor. 5:13-15; 1 John 3:1-3).
On the contrary, religion makes you self-conscious, self-focused, self-centered, and self-dependent because it is primarily based on your self-righteousness, performance, or good work.
Religion sets or focuses your attention either on your sins, thereby condemning you, or on your self-righteousness, thereby making you self-conceited. But whichever way, religion makes you become preoccupied with yourself, not with Christ.
But when you are in a loving and intimate relationship with God, like Apostle Paul, you will count all the things of this world as nothing, dung, or rubbish compared to the revelation knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:7-8 – NKJV
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
Third, a loving and intimate relationship with God is Love-driven, but religion is Fear-driven.
Intimacy with God is motivated, propelled, or driven by Agape love. It was because of His great love for us that God sent His Son to die for our sins even while we were still His enemies and thus reconciled us to Himself (Rom. 5:6-10).
No one can have a loving and intimate relationship with God without receiving and experiencing God’s love. God’s goodness or kindness leads men to repentance (Rom. 2:4).
At the New Birth, the Holy Spirit pours out God’s love into the believer’s heart, enabling the believers to respond in love to God (Rom. 5:5).
As a born-again believer, you are not expected to worship or serve God out of fear of punishment or out of a mere desire for rewards but rather out of sincere love, admiration, and gratitude to God for loving, accepting, saving, and blessing you unconditionally, unreservedly and eternally in Christ.
Your good works or acts of holiness are not a means to earn or merit God’s love, acceptance, favor, or blessing. Holiness is not the root of a relationship with God but the fruit of a relationship with God.
Religion is motivated, propelled, or driven by fear, not a holy reverence for God, but fear of punishment, wrath, or judgment of God.
Religious folks pray to God, read God’s Word, obey God, worship or serve God, give their tithes and offerings to God, and give alms or gifts to the poor not out of sincere love for God and people but either out of fear of punishment from God or out of a selfish desire for rewards, blessings or favor from God and for praises from men.
Although religion is performance or works-oriented, religious folks cannot have real peace with God because no one can be justified in God’s sight by his self-righteousness, performance, or good works (Isa. 64:6, Rom. 4:1-5).
Galatians 2:16 – NKJV
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
Religious folks are wild, aggressive, or violent because they have no peace with God. They are constantly under guilt and condemnation for their sins. That is simply because they focus on themselves and their imperfect self-righteousness, performance, or good works, not on Jesus Christ and His finished and perfect work.
Only those who have put their faith in the person of Jesus Christ and His finished work can have peace with God and stand before God without any sense of shame, fear, guilt, or condemnation (Rom. 5:1-2, Col. 1:21-22).
Beloved, no religion can present you holy, blameless, and above reproach in God’s sight. Therefore, if you are merely religious, having no loving and intimate relationship with God through faith in Christ, you cannot approach God or stand in God’s presence boldly to obtain mercy and find grace to help in your time of need (Heb. 4:16). Why?
Because the devil and your conscience will always accuse and condemn you!
Only those in Christ Jesus are free from any condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
Find more remarkable differences between the Relationship with God and Religion about God in the second part of this piece.
Prayer:
My Dear Heavenly Father, I choose not to be merely religious but to have a loving and intimate relationship with You through faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, I believe and confess Jesus Christ today as my personal Lord and Saviour, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
OUR mandate is to preserve the faith of the Apostolic Generation.
Eniyekpemi Fidelis Oyinpreyebi.
AWH, Blogs.
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