religion/faith

Two posts in one day. Of course, it is the first day.

There are many thoughts that go through my head regarding the title of this blog. Religion...faith...not the same thing though. Muddy waters. Purify. Clarification. That is what it needs I believe.

Religion is just that...religion. Man's attempt at faith maybe? Mucking up what Christ had in store for us? Let's look at the Merriam Webster definition, shall we:
1 a : the state of a religious b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : CONSCIENTIOUSNESS 4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

Hmmm...doesn't seem that bad, does it? But, I think man in his ardorous search for God, spiritual wisdom, meaning or what have you...is missing the point. I think the only place to look is the scriptures, the Word of God. Of course, that assumes you believe that the Bible is the Word of God...the 'God-breathed' scriptures, good for correction, for teaching. And, yes, I believe that it is God-breathed, God-inspired, whatever term you want to use. No other book like it. 40 authors, yet still the same theme in the entire book. God's redemption for mankind. Even with all of the translations, passing down of the scriptures throughout time, it is still reliable. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, after examination/scrutinization and comparing to known original Hebrew Masoretic texts...they found only 17 'letters' that were different. Most were spellings, a few were a matter of usage or style, and only one word was completely different...and the meaning of the text was not changed. The Bible itself testifies to its reliability. OK...how did I get off on that...this was supposed to be about faith and religion.

Anyway...religion is an (according to the above definition) institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Practices the word I focus on here. The whole point about God's grace to us, is just that. Grace. Nothing we can do can ensure our redemption. That is based on works, not faith. Only belief in Christ as the Messiah and the acceptance of His death on a cross and His resurrection, can we 'attain' God's grace and redemption. Here is a couple of verses on this subject from the Apostle Paul:

Galatians 2:21 (NLT)
I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Galatians 5:4 (NLT)
For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace.

But, does that mean, we don't need to worry about our actions? Nope...some more references:

Romans 6:14-15 (NLT)
Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God's grace. So since God's grace has set us free from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!

James 2:17-18 (NLT) So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." I say, "I can't see your faith if you don't have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds."

Faith will cause good deeds...not the other way around. It's a topic that will forever be discussed until the end of this world, I am sure. I just have these thoughts going through my head...therefore, the blog. So...of course, I think faith is the key here. Not religion or works. The 'works' come through faith. Blog, blog, blog...reading back through this, not sure I made my point...but just working through some thoughts.

Time for eats.

-R