Vain Religion

Do you have a religious spirit, or a contrite spirit?  Is your religion in vain? *James 1:26* What do you glory in, and who do you draw attention to? Now listen closely; vain religion is the stuff you do that makes you 'think' you're better than someone else.  Most people today are following ‘vain religion’ only because they saw someone else do it that they admire or look up to in their religious clique.  These kind of people are religious parrots, repeating what they hear, and doing what they see; they are just playing 'follow the leader' religiously.  These people never really pray, or truly love the Bible, love people practically, worship the Lord privately, or have a real heart relationship with God.  Vain glory is the driving motive behind vain religion.  In religion you have to come to a place, but in Christ you must come to a living Person which is God Incarnate, Christ Jesus Himself.

Religionists are always pulling attention away from Jesus, overemphasizing something else, and they desire to be vindicated in their conceited positions.  Self-importance always drives the superficial convictionite.  They want to sell their own conceits to you; they say, "You ought to have what I have."  The Holy Spirit will lead you to testify of Jesus and to glorify and exalt Him with your behavior and conversation.  The apostles always underscored a crucified and risen Christ.  Any religious activity that underscores anything but the Cross is a phony.  You will never go astray into heresy if you keep that in mind.  Any religiousness that turns you aside from the Cross and twists you up to magnify something else is counterfeit.  O vain religionist let go of those things which you think make you acceptable in the sight of a thrice Holy God.

Keep your attention focused on the living Person of Jesus Christ.  The New Testament emphasis is on the Precious Blood and Perfect Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, not religious signs, gifts, sacraments, ordinances, or dos and don'ts.  It's as clear as day in the Bible.  Jesus is the only way to the Father.  Redemption is finished, there is no other price to pay.  Always, always turn the spotlight on Jesus.

Now listen closely -- A real religionist will think and sometimes even say something like this:  "I prayed to God, and He told me that you should be doing this or that.  You cannot be right with God like me if you don't do this or that.  You've got some sin in your life, and you will never have the victory I have until you are right with God like I am. If you would just love the Lord like I do, He would bless you like He does me.  God is going to judge you if you don't start living up to my expectations."

Mark it down--A person that says they are right with God is probably the person that is the least right with God.  A real Christian has to get right every day, because we are always wandering and straying in thought, word or deed in some way or fashion.  A man that doesn't struggle with his thought life, or speech, or actions has never been born again, because after the new birth, a conflict with sin begins within the soul of the believer.

The vain religionist will also pronounce God's judgment on you - they will say something like this, "God is going to let something bad happen to you if you keep on doing what you are doing."  They try to use fear tactics and religious mind games on the simple to get them to do this or that. This type of religionist is a proud knucklehead who is trying to play "God" and mess with your mind, so you will follow them, and not JESUS.

Many people today think if they are of a certain denomination that they have a monopoly on God and Truth somehow, and because they are a part of that certain church group, that makes them better than other sinners around them.  This is vain religious delusion from human nature and Satan.  Some people today think just because they carry around a certain version of the Bible, which they rarely read or obey at all, that this particular Bible makes them better than some other Christians right down the road.  This is very vain religion in God's sight.  Self-righteous religion always isolates people, and they don't reach out to the lost. Don’t be naïve, ask God for discernment and a perceiving heart.

Most all the people that are steeped in 'vain religion' are religiously retarded.  Religionists are not spiritual at all; they do not try restore the fallen with a spirit of meekness. They come across as being super spiritual and are demeaning. *Galatians 6:1-2* You can walk up to them, look them in the eyeball, explain to them plainly that they have the wrong attitude and a bad religious spirit, but it is just like telling a retarded person that they're retarded, they just don't get it!  They won't receive the plain truth of scripture.

The Pharisees practiced religious extortion on the people of their day, by threatening to put people out of the synagogue if they believed on Christ.  The self-righteous religionist thinks if you don't believe the way they do, they will ostracize you from their clique, and cut off your access to "god".  They actually think that their church and water and wafers help gain you access to God.

Jesus was meek and lowly in spirit, not proud and religious.  He was a friend of sinners, He loved all His neighbors, even those that weren't just like Him. Jesus loves me, only because He loves me.  Jesus still loves me, even when I am nothing like Him.  Religious leaders don’t want you to think for yourself, or think independently or rationally.  They love playing the ‘conviction’ game; this is their way of subtly saying to others, ‘I am so much better than you, and one of these days you might reach my level of spirituality.”

Quite a few people today 'think' just because they wear a particular wardrobe (dress, suit, tie, head covering, etc.) that these outward garments somehow commend them to God, and they 'think' they are better than some Christian that doesn't dress like them.  You can’t join their church, and be right with their god, and be in fellowship with them, unless you follow their particular dress code and religious commandments and rules.  These types of people look down on those that wear pants, shorts, necklaces, have tattoos, or have televisions in their home; these religious people care nothing about the soul underneath these clothes and jewelry.  This is pure religious pride and hypocrisy, and it is an abomination to God. *Proverbs 16:5; 21:4*

So many people today think just because they have certain convictions and maybe they don't smoke, or chew, or run with those that do, that this gives them more grace from God or access to God.  But remember, God is no respecter of persons.  God looks on the heart, not on the outward appearance, and a proud religious heart is always an abomination to the Lord.  Now don't forget, vain religion is the stuff you do that makes you 'think' you're better than someone else.  If what you're doing is causing a self-righteous and judgmental spirit to rise up in your mind about others, it is all vain puffed-up religiousness.  These religionists and convictionites have no tolerance for anyone questioning their convictions.  This pharisaical strictness grieves the Spirit of God.  You cannot grow in the grace of God by increasing your number of convictions; it is all chaff, and not wheat in God's sight.

But take diligent heed; The Lord is nigh unto them that be of a contrite spirit.  And a person with a contrite spirit always has the worst thoughts of himself, and the best thoughts about others.  This is the mind of Christ, not religion.  The contrite spirit will never look down on someone just because they don't go to their church, or dress the way they do, or carry around the same Bible they do.

Most churches today, even those of the same denomination don't have any real fellowship with one another, because the church leadership is deathly afraid they might lose one of their religious proselytes to another church or denomination down the road, and lose face or money.  If these people truly loved the Lord Jesus Christ, they wouldn't act like this at all.  There is no unity at all today with churches in communities and cities in America.  Everyone puts up walls, and protects their little groups, and the work of the Lord and the increase of the kingdom goes nowhere.  Most of these churches are 'cultish' are just a house of cards waiting to be blown over by Satan's attack.

There are some people out there today that think they are better than most, because their children are home-schooled or attend a Christian school, and not public school.  A certain school doesn’t make anyone more spiritual; it may make them more civil, but never more spiritual.  Many people twist and stretch the meaning of particular verses in the Bible and make up a cockeyed conviction, and through pride, they think everyone should follow it.

Now mark it down, vain religion always leads people to forsake and avoid a person after that person leaves their religious clique. People that leave their religious group are always wrong in leaving, they are not right with their god, and are out in Egypt, and even backslidden and evil.  If someone leaves your church, it should break your heart, and you should try to maintain a connection with that person, to see if they need help in any way, if you really love them.  But if you're religiously vain, their soul means nothing to you, you just want their physical attendance at the religious get-togethers at your religious community center.

In the Bible, this kind of nonsense is called the works of the flesh, jealous rivalry, spiritually comparing and competing with one another, and having a judgmental and critical spirit about others that aren't just like you.  The Bible calls this emulation in Galatians 5:20.  The Southern US used to be the Bible belt, but now it is the church belt.  Church membership and attendance now matters more than Bible-doing throughout the week.  The spirit of emulation is so rampant in American churches today; you can feel it coming off the people when you walk in their church, and you're not dressed like them, or do not have the same haircut, or the same convictions, or a different Bible in your hand.

Emulation always leads to hypocrisy and this grieves and quenches the work of the Spirit in the church today.  Everyone should have their own God-given convictions, and if your convictions are from the Spirit of God, they will not cause you to look down on, or avoid others that are not just like you.  Most of these people are eat up with conviction after conviction, and they try to manipulate and press their ways on young Christians like it is gospel.  They strain at gnats of religious convictions and swallow the camel of pride. These types of religionists Say and Do Not. See Matthew 23:3-4. Beware of any religious group that tries to control your personal behavior in great detail (what you wear and eat, where you work, and how you conduct your family relationships).

Is your religion in vain?  I sure hope not.  Are you building with wood, hay, and stubble?  If you are, repent as soon as possible of your foolishness, and ask God for a contrite spirit, and then you will not look down on those that are not just like you.  Don't ever forget--A person that says they are right with God is probably the person that is least right with God.  God's so good.