Moving From Religion to Relationship
The Journey Back To Eden: The Birth of Religion (Gen 1-3)
It’s a phrase we picked up somewhere between here and Amarillo, Texas.
Kellie and I saw it on a billboard, I believe it was somewhere in Tulsa, OK. We fell in love with it immediately.
“From religion to relationship” just seemed to be exactly what Crossview Community Church is striving toward in every way.
And it’s creating somewhat of a buzz with people in the community. Some have seen it on the web site. Lance told me that some of his friends saw it on the web site and it was a topic of much discussion.
The other day I was driving past my office, and I glanced over at the sign on our windows. “Crossview…moving you from religion to relationship.” What a powerful statement! But what does that really mean? And can I communicate what that means to someone else? Can you?
And then it hit me! This is the series we need for Wednesday night to equip ourselves. We may have a different definition or interpretation of what this means, so we’re going to clear it all up.
There are many questions that arise from the very beginning that have to be dealt with and answered. What is relationship? Religion? Why do we need relationship? Religion? What purpose(s) do they serve?
Let’s start here: What is religion? How would you define it? I’m curious. "Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe" is what good ole Webster says.
Literally religion means, “to bind fast” or “to bind again.” In Latin, RE means "again" and LIGARE means to tie or to bind.
The French and Middle English word come from this same idea. And listen what else I found in the dictionary.
A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion (dictionary.com)
An orderly life so far as others are able to observe us is now and then produced by prudential motives or by dint of habit; but without seriousness there can be no religious principle at the bottom, no course of conduct from religious motives; in a word, there can be no religion (Paley).
Religion . . . means the conscious relation between man and God, and the expression of that relation in human conduct (J. Kostlin; Schaff-Herzog Encyc.).
Specifically, conformity in faith and life to the precepts inculcated in the Bible, respecting the conduct of life and duty toward God and man; the Christian faith and practice (dictionary.com)
Strictness of fidelity in conforming to any practice, as if it were an enjoined rule of conduct (dictionary.com)
The outward act or form by which men indicate their recognition of the existence of a god or of gods having power over their destiny, to whom obedience, service, and honor are due; the feeling or expression of human love, fear, or awe of some superhuman and overruling power, whether by profession of belief, by observance of rites and ceremonies, or by the conduct of life; a system of faith and worship; a manifestation of piety (dictionary.com).
Whew! Sounds like there are as many different (though similar) definitions as there are theologians!
“Religion” has come to mean what we do when we’re all together; the things we "do" in our meeting times. Religion is the systematic, sometimes ritualistic way in which we express to God and others what we believe about Him.
Religion in a very real sense is man’s way of trying to bridge the gap between mortal and immortal, the finite and infinite, the temporary and the eternal.
Religion is the way in which we live our lives as we wait for something better on the other side. Now I want to blow you away. I’ve discovered something that prior to this discussion I had not considered.
I don’t believe God ever intended for there to be religion. I don’t believe “religion” was created by God. I believe that religion was man’s creation, and was never part of what God wanted from His people.
Why do I believe this? What’s my evidence? I’m going to show you from the Text. Turn to Genesis 1. Let’s look at the definition of “relationship” from the very beginning.
Without reading the details, here’s what happened. God took matter, void and formless, and made beauty. God made perfect harmony in every aspect of His creation. Light and dark sets the days. Harmony in the universe with planets rotating around the sun, moon rotating around the earth. Tides/seasons. Plants are seed bearing and can reproduce themselves. Animals, male and female, reproduce after themselves. Birds and fish and all creatures are in perfect harmony with each other. Oxygen and cardon dioxide work together.
Then comes man. Part earth’s dirt and God’s breath fashioned in the Image of the Almighty Himself.
His second greatest creation. And when Adam needed company, God responded with His greatest creation, right ladies!?! And God Himself was in perfect harmony with His creation. He walked in the cool of the day with this new man and woman.
Every thing and every one was in perfect harmony. Man with nature, man with woman, God with mankind. When you look at the words and phrases from Gen 1 to Gen 3:7, this is what you’ll find:
Created, Good, Rest, Breath of Life, Aromatic, Planted, Pleasing, United, Holy, Tree of Life, Naked but no shame.
Now THAT is my definition of relationship. God didn’t need anything, but desired relationship with man. And man had everything he needed, all food, he was blessed by the Father to name the animals, and there was no animosity or enmity. And of course, there was very little work.
There existed complete beauty without shame or remorse, but there also existed free will. And when Satan enters the picture in Gen 3:1, and Adam and Eve choose to disobey God, everything changes.
When you look at the words and phrases after “The Fall”, you’ll see the difference:
"She gave me some!", Serpent deceived, Covered themselves, Realized their nakedness, They hid, They were afraid. Cursed, Crawl, Eat dust, Enmity, Crush, Strike, Pain in childbirth, Rule over, Must not be allowed, Thorns, Thistles. Toil, Sweat, Return to dust, Banished, Drove them out, Tree of Life guarded.
Chapter 4 of Genesis is the birth of Religion. Man’s struggle to be tied again, or to be tied quickly, to God. But what I want you to see is that God never wanted religion for His people. He only wanted relationship.
And I want to submit to you that He still does not primarily want religion. He wants relationship. RELIGION WAS BORN OUT OF SEPARATION, and God never wanted separation, only union and unity.
So how do we move from religion to relationship? That will be our journey for the next few weeks. We’re going to follow man’s journey throughout history to get back to God, and how he formulated more and more layers of religion on top of itself.
We’re going to see the high points of human history, biblical and otherwise, of how man found a way to have relationship with God again. Glimpses and bits and pieces of relationship, but never much over long periods.
Most of all, we’re going to see what it means to seek pure relationship with God, without religion, per se, and how best we can accomplish that task.
I want you to be clear about what we’re discussing. "Organized religion," (as we label it) can help us, can revitalize us, and can even sustain us as since we have one foot in this world and one in the next.
But I also want you to see that religion, in it’s most negative sense, can harm our faith, hinder our growth, and even kill our spirit.
Religion was born out of separation, or as someone has well said, "Religion was born in a cry." Our quest? To once again walk with God in the cool of the day.
(The introduction to a book I’m writing on this subject may be viewed at http://www.CrossviewChurch.com/frtr_introduction.html).
