The Gospel Vs. Religion
Eph 2:1-10
A recent article in the religion section of our local newspaper, dealt with the question, “Is it better to be religious or spiritual?” Opinions were garnered from five local pastors, representing Unity, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Disciples of Christ, and Bahai. As one can imagine, the positions held, varied considerably.
The pastor of the Disciples of Christ Church was succinct, yet seemed to capture the true distinction, when he opined as follows:
Religion: Bone, skeleton, structure, form; by itself, dry, brittle, dead
Spirituality: Marrow, meat, vibrant, life; by itself, moist, sticky, self-
Absorbed
Spirit: LIFE, energy, God-breathed, Christ-given; by itself, creative,
brooding, alone.
Perhaps a better question to be answered is, “What is the difference between Religion and the Gospel? Which is more to be desired, or are they the same thing?
Illus.: “India Has Enough Religions”
A missionary to India tells a story regarding a time after he had finished speaking. A man approached him and said, “I can’t understand you missionaries. You speak of Indian as the home of many religions, and yet you want to introduce still another one which only adds to the confusion. Surely India has enough religion without Christianity. The missionary answered, “Friend, I’m not interested in religion, but I’m deeply interested in the Gospel. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t walk across the street for religion, but I’m willing to go around the world for the sake of the Gospel. There is a great difference between the two.”
Religion is man-made; the Gospel is God-given.
Religion is what man does for God; the Gospel is what God does for man.
Religion is man’s search for God; the Gospel is God’s search for man .
Religion is man trying to climb the ladder of good works; the Gospel is God coming down through Christ to save us.
Titus 3:5-6
5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,
Heaven: You can’t…
Buy your way in
Work your way in
Pray your way in
Worship your way in
Or even get in because you are a very good person
Religion is good views; the Gospel is good news.
Religion is good advice; the Gospel is a glorious announcement.
Religion ends in outer reformation; the Gospel ends in an inner transformation.
Religion whitewashes; the Gospel washes white.
Religion satisfies man’s mind; the Gospel satisfies man’s soul.
Illus.: “Jesus Was Talking With Us”
Years ago, a missionary employed two Chinese scholars to translate the Gospels into the Chinese language. In time the work was complete. When they gave the translation to the missionary, they said, “We are converts to Christianity! The more we studied the sacred writings of the Chinese the more obscure they became. The longer we read the Gospels the more simple and intelligible they became until at last it seemed as if Jesus was talking with us!”
Let’s take a careful look at the fundamental differences between religion and the Gospel of Christ. I believe that there are three primary differences.
1. Religion places the prime emphasis upon DOING, whereas the Gospel places the prime emphasis upon BEING.
Religion says, “Do good, keep on doing good and eventually you will become good.” The Gospel says, “First of all, you must be good; you must become good by the grace of God and the blood of Christ. If you become good, then you will do good!”
Religion says, “Tell the truth, keep on telling the truth, and you will become honest.” The Gospel says, “First of all, be honest in heart and then you will tell the truth.”
Religion says, “Think good thoughts, keep on thinking good thoughts, and you will become pure in mind.” The Gospel says, “Become pure in mind and then you will think good thoughts.”
Religion says, “Go out and help people and you will learn to love them.” The Gospel says, “Receive the love of God into your hearts and then you will begin to love people and want to serve them.”
Thus, while Religion places the primary emphasis on OUTER CONDUCT, the Gospel places it on INNER CHARACTER.
Now, this doesn’t mean that Christianity has no place for good works. Jesus himself was a man of action, a man of good works. Its just a question of PRIORITY. Which comes first? The chicken or the egg? Well, that’s easy to answer: God created chickens, not eggs on the 6th day of Creation.
When it comes to works and faith we need to ask, “Which comes first?” Which is the cause and which is the effect? Which is the root and which is the fruit?
Paul makes it clear in our text that good works are not the cause but the result of our salvation.
Jesus tells us that we can’t really do good unless we first become good. He asks the question in Matthew 12:33-35: “How can you, being evil speak good things? An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things.”
The attempt to become good by being good is like taking a bushel of apples and tying them onto a telephone post, thereby expecting the telephone post to become an apple tree! The tree must be an apple tree; then it will produce fruit after its kind!
Illus.: “Silent Cowboy Movie”
Many years ago, in the days of the silent motion picture, a movie was being shown in a little Western town. The cowboys turned out in full force to see this modern miracle. This was the first time they had ever seen a movie. The plot centered around the usual triangle of a handsome hero, a beautiful heroine, and a villain. In the middle of the story, the villain kidnapped the girl, flung her on his horse and rode off with her. This was too much for the cowboys. They pulled out their six-shooters and fired into the screen, trying to stop the outlaw. They riddled the screen with holes, but the picture went on. Now, if just one of the cowboys had used his good sense, he would have turned and fired one shot into the projector!
This is a spiritual parable. We have to get to the heart of the problem. Jesus said, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, pride…”
Religion deals with the SCREEN; the Gospel deals with the PROJECTOR.
Only Jesus Christ can change the heart. If your car won’t run, you don’t take it to the car wash! You take it to the garage to gat at the heart of the matter.
2. Religion places emphasis on PRINCIPLES and CREEDS; the Gospel emphasizes a PERSON.
One of the great differences between the non-Christian religions and the Gospel is that there is no intrinsic relationship between these religions and their founders, while in Christianity there is such a relationship.
Take Buddha out of Buddhism and Buddhism still remains with it’s four noble truths and it’s eight-fold path.
Take Mohammed out of Islam and Islam is still intact with it’s five pillars of action and it’s six articles of belief.
Take certain deities out of Hinduism and Hinduism, with it’s philosophical and religious concepts still remains.
But, if we take Christ out of the Gospel, we have nothing left. For the Gospel IS Christ. It is what it is because He is who He is.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He didn’t say, “I will show you the way” or “I will teach you the truth” or “I will give you life.”
So, being a Christian is more than just belonging to the Church; it is more than just accepting the creeds of the church. To be a Christian is essentially to put one’s trust in the person of Christ—that what He said and did is true. It is to receive Him into our heart as Savior and Lord.
Thus the fundamental distinction between the Gospel and the religions of the world lies not in the differences between systems of thought but in the difference between PERSONS!
Buddah, Mohammed, Confucious, never taught that men should worship them, but Jesus claimed to be Almighty God; He claimed to be the world’s only hope; He commanded faith in His person and required that all men should worship Him.
SADHU SUNDAR SINGH, a convert from Sikhism to Christianity, was one of India’s greatest Christians. One day a European professor of comparative religions—an agnostic—interviewed the Sadhu, with the intention of showing him his mistake in changing religions. He asked, “What have you found in Christianity that you did not have in your old religion?” The Sadhu answered, “I have found Christ.” “Yes, I know,” the professor replied impatiently, “but what particulor principle or doctrine have you found that you did not have before?” Singh replied, “The particular thing I have found is Christ!” Try as he might, the professor could not budge him from that position.
Furthermore, the unique fact about Christ is His RESURRECTION. He went down into death for our sake, but then came up on the other side and said in triumph, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes on me shall never die."
A Muslim in Africa became a Christian and some of his friends asked him, “Why have you done such a thing?” He answered, “Well, its like this: Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions. You didn’t know which way to go; and there at the fork were two men—one dead, and one alive—which one would you ask to show you the way?”
3. Religion emphasizes WORKS; the Gospel emphasizes GRACE.
Religion says, “Attain.” The Gospel says, “Obtain.”
Religion says, “Attempt.” The Gospel says, “Accept.”
Religion says, “Try.” The Gospel says, “Trust.”
Religion says, “Save yourself.” The Gospel says, “Surrender yourself.”
Illus.: “Indian Pearl Diver” (Green, p.315)
DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN THAT RELIGION IS WORTHLESS?
No, not entirely. The Bible is full of religious practices that either (1) point us to God or (2) provide a channel for expressing our relationship to Him.
But religion is worthless if we depend on any external action to make us right with God. No amount of religious knowledge or activity can save us. Salvation is offered to us as a gift. It has only on condition. We must turn from our sin and receive Christ by faith.
When Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest”—that’s exactly what He meant! He is…
The door to salvation
The way to heaven
The only hope of eternal life
Receive His gift and then begin to “work out your own salvation” as He reigns within.
