> When I was a young man, I would frequently hear, “I’m gonna lose my religion!” Normally, this was said at a time of stress and frustration.
> Gallup took a poll on “Religion” in January of 2007, the results of which seems to me to be a little contradictory in nature. When asked “do you believe that religion can answer all or most of today’s problems or is it old fashion, some 60% said it can answer (25% said old fashion)”. However, on an earlier question in that same survey only 27% wanted religion to have MORE influence and 32% wanted religion to have less influence. Might I suggest that the result of this survey might mean we need to begin by “defining our terms?” What is religion? James 1:27 says this; “pure and undefiled religion is this, to look after the orphans & widows & keep one’s self unstained.”
> Yet it was religion and the religious which crucified Jesus. You see, my conviction is that Jesus was not about religion at all; rather He was about relationship, and a specific relationship at that. He desires to forge a personal relationship with each of us, which causes us to “lose our religion”, give us a connection to the Father, and gives to us a confidence in our future.
> Modern day religion, by its very nature, causes insecurity. Consider this, religion says, “if you perform well, get the dos and don’ts right, live up to your potential, then “maybe” you’ve done enough and you’ll get into heaven.”
> The Relationship says this; “Come to me all who are burdened (with sin) and heavy-laden (with guilt) and I will give you rest. Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things you do not know. Whoever comes to me, I will in no way cast them aside. God loved the world so much that He sent his one and only son, so that through Him the world might be saved.
> Religion creates insecurity and a right relationship creates security. Which sounds better to you? (Call the TITLE AND TEXT)
> This morning, from this text, let’s see what happens when we “replace our religion with a personal relationship”. (Re-read verse 17a.)
> Did you hear that? When He is in us and we are in Him, His love is perfected (finished, completed, fulfilled, and accomplished) in us so as to give us “confidence in the day of judgment.” Wow. To think, we can face the judgment of God with confidence instead of concern, security instead of uncertainty, and assurance instead of anxiety.
> So if I replace my religion with a relationship, what happens? What can I expect? Remember, confidence.
1) I am Confident of my Connection with God. Were I to sum up John’s message in this letter, it would be “to know” or maybe “to be confident.” One of the really great benefits about replacing my religion with a relationship is this; through Jesus I have access to the Heavenly Father. Hebrews 4 tells us that because we have Jesus as our High Priest who is interceding for us, we can approach the throne of grace with boldness and find mercy and grace. The only way into this throne room is to know the right person, we need to get a handle on one spiritual truth about spiritual & eternal security, “it’s not what you know, it who you know”. (Salvation’s Call) There are at least 3 attributes which result in this connection;
a) I become Spirit-filled. Verse 13 repeats the concept John gave us in 3:24. He has given us from His Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit of God resident in your soul, there is no confidence and there is no connection because there has been no conversion. Some will cry; that’s a judgmental statement! Maybe, but it is also a Biblical principle. Spirit-filled is not an option, it is a characteristic, a quality, and a “requirement.”
b) I become a Verbal Witness. Candidly, this truth frightens more people than we can imagine. Yet, the scripture leaves little room for missing the point. Look at verses 14-15 and see 3 words, “seen”, “testify”, and “confesses”. The words used so closely together leave little room to be misunderstand. When I replace my religion with an authentic relationship, I become a walking poster child of the goodness of God.
c) I become a deep believer. A deep believer? What’s up with that? I both “know” and “believe” in His love.
> It is one thing to say we love God and we know His love, but it is another thing entirely to base our life on the truth of His word.
> In this day of cell phones, most if not all of us, know the weak feeling of saying, “can you hear me now?” Most have even said, “I’m in a bad area; let me call you on a land line.” With a wired connection, we have confidence in our connection.
> A relationship to Christ does not give us a “cellular” connection to the Father, we are hard-wired and can count on it. At all times. Religion doesn’t do that.
2) I am Confident with the Protection of God. At least some time in our life everyone of us need protection. Now, truthfully, the times we need protection the most is the time we think we need it the least (I.E. teenager, marriage, college, job, etc). Yet, the more mature we become, the more we want protection. John tells us that when we replace our religion with a relationship we get under God’s protection. The protection of the King;
a) He Protects me in the day of Judgment. This is not “rocket science”, the Bible teaches that it is appointed to man once to die, and after that the judgment. That means, everybody who has ever lived will ultimately face judgment. Paul writes that all the believers must appear before the JSOC. The Revelation clearly teaches that one day there will be a day of judgment. Because of whose I am and who I know, I will make it.
b) He Protects me from Fear. Fear? What with this? This fear is not like the “fear of snakes” or the “fear of darkness.” This fear is directly related to the bigger picture. The greatest fear of mankind today is the fear of dying (and what lies ahead). Consider this, if you don’t know what lies ahead, does it make you afraid? Have you ever travel an unfamiliar road at night? With you battery going dying out? Lights fading? His love brings the confidence and protection from this fear.
c) He Protects me from Punishment. The Bible teaches us that man is “without excuse.” God has shown enough of Himself in creation that all may know.
> Truthfully most, if not all, know; they simply refuse to admit. Why? I don’t know, maybe the thought is, I can plead ignorance and God will let me by. Logically, consider that thought today; Were this true, what kind of God would have allowed His one and only Son to suffer so horrendously and die such a shameful death for no reason. The only way to miss the punishment designed for Satan and his demons is to replace your religion with a relationship to Jesus. Outside of Jesus there is not connection to God and no protection of God.
> HOWEVER, when I turn my back on religion and turn my face toward Christ, I have both of these plus;
3) I am Confident in my Inspection by God. Please listen, God has, does, and will inspect your life. Most of my life, I have been around Military bases and every year when the IG (Inspector General) comes there is a huge drive to clean things up. I have often wondered, what would happen if the IG would just show up “unannounced” or better said “unplanned” or even “unscheduled?”
> TRUTH: This is EXACTLY what the Father does. It has been announced but not scheduled. Verses 19-21 give us some of the POI (points of inspection)
a) He Inspects my Love. The expectation is that we give love because He loved us, FIRST. He didn’t wait for us to love Him & He expects us NOT to wait for others to love us. A religious person has no desire, no reason to love those who refused to keep “their” rituals. The one who knows Jesus understands about this “love.”
b) He Inspects my Relationships. Verse 20 restates a principle John has been proclaiming since Chapter 2. Let’s review (2:9, 3:10). In chapter 5 we will see John raising the love for our fellow believers to the level of God’s love. Consider this language. John says, “you say you love God & then hate your fellow believer, you are a liar!” God knows your deepest thoughts. You may hide your hate from the group but not from God.
c) He Inspects my obedience. You’ve heard this command! The arm forces demand obedience. Have you ever considered why? Sure you have. Because of the life and death situations they find themselves. The same can be said of us.
Years ago, there was a popular song, “Gimme that old time religion.” That old time religion was a relationship.
