Vince Deagler

we have been working through the sermon on the mount in our sunday morning worship service.  this week we launch into chapter 6.  as i began looking into what jesus says i began to question the role of religion in christianity.  let me explain.

the word religion is used in many ways.  in fact, i have met people who did not really see a difference between christianity and religion, to them they were the same thing.  i would disagree with that line of thinking.  christianity is a personal relationship with jesus where out of my brokenness i turn to him because of a growing sense of how much i need him.  i surrender my life to him and accept his rule in my life.  religion, on the other hand, is a belief system that is accompanied by a specific code of conduct.  what those beliefs are, and what code of conduct is expected varies from religion to religion.  yet i think it is fair to say what we normally associate with religion flows out of a personal relationship with god…or least it should.

i say that because as jesus begins to teach in matthew 6 he focuses on religious activity (generosity to those in need, prayer, forgiveness, fasting).  he does not condemn this kind of activity, but he does condemn the motives and methods of the practitioner.  his main objection centers on the tendency of these people to do their religious acts to be seen of men.  to impress others.  i don’t think it unreasonable to assume they thought they were impressing god and earning a few points with him at the same time.  but that kind of motivation and practice rendered the activity null and void according to jesus.  i think i know why.

what is prayer?  what is generosity?  what is fasting?  or forgiveness?  is prayer designed to impress our fellow christ followers?  or those who do not know him?  so others will see and hear us pray and think what great spiritual giants we are?  NO.  prayer is our speaking with god in the context of our ongoing relationship with him.  in prayer i am expressing my dependency, sharing my concerns, being reminded of how much he cares for me…after all he is the god over all creation yet is never too busy for me.  but mostly it’s the by product of relationship, like any other relationship.  i talk with/share life with my wife, children, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.  why would jesus be different.

the same goes for generosity.  it is not about me being noticed and admired for my charity.  it’s not about others being impressed.  christian generosity as i understand it is an outgrowth of my relationship with jesus.  as he saw others in need he often was moved to compassion.  it was his nature as opposed to something he did.  the closer i am to him, the more i walk with him, i will more and more become like him.  and a byproduct of that would be generosity.  do you see what i mean?

fasting is not an exercise where i draw attention to my spiritual dedication and willingness to suffer for jesus.  rather i think it’s more like what often happens in our lives.  haven’t you ever skipped a meal, put aside something because another need was more urgent or important?  isn’t that at the heart of fasting?  i want to spend time with god so i put a meal or something else aside to do so.  it flows out of my relationship with him.

and can you think of anything more near and dear to the heart of god than forgiveness?  it is the very definition of his mission.  he came that we could be reconciled and live in relationship with him…or as he says in john, so we can experience life to its full (john 10…i think verse 10).  we don’t do it to impress god, we don’t do it so we have a “you owe me one now” to hang over the head of others.  we do it because it is who we are becoming in christ as he continually transforms us.

so i guess what i’m saying is religious activity is very important when it flows out of relationship with jesus and conforms to his teaching.  anything else seems to be of little value.  these are rough thoughts at this time.  these issues deserve more time to fully mature.  i would love to hear your thoughts as this is a work in progress and your thoughts might help clarify things.  anyway, thanks for reading.  blessings.  vince