Is Religion Good or Bad for Christians?

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Have you ever heard the lie that God doesn’t care about Religion because He cares only about the heart and/or spirituality? Have you ever heard the ignorant notion that Religion is of human origin? Have you ever heard the misinformed declaring that true believers should have nothing to do with Religion? Yet the Bible tells us today that there is a religion that God loves and approves of. God loves this particular Religion!

Religion has proved to be very difficult to define. There is no single overall accepted definition of Religion, except that which fits a specific context. That is why it is folly to reject and dismiss religion in toto when we don’t even agree on what it is. Therefore, anytime the term Religion is used a working definition must be provided. If you have been drilled to dislike and dismiss Religion, you need to define what you first understand it to be. If you love Religion and think it is a good thing, you also give us your definition. The Bible is clear today that there is a Religion that God prefers and expects us to be part of. God loves this particular Religion!

Religion has been understood first to be a large body comprising of groups of people with almost identical beliefs. Examples of Religions are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, African Traditional Religion, Secularism, etc. Under each of those Religions, there may be so many different groups known as denominations. Religion for example is Christianity, while the denominations could be, Catholicism, Protestantism, Adventism, etc.

The second definition of Religion that applies today is looking at it as a way of life influenced by teachings and beliefs. What you are taught and what you believe, when you put it into practice, that practice is referred to as Religion. Because you believe God exists and demands worship, you engage in worship. Worship is a religious activity. Religion should therefore be understood as the totality of implementing what is taught and believed. Religion is a complete way of life that is informed and influenced by certain faith. Religion is the practice of whatever you believe. Therefore, to tell us today that we should not care about Religion is to reject the practice of faith!

If faith is the seed, that which germinates is Religion. There can be no Religion unless there is first faith. One way or the other, faith must be put into practice. The totality of that practice is referred to as Religion. To declare that Religion is a bad thing is to reject the practice of beliefs.

One of the arguments against Religion is that Pharisees and Sadducees who were leaders during the time of Jesus, betrayed Jesus because they were religious. It is argued that Jesus condemned them because they were religious. That argument is faulty because the problem was not their Religion Judaism to which Jesus belonged. The problem was their faith which gave birth to their wrong religious practices. Their religious practices that we abhor were a result of their faulty faith. To condemn the practice and be silent on the beliefs that caused the practice is to be limited in perception. Therefore the problem was their faith and understanding, which if it had changed their practice would also change.

Acts 23:6-8
(6) Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” (7) When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (8) (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)

The problem with Pharisees and Sadducees was not religion, but the faith that gave birth to their religion. To solve the problem, we condemn the false faith and not just point at their wrong practices. The wrong religion of Pharisees and Sadducees does not make all religions wrong, that would be fallacious thinking. Paul as Saul was a Pharisees and he believed non-believers should be killed. He believed Jesus was an impostor. Therefore following his beliefs, he practiced persecution of Christians as his Religion. When Paul met Jesus, his beliefs changed, and also his practice, his Religion changed, from Pharisee-Judaism to Christianity. Religion is not the problem, it is the faith that gives birth to the Religion that is the problem.

All Religion is not bad. Religion is as good as the faith driving it. Religion is the fruit produced by the tree. If you want a different fruit, you do not condemn all fruits, you plant a different tree. If some Religious practices have not gone down well with you, seek to change the beliefs that drive it, do not reject all Religions. The Bible tells us today that there is a good Religion that God approves.

If you make it your business to preach against Religion and condemn it whenever you have an opportunity, over time, that condemnation of Religion will become your Religion. Inadvertently you would have started a Religion that believes Religions are bad and should be discouraged. When what you believe becomes practice over time, we refer to it as Religion. The Bible tells us that there is a good Religion that God approves of.

The Bible tells us that there is true and pure religion. A religion that cares for the unfortunate and provides for the needy. That is the religion that God loves!

As Christians, we believe in loving the unloveable and caring for the needy. That is what we believe. When we put that into practice, not once for a photo opportunity, but continuously, it becomes a Religion. It becomes our way of life germinating from our beliefs. That way of life is what God prefers.

Caring for the needy, not as a one-off event is what God wants. God expects that the needy amongst us will have unending support based on our belief that we are serving God. Matthew 25:35-40 tells us that when we help the needy, we are helping God. It must become a way of life, for it to be a Religion. Let us make it our way of life to help the needy. God loves this particular Religion!

Apostle James also tells us that the approved Religion is that which keeps oneself from being polluted by the world. Since we believe we have a superior God and a superior understanding of things, we do not sink back to the beliefs and philosophies of the world. We keep ourselves from being polluted by the world. The world is full of racism and tribalism, we keep off from being polluted. We refuse to identify with racisms and tribalism chiefs. We avoid situations that can leave us with a stench of dishonesty and corruption. We practice a way of life that is distinct from the world. God loves this particular Religion!

May our Religion be that which God approves, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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