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A dear brother wrote this in another thread:
quote: You see, new covenant Christianity is NOT a NEW RELIGION...the new covenant DECLARES WAR ON RELIGION! It is God's provision for deliverance from religious bondage! Did you know that Webster's Dictionary defines religion from the latin RE (back) and LIGARE (to bind) as a "return to bondage"?? But Paul writes to new covenant believers at Galatia, who proved that they were so prone to be "religious", to be bound back by religious notions, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not ENTANGLED AGAIN WITH THE YOKE OF BONDAGE!" Does this help?
These remarks leave me to ask what the Scriptures mean by the words "religious and religion" which are used in a seemingly positive fashion:
James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
Which suggests to me that not all religion is in vain.
James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Which suggests to me that religion can be pure OR impure.
As far as Noah Webster goes, his generation readily and frequently employed the word in a positive sence, which is why libraries categortize Christianty under that heading, even today.
It appears to me that it's just a word for one's system or worldview, which is an inescapable thing, btw. I suspect that the word has undergone. in the last decades, a complete transformation of meaning in some circles. Let me attempt to illustrate. A parent may say: "That child of mine really has an attitude." What is meant is that the child has a poor attitude. So, "religion" has come to mean "false religion."
Anyone looked at the Greek words underneath the English ones?
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I haven't looked at the greek, yet, but the dictionary does contain a single definition for the noun "religious" which appears to have much to do with monks and like religious orders who are definitely in bonds. However, the adjective "religious" has several positive applications. As for "religion," I don't see a negative application, as it is defined as worship of a supernatural deity.
But in either case, negative or positive, the writer has misapplied the scripture to suite his/her own gospel. The passage quoted is found in Galatians 5. If extracted from its context one could make it mean just about anything other than what Paul meant when he used it here in the context of circumcision.
Now, if the writer had said that the New Covenant declares war on religious ceremonies and traditions of men he would have been more in line with the context of Galations 5. Paul clarifies the context in which he is speaking in verses preceeding verse 1 and following. He is fighting against circumcision--something he did a lot. Galations 4:9 shows clearly the context.
quote:Galatians 4:9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
The weak and beggarly elements were the ordinances of the Jewish religious economy which were mere shadows of the true. Such things as ritualistic washings, meat and drink, feast days and sabbaths, new moons, earthly priesthood, earthly sanctuary, and animals sacrifices, all of which pertain to the religious ordinances and were merely shadows of the true as a living classroom to teach them about God's plan of salvation and their hope in the coming Messiah.
Colossians 2:16 is often quoted in argument of releasing us from God's moral law. Usually, all that is quoted is the following.
quote:16Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
But a closer look at the context of chapter 2 reveals we are talking again of the ordinances.
quote:Colossians 2:14-17 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Paul even lists some of those ordinances that he is talking about--meat, drink, holydays, new moons, sabbath days--and says they are a shadow of things to come. But what Paul didn't list as ordinances were moral laws such as stealing, lying, adultery, coveteousness, and the like which are not shadows but eternal principals of God's kingdom.
The thing I find ironic is that some of the same people who claim that Col 2:16 frees us from the so-called bondage of God's moral law are looking for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem and an earthly sacrificial system. Who, I ask you, returns to bondage and denies Christ by rejecting His cross? Is it those who keep God's moral law and believe it is binding today? Or, is it those who return to the shadowy, beggarly, elements of the Jewish rituals of offering the blood of animals for sins? And all of this in the blazing light of the New Testament which clearly teaches that Jesus is the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the earth. How can there by any shadows in the brightness of Jesus? I tell you, they can only be seen when you turn your back on Jesus' cross.
Futhermore, James tells us that the law is a law of liberty, not bondage. And Jesus taught he would free us from the prison house of sin. Paul repeatedly told us that love fulfilled the law. And at the outset of his ministry, Jesus states in no uncertain terms that he came not to destroy the law but that it would continue with every jot and tittle to the very furthest of man's horizon, even to the end of the world.
Some may ask, how can do's and don'ts be anything but bondage, especially when transgression of any one of them results in death? To these I answer, don't look to please God in your own strength. Look to Jesus in faith. Believe that he has told you he will cleanse you from all your iniquity and wash away your sins. If you receive him into your heart by faith, you receive his life. What was his life like? Jesus did no sin. He died for our sins, but he was blameless.
When, by baptism, we died with Christ in the likeness of his death, we died to sin. Our old man of sin, our carnal, fleshly, nature went symbolically into the watery grave and passed away. When we arose out of the watery grave we came forth, resurrected spiritually, a new creature. The old things passed away. For the Jew this meant dying to the letter of the law by which they were schooled, and being married to a new husband, even Christ. Paul describes this remarriage in the first part of Romans chapter 7. For the Gentile, this means becoming part of something to which we had no part. We were excluded before Jesus' death. Not by God's choice, but by the Jewish ordinances. Being unclean, we couldn't enter into the temple. There was a virtual wall of separation which Christ tore down.
So in closing, the religion that worships God by faith in Jesus comes from God out of heaven and is pure. And it fulfills the righteousness of the law because we receive the Spirit of the Author of the law into our hearts and minds--which, BTW, is the New Covenant promise. Right? And what could be more liberating than to be free of guilt?
What does the heart and mind which receives the New Covenant promise say? Does it say, "I am glad to be out from under the bondage of God's law," as some would have us believe, or does it says with the Psalmist, "I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart." Of course, it is the later. As Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." The law of God is a yoke to the unconverted human heart. If is grievous and impossible to wear. But to the converted heart, the burden is light because of the love of God dwelling in the soul. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." (1 John 5:3).
Before the love of God was revealed in Christ upon the cross, the power of God was veiled in shadowy ordinaces of the Jewish economy. God had ordained them so but knew that when he was lifted up he would draw all men unto him. When we see the price paid and contemplate the humiliation of the Creator's condescension in taking upon himself our sinful flesh for the purpose of dying in our behalf, then the burden of personal sacrifice in restraining our human passions and vice is lightened to the same degree as the fulness of our love for our Savior. He who is forgiven much, will love most. Then, and only then, is the human heart willing to figuratively suffer the loss of an eye and go through life maimed rather than deny the Savior. Thus, is illustrated the cross that we must bear. For it is better to sacrifice human lusts and go through life missing that "appendage" to our flesh than to be cast whole into hell.
So now we must ask again. Is religion the enemy we must fight and conquer? Or, have we met the enemy and it is us? Surely, it is us. For Satan our adversary can tempt us to sin, but he does not cause us to sin. Temptation does not produce sin, it merely manifests the sin that is already in the heart. Our waters are impure, the root of our tree is deep in iniquity. We need pure water and good tree in order to produce good fruit. Jesus is the Vine and the Living Water. We must concentrate our efforts, not on keeping the law, but in pleasing Jesus. And you can read that as faith, because without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith takes hold of the promises of God and puts them into action. But faith without works is dead. So we do need to be doers, if we believe. I guess that is living faith!--to do what we believe.
Let love be our motivation. Make sure our religion is not merely religious ceremonies and rituals--such as going to church and praying over a meal or helping a friend--but is rather a worship of Jesus as Lord, Savior, and Creator. Jesus cannot be our Savior unless he is also our Lord. We cannot be lord of our own bodies and expect Jesus to save us. And if he is our Lord, we must submit our wills to his will. But can we sumbit our wills to his? No! All that we can do is choose to serve him and then by faith believe that we receive his life. From then on, we just live in faith. But it is not our flesh that lives, but Christ in us. We are crucified with Christ. Therefore, "we" are dead. However, we are still alive. But it is not us that lives but Christ in us. Study the life of Christ. That life is in you by faith. Live your faith. Religion will take care of itself. Let's not use this old argumet to further our own causes. Let's raise up Christ in the peoples eyes and give them the very substance, not the shadows.
Well, David, hopefully I haven't derailed this topic.
I agree that the word religion has taken on a different meaning. It can mean false religion or it can mean legalistic religion with lost of customs. When someone says that person is very religious, what comes to mind? I think most often people would think of the outward actions and appearence of a person. I'm speaking from experience here. I had relatives who went to a certain church and they dressed alike, wore their hair alike, and their entire life revolved around attending church and the ceramonies they observed. As a child, I thought these people were very religious. Later I learned to see the real people and realize the ritual they held so sacred was useless.
Jeff, your post is very beautiful and speaks of the true religion.
Faith
-------------------- 1 Thes. 5:21 (KJV) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
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