Religion and churches are sometimes opposed to each other. Religious churches often claim to be holy yet their religion is against what they do.
Lets face it, many of the churches in america have become what I call religion churches. I call them that because so many have forgotten what really matters. Being religious and going to church does not make you a good christian. Going to churches is vital to a christians growth, but unless you base your religion on the bible you may look the part and still be simply religious.
What a religion church looks like
Matthew 23:25
Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the
platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Extortion and excess... sounds familiar. If we are ever more worried about the next offering than we are about the next victim of Satan we really need to check our religion. Church is not about a club and who can build a bigger one. Church is about reaching out to the lost and building up the found.
What is the church?
Mark 16:15
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
The great commission was given for each and every believer to follow. That commission being to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Many churches have gotten off base and are now preaching "religion" instead of the gospel. Religion preaches "the law of look the part". Far too many people are religious and try their best to look perfect on the outside and sometimes fool themselves even.
The gospel preaches "the law of grace" that means you are not perfect and it's ok because you are being perfected from the inside out! This is what pure religion is... allowing Christ to live in you and through your life.
So what purpose did Christ ask us to come together for?
Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
We are not supposed to come for the entertainment. We are supposed to come out of love for our brothers and sisters. One reason people have of not going to church is because they have only seen religion churches.
It's not our sins that people see because they know that they as well are sinners. It is the lack of love we sometimes show to them. No one wants to go to a church where you hear the preacher say “Love one another” and then you stab your brother in the back. Or when you say you care and never give the time of day to get to know the person.
Unless our religion churches begin to act on what they hear in the pure religion of the bible then they church will not grow except in numbers of religious people who point one finger at everyone while not even knowing that when they point they are pointing four fingers back at themselves.
But one thing we need is to be available for one another. The bible says a man that has friends must show himself to be friendly. It is the goodness of God that leads people to repentance. If you show some of that friendliness which is love to others then your going to see people get saved and your church grow with pure religion.
