I’ve been thinking a lot about religion. Many people associate religion with Christianity. True Christianity is not religion, although I can see how the two would become synonymous since many who call themselves Christian preach religion. There are differences between the two.

Religion complicates the gospel. It is binding and requires conformity to a standard. Religion requires work and sacrifice. It is showy and seeks constant approval. Religion does not assist, it turns away. Religion has a long list of do’s and don’t’s.

True Christianity is simple. It is liberating and requires no work, just rest and trust in God. The only sacrifice in Christianity was Christ’s because He paid for EVERYTHING ONCE and FOR ALL. True Christianity is humble and joyful, willing to jump in, to serve, to assist, to wash feet and wipe tears. True Christianity does not give a list of do’s and don’ts, it simply encourages us to BE.

Religion preaches on sin, sin nature, sin habits, sin obstructions, sin, sin, sin. It is focused on sin. It condemns people for all the sin in their lives, looking down upon them, informing them of life in hell, all the while intimating that Christ’s work on the cross was not enough because to be free from sin, certain criteria and works MUST be met – that it is a product of man’s hand to continually free ourselves from sin. Religion puts only a select few seated with Christ.

True Christianity preaches FREEDOM from sin. It is not focused on sin, it points out the love God had for the world and how love paid for EVERYTHING and EVERYONE on the cross in order to bring about reconciliation. It liberates, encourages and places everyone in their proper seat with Christ. True Christianity speaks life and love to a world in need.

If all we preach is sin, no wonder people want no part of what they consider religion. But if we preach freedom from sin, informing people of the seat they have in Christ for the work He has completed, we will see the fruit evident in every corner of the world. Challenge the religious spirit, preach liberty!

Colossians 1:19-21 NLT “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth   by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”

#challengereligionpreachfreedom