13 January 2012

My response to the Jesus>Religion debate.



It seems that the video of the guy performing a poetry piece about how Jesus is greater than religion has spread like wildfire, and has caused some to promote it and some to stand against it.  I think both sides (at least the ones I have seen and talked to, can't speak for all) are coming from the same heart, it is just a matter of what they mean by religion.

First, let me clarify something.  Are there guidelines that God has clearly laid out for life and worship? Absolutely.  Do performing these have anything to do with our righteous standing before God?  Nope.  These are performed out of who we already are in Christ, not in hopes of earning salvation.  So if what you mean by religion is that God is holy and has laid out guidelines for worshiping Him and that as those who are in Him through Christ, we are to seek to live out through the Holy Spirit, then yes I will agree with you that this "religion" is not different from the gospel.

However, this definition of religion is not what the majority of society, nor from what I can tell, the guy in the video have in mind.  The guy never says in the video that it's just you and Jesus so who needs the church.  He never said if you've got Jesus it doesn't matter how you live so don't put any guidelines on your life.  What he does speak against is doing things laid out in Scripture or things we make up for ourselves in order to cover up the truth of who we really are, which is a dead, rotting corpse in our depravity.  We have people enslaved to the mindset that God loves them because they show up and sit in a pew every week, or because they wear a suite and tie (or because they don't), or because they sing songs a certain way, whether that be hymns or contemporary.  This needs to die, and Jesus is greater than this. We often fear that if we promote the doctrine of grace to much that people will live an immoral life with no regard to holiness before God.  Grace does not lead to rebellion, moralism does.

The gospel, nor the poem mentioned above, promotes a life without restraint, accountability, or fellowship with a local body of believers.  What the gospel does it put to death any hope we have in our own ability to please God and atone for our sins by any act or duty, and point us to the righteousness that is found in Christ Jesus.  I pray that many will become convicted of their striving to earn their salvation and reconciliation with God through their own merits, but instead will be overcome by what Christ has already accomplished on their behalf. 

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