The word 'Religion'

another intresting question to ask: Are Abraham and the other Old Testament prophets and followers of God considered followers of Christ?I believe so, yes. But the glory of the new covenant is Christ in you.1Co 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.Does the New covenant 'do away' with the Old one?Heb 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

Even though this is a bit of a change of topic, the Lord has been dealing with me a bit about the four letter word of "religion." That is, it is wrongly a four letter word in many circles. People think themselves so insightful and clever and spiritual when they say such great maxims as: "It is about relationship not religion!"Although I understand what people mean by this, namely, that it is not just through some sort of ritual that we have access to God, but it is through a personal encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and entering into fellowship with Him.However, in doing this we often forget our faith is also a religion. It's not an "either-or" but rather, a "both-and" deal. Just as Christ is fully human and fully divine, so our faith is fully a relationship and religion. To just focus on one aspect of this doctrine leads to all sorts of heresy. Much like some have put too much focus on the divinity of Christ at the expense of His humanity, or putting too much emphasis on His humanity at the expense of His divinity. Focusing too much on either will result in hersey.In neglecting the "religion" aspect of our faith, we fail to proclaim that there is but just one God to Whom all must bow and worship. In focusing on just our "relationship" with Jesus, we neglect to give Him the worship that He so richly deserves. Millions are confused and stumble over our faith because we present it simply as a belief system. "Just believe our history and philosophy lesson," we tell the sinner. Just-pay-mental-assent-to-our-program-ism! As a preacher by the name of Paris Reidhead said, we just get people to say "uh-huh" where we tell them to.I've heard people say something along the lines of, "I can't believe God would send anybody to hell just because they didn't believe in Jesus." No, God is not sending anybody to hell just because they didn't believe in Jesus! He is sending people to hell because they have refused to bow their lives at His feet and worship the One True God! They are going to hell because they have refused to toss their crowns at the feet of Jesus! They are going to hell because they have robbed God of the glory He deserves!Not only are sinners confused about this matter, but so are many "saints." Sunday after Sunday the saints come dragging into worship service after worship service. They do not come expecting to accomplish that which the service is designed for... the worship of God. They do not come expecting to have an encounter with the living God. They do not encounter the living God because they do not pour out themselves, and make their central thought the worship of Him. They come for coffee. They come for hanging out. They come to see their children sing a song. They come for a nice sermon. They come to satisfy themselves instead of God! "They" is the center of their thoughts, not "Him."I know, it's not just about the Sunday morning service. We must carry our worship throughout the rest of the week, and every moment of our lives. We must continually pour out ourselves to God, and toss ourselves upon the altar and offer all that we are to God from dawn to dusk. However, I believe our gatherings ought to be a symbol of what we are doing throughout the week. Our Sunday services ought to be full of weeping, exuberant praise, raising our hands, shouting, dancing, singing, and being full of the Holy Ghost because it reflects what we have done daily throughout the rest of the week. http://www.christiansteps.com/daily/worship.html

Is Jesus an institutor of an new religion or did he just open up and unviel the old revealed religion to the forefathers?I like to think of the New Covenant as the Old Covenant unveiled. John 1:17 (NASB) says "For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Chirst." To say there was no grace or truth under the Old Covenant is absurd. However, they find their ultimate realization in the New Covenant. another intresting question to ask: Are Abraham and the other Old Testament prophets and followers of God considered followers of Christ?Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh...Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant...Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.Through the sacrificial blood of Jesus we have access to the heavenly realities that the Old Covenant was but types and shadows of. The New Covenant is an eternal covenant, from everlasting to everlasting. The Lamb was slain from the foundations of the world. Thus, His covenant has always existed. All generations of men have only been able to find salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ, and trusting in Him. Jesus Christ is the way... for all generations. Abraham, Moses, the prophets, and all the faithful have all been partakers of the New Covenant. However, the New Covenant can only properly be said to have been inagurated 2,000 years ago.Does the New covenant 'do away' with the Old one?Yes and no. It does away with all the types and shadows.

I think they call this sychronicity! We have just started a thread on the New Covenant, in the Scriptural Debates. Do come and join us.

PreachingToCannibals wrote:Even though this is a bit of a change of topic, the Lord has been dealing with me a bit about the four letter word of "religion." That is, it is wrongly a four letter word in many circles. People think themselves so insightful and clever and spiritual when they say such great maxims as: "It is about relationship not religion!"I have to say that I do tell this to peers I am witnessing to. I say peers, because I'm 19. A lot of people in my generation will simply write you off when you begin to share the gospel with them, saying, "I hate religion" or "I don't have a religion" or "I don't want anything to do with religion." And they're not talking about Christianity or faith in general. They have faith -- faith in themselves and their abilities, faith that their car won't randomly explode, faith that they will sleep through the night.So I tell them, "That's okay. I hate religion, too."Their perception of religion is different than mine. They see religion as sugar-coated hypocracy. They see rules, laws, buildings, money, fake smiles, and fake people. So obviously if the religion is fake, the truths its based on must be, too. At least, that's their perspective.So yes. I do say it's not about religion but relationship. I often even say, "God hates religion." Because He does hate that surface-faith that is too shallow to reach the heart.But if I'm going to allow myself to be used by God to reach others, I need to step down to their level and empathize with them. If I hold to "religion is good," they refuse to listen.However, I completely understand your point, and do agree with you. But I do believe it can be an important statement when witnessing, as long as it's explained.