SHE SAT IN MY OFFICE WITH ONE OF HER FRIENDS

She was in her 70s and let me know that she had been a part of a church in town all her life. As you might expect, considering the fact that I am a pastor, we started to talk about Christianity. She began to open up a little. She said that she noticed in my preaching on Sundays that I frequently talked about the fact that in Christ there is a joy unlike any thing this world has to offer. She quietly confessed out loud, “yeah, I don’t know anything about that.”

She has been in a church…her whole life.

THE PROBLEM

I believe one of the greatest problems in Watertown, South Dakota (and probably where you live too) is a religion that keeps people busy, but it does not give them eternal life. Dead religion.

Dead religion looks like regular church attendance, serving for years as a deacon, a strong sense of morality, a belief that prayer should still be in the public schools, a love for country, holding down a job, and trying to do the right thing.

Yet, something is not quite right. Something is off.

What is missing? Genuine saving faith. A growing passion for Christ. A deep love and study of the Word of God. Joy. A life that is continually changing and becoming more and more like the life of Christ.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’”

Jesus speaking in Matthew 7:21-23

WHAT IS THE ROOT OF THIS PROBLEM?

I believe one of the biggest causes of this problem, dead religion, is churches that are distorting the truth of the gospel. In Mark 1:15 Jesus made this revolutionary claim, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” According to Jesus there are two things, and only two things, that are necessary for a person to become a Christian; faith and repentance. In fact, you don’t have genuine faith without repentance, and this is clearly demonstrated in James 2:17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

How are churches distorting the gospel? When a church teaches that in order for a person to be saved they need to be baptized, receive communion, or go through a particular catechism, then they are promoting a false gospel. The apostle Paul thought that requiring works (or perverting the gospel) for a person to be saved was a very serious offense.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”

-Galatians 1:6-9

The truth about the gospel can be really hard for some people to accept. Why? Because accepting that salvation comes by faith and not works means that their priests, pastors, parents, and friends have been wrong about the most important thing in the world, the gospel.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR A PERSON TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN?

Megan is 16 years old. Megan’s friend invites her to attend her Youth Group. While Megan is listening to the Youth Pastor teach from the Bible she begins to feel uncomfortable. At her church she had never experienced anything like this. She has assumed that since she was baptized as a child and had taken communion on a regular basis that she was good with God. Her friend’s Youth Pastor is teaching from Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” What Megan is beginning to discover is that her current beliefs about salvation are not lining up with what is actually in the Bible. During the Small Group time Megan is able to learn more and she has a number of her questions answered. After Small Group she talks to one of the female leaders one on one. This leader explains to Megan that God created all things good in this world. But not long after that Adam and Eve rebelled from God and ate from the forbidden fruit. This rebellion is called sin. Because of this “fall” sin infected everything and now people are born with a sin nature. We are separated from our loving Creator. But there is good news! God sent his Son to this earth to die on a cross, in our place. Jesus took the judgment of his Father upon himself so that we could have eternal life (2 Corinthians 5:21). After three days in the grave Jesus rose from the dead. The leader explains to Megan that if she believes in Jesus, and what he did on the cross, and repents of her sin, that she will be adopted into the family of God. Megan bows her head and expresses her faith through a prayer and becomes a new creation in Christ.

No matter what age you are, no matter your background, all of us become a Christian just like Megan. We believe in Jesus Christ and we turn from our sin. Have you ever had a saving encounter like this with Jesus? If so, it will change your life.

TRUE LOVE DOES NOT STAY QUIET

In our culture today everyone is deathly afraid of telling someone that they are wrong. We don’t want to come across as judgmental or unloving. The idea that whatever a person believes is ‘their truth’ is completely antithetical to the Word of God. I have already pointed out that in Mark 1:15 Jesus was clear that unless a person repents (admits that they are a sinner and decides to give up their sin) that they can not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Allow me to ask a blunt question. What are you more concerned about, temporarily upsetting someone because you tell them the truth, or seeing them in heaven? Love will compel us to have hard conversations with people that we care about.

If there are people in your life that are stuck in lifeless religion one of the best things you can do for them is to study the Bible together. Pick one of the gospels, grab a cup of coffee, and allow the Word of God to reveal to them what it means to know and follow Christ.

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A BOOK TO IMMERSE YOURSELF IN IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH

Are you feeling skeptical about the idea that you could actually be the one that is caught up in a religious tradition that has failed to lead you into a personal relationship with God? Your skepticism is understandable. No surprise, I have another suggestion for you. Read and study the book of Romans. It is the pinnacle of the Apostle Paul’s writing. It is 16 glorious chapters of Paul explaining the gospel. Not once does Paul mention any works that we do in order to be saved. Not one time. In a book like Romans, where Paul is inspired by the Holy Spirit with the express purpose of unpacking the good news of Jesus Christ, you would think he would make it clear if there are any good works that we can do that lead to salvation. Read Romans and then read it again. I strongly believe that if you do this with an open mind and a prayerful heart that you will come to understand the power of the gospel.

If you are beginning to think that you have religion but do not know Jesus personally I would be thrilled to sit down with you and talk. Or maybe you don’t live in Watertown, I would be happy to answer your questions at michaelw@newlifeefree.org.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:1

HELPFUL LINKS/RESOURCES

Is Baptism Necessary For Salvation?

The Relationship Between Faith and Works

Brief History and Teachings of Catholicism

“The Unsaved Christian” by Dean Inserra