There is a very wide gap between Christians and religious people, the problem is, most religious people do not seem to know that it even exists, they cannot comprehend the difference.
A Christian has died to self, his life is hid in Christ, (Col. 3:3) his one desire is to glorify God, to lift up the name of Jesus, to praise His name. Religious people attempt to adhere to the rules of the particular denomination or church they attend, they are outward, when their hearts should be looking at Christ, they are inevitably subjected to rules, spoken or not, that lead them away from the Savior.
In the days of Christ’s life here on earth, the ruling religious class was in power, though subject to the whims and laws of Rome by force, the people believed them to be “closer” to God, and therefore subject to them in almost whatever form they chose. Religions must always have someone closer to God, someone that seems to be more righteous, more holy, more in tune with the divine will, it is the main characterization of rules and obedience within nearly any structure of man. Aaron was not bowed down to, John was told not to bow down to the one speaking to him, (Rev. 19:10) we bow to Christ, we listen to those that God has placed in spiritual authority over us when they have proven themselves to be God-fearing, Christ-centered, Bible-believing men of God who rightly, and continuously expound the Scriptures properly.
This takes spiritual discernment, this requires careful study of the Word of God ourselves, those who do not study to show themselves approved are easily led astray into religious organizations, they will adhere to what they do not understand because the one behind the pulpit says he does. To describe in detail every nuance of this truth would be to expound on every cult, religious ideology, hearsay, and beliefs of every lie that has ever been believed by men. To see these truths for yourself, simply look around the city you live in, look at all the buildings that claim to represent the way to eternal life, and then come to the realization of the truth yourself, most of them, if not all in some cases, are liars, they are leading people astray, they are leading them to eternal damnation.
We may go on one of two paths here, the discussion as to why people have determined to adhere to the precepts and ordinances of these cults, these religious organizations, or we could reveal why you are either able to, or in the case of many, unable not to see the truths of these words.
By grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, if that is what you are hearing in the place that you are attending each week to worship God with a group of likeminded individuals, then you are in a good place, any deviation from this and it must be questioned. For a few decades now the commonality between all these so-called churches has been to never speak disrespectfully about the religious ideologies or traditions that others comply with, it was indeed the true beginning of the enabled society, it is where the birth of the falling away began. (2 Thess. 2:3)
What do you suppose life would be like if Elijah told the prophets of Baal that they should be able to do whatever they wanted to in regards to the children of Abraham, why didn’t God say, “Now, when you come to the land that I promised to your fathers, be nice to the people that are living there now, they do not serve me, but try not to offend them, okay?”
The resurrection and redemption, that is all we need to know, those who have been crucified with Christ are shown the truth, the only path, and that path is so very narrow. It is as simple as this my friends, if you are not studying the Word of God, and I would highly suggest doing so in a King James Bible, if you are not contemplating Christ each day, if you are seeking anything else but the glory of God, you will easily be led astray, how else do you think all those places of so-called worship got there?
