RELIGION versus GRACE
I will just stick to the religion of my family and friends
Ancestry: “We have Abraham” (Matt 3:9). The Jews played the “ancestry card” as a salvation “insurance policy”. It was taught that “In the age to come Abraham will sit at the gate of Gehenna [hell], and he will not permit a circumcised Israelite to go down there.” No wonder Jewish listeners to Jesus’ story in Luke 16 were scandalized. It was beyond their thinking that the rich man, a child of Abraham, was an occupant of hell! Being part of a multi-generational family in a particular religion is in no way "salvific".
Activity: “They have Moses” (Luke 16:29). At Sinai, Israel expressed their confidence that they could obey all the Law, even though it was only a short time earlier that they had disobeyed in picking up manna, breaking the sabbath, complaining about lack of water, and about Moses! Like the Judaizers later, their relationship with God was based on their self-righteous zealous works (Rom 10:1-4).
Attachment: It is “Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). When we jump off the tower block of religion will we plummet to our death? No! We firmly hold on to Christ as our hang-glider and soar in the heady thermals of grace!
I will just stick to the religion of my family and friends
Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant – dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.
Philippians 3:7-9, Message Bible
Philippians 3:7-9, Message Bible
| Certain religions maintain such a controlling hold over their followers that you risk losing family, friends, and in some cases your life, by expressing different views (John 9). If you slow down your religious activities you will automatically be viewed as “spiritually weak”. Like the apostle Paul, we need courage to make the leap of faith from religion to Christ. |  |
Ancestry: “We have Abraham” (Matt 3:9). The Jews played the “ancestry card” as a salvation “insurance policy”. It was taught that “In the age to come Abraham will sit at the gate of Gehenna [hell], and he will not permit a circumcised Israelite to go down there.” No wonder Jewish listeners to Jesus’ story in Luke 16 were scandalized. It was beyond their thinking that the rich man, a child of Abraham, was an occupant of hell! Being part of a multi-generational family in a particular religion is in no way "salvific".
Activity: “They have Moses” (Luke 16:29). At Sinai, Israel expressed their confidence that they could obey all the Law, even though it was only a short time earlier that they had disobeyed in picking up manna, breaking the sabbath, complaining about lack of water, and about Moses! Like the Judaizers later, their relationship with God was based on their self-righteous zealous works (Rom 10:1-4).
Attachment: It is “Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). When we jump off the tower block of religion will we plummet to our death? No! We firmly hold on to Christ as our hang-glider and soar in the heady thermals of grace!
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We are blessed by our position in Christ not by pedigree or performance
We are blessed by our position in Christ not by pedigree or performance