7 ways religion can mess you up

[Kathi]

What do you think about this article?
http://www.christianpost.com/news/7-ways-religion-can-mess-you-up-120698/

 

[His_nee (Jeff)]

...well, this summary(*) at the end of the article is true (subject to verification/testing).((like what he means by "experience spirituality" instead of "experience true life(new life in Christ Jesus)" (and what he means by "satisfy your soul" --- so many ways that could go) )

i.e. is he proposing a better religion, just closer to the truth, or real true resurrection life having died and risen again with Christ Jesus ?

(*) summary at end >
"In God's design, there is truth and there is one path to heaven. Jesus came to earth in order to rescue us from sin, death, and hell. It's true. Religion cannot save your soul, but Jesus can, and He will as you trust Him and accept His free gift of eternal life in heaven.
The religion train has many passengers. But you don't have to go along for the ride on that disastrous journey. Instead, you can go with Jesus today. You can trust Him to meet all the needs of your soul, both in this life, and in the life to come. As someone in our church mentioned the other day, Christians have "life after life." And it begins the moment you accept Jesus as your Savior.
So will you opt for religion, or for a relationship with Jesus instead? There is no need to get messed up by religion, especially since the arms of Jesus are inviting you to a life that will actually satisfy your soul and please your Creator.
Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10) So if religion is all you have ever known, isn't it time you meet Jesus and experience spirituality as God designed it?"

 

[Kathi]

Rather than focus on a relgion why don't we focus on a relationship with Christ?

 

[His_nee (Jeff)]

Rather than focus on a relgion why don't we focus on a relationship with Christ?

the focus of the title of the thread and the question in the op is on religion, specifically how it can mess someone up.

neither one mentions a relationship with Christ.

 

[Kathi]

the focus of the title of the thread and the question in the op is on religion, specifically how it can mess someone up.

neither one mentions a relationship with Christ.

The article does mention a relationship with Christ.

 

[His_nee (Jeff)]

The article does mention a relationship with Christ.

But it lacks the stress Yeshua put on the cost of a relationship with Himself ---- the need to count the cost, and what it costs>>>
Matthew 19 - IVP New Testament Commentaries
About this commentary:
IVP New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity Press.
Resources » Commentaries » Matthew » Chapter 19 » exegesis
View Matthew 19:16-22
The Cost of Discipleship
If the kingdom belongs to children (19:13-15)-those who receive the kingdom as humble dependents (18:1-6)-then someone accustomed to being powerful and supporting dependents might find it difficult to enter the kingdom (compare 5:20; 7:14; 18:8; 25:46). This is the illustration with which 19:16-24 confronts us: wealth and status make perfect surrender to God's will more difficult, because we think we have more to lose.

Many examples of faith in the Bible are acts of desperation; few are the acts of self-satisfied individuals. Ultimately one who would receive the kingdom must not only obey like a trusting child but also relinquish worldly possessions and cares, acknowledging the absolute authority of our King.

Those Who Want Eternal Life Must Obey God's Commands (19:16-20)

The good thing the man must do is show his fidelity toward God's covenant by obeying his laws. These laws were part of first-century Jewish culture, and the young man is convinced that he has kept them, as many of us have avoided breaking the laws of our society (compare Odeberg 1964:60). But if he is really ready to submit to the yoke of God's kingdom, he must also become a follower of Jesus and submit to Jesus' demands. That he is unwilling to spare all his goods to help the poor will soon bring into question whether he really loves his neighbor as himself (vv. 19-22).

Jesus Summons Disciples to Absolute Commitment (19:21-22)

The commandments listed in verses 18-19 are humanward, summarized in the decree Love your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18); by adding these words from 22:39, Matthew underlines this point. Yet if God alone is good (19:17), the man is lacking in some way (he himself admits it in v. 20, allowing Jesus to echo in 19:21 the call in 5:48 to "perfect obedience"). Now the man's allegiance to the Godward love commandment (22:37-38) is tested: does he serve God or money (6:24)? Loss of our wealth or fear of how our needs will be met can test us in this way (6:19-34); the needs of the poor can test us in the same way, as here. Love for God demands a true love for neighbors that not only avoids harming them but actively serves them. The young man wants a teacher (19:16); he does not want a Lord who demands sacrifice (20:20-28).

By "going" (19:21; also 8:4; 20:4; compare 10:6; 28:19) and abandoning all else (compare especially 13:44), the man could have "followed" Jesus, that is, become his disciple (compare 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 16:24). The kingdom demands more than merely keeping many commandments; if we recognize Christ as our King, we must surrender to him everything we have and are (compare L. Johnson 1981:17). Whether he then allows us to use some of what he has given us is his choice. Disciples do not always lose all possessions upon conversion-but they lose all ownership of them, for they themselves belong to a new ruler.

Jesus generally called his own chief disciples (Mt 4:19, 21). Yet on some occasions prospective disciples did approach him (8:19); as here, Jesus sometimes thrust them aside-probably, like some other ancient teachers, to test the would-be student's real willingness to become a learner (as in Diog. Laert. 6.2.21, 36; 7.1.22; compare Sipre Num. 115.5.7). When Jesus turned away prospective disciples with heavy demands, he probably intended the same as some other teachers did: disciples must count the cost, repudiate their prior assets and recognize the incomparable value of his teaching.

Persistent seekers throughout the Gospels display the appropriate response: the Canaanite woman (Mt 15:25-28), the blind men (20:31-34), the Gentile centurion (8:7-13) and Jesus' own mother (Jn 2:3-9). Jesus' sorrow over the unwilling disciple (Mk 10:23-25) indicates that he hoped not to turn inquirers away but rather to make them genuine disciples, which they could become only if they counted the cost and chose the narrow way of following him.

When we tell prospective disciples today, "Just ask Jesus to forgive your sins and you can go to heaven," we are not telling the whole truth of the gospel. Jesus is available for the asking, but accepting Jesus means accepting the reign of God and God's right to determine what we do with our lives. When we invite our Lord to free us from sin, we are inviting him to rule our life; and while we may yet fall short in submission to his will, we must actively acknowledge his right to determine our lives, acting on the knowledge that he has begun to transform us by his Spirit. If we accept Jesus' terms of unconditional surrender to him, however, he promises an unlimited supply of what truly matters (Mt 19:23-30).

The wealthy would-be disciple was not the only person whose attachment to possessions proved a challenge to his commitment to Christ. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer, martyred by the Nazis, pointed out, the difference between us and the rich man in the story is that Jesus stood before him and did not allow him to reinterpret the Master's words in a more convenient manner. Bonhoeffer claims that the man's honesty in rejecting Jesus' command was better than disobedience that pretends to be obedience today (1963:88). He compares a boy told by his father to go to bed; the boy has studied theology, however, so he is now intelligent enough to reason, "Father tells me to go to bed, but he really means that I am tired, and he does not want me to be tired. I can overcome my tiredness just as well if I go out and play." But a child offering such arguments to his father would likely meet with language or an experience he would have to interpret more literally, as would a citizen with her government-or a disciple who reasons away God's demands (Bonhoeffer 1963:90).

 

[childeye]

The author of the article understandably has an aversion to the term religion. No distinction is made between religion and one true religion. Moreover, the term religion or being religious may not be worthy to be equated with being possessed by the Eternal Spirit of Love.

 

[DRS81]

Rather than focus on a relgion why don't we focus on a relationship with Christ?

Bingo.

 

[His_nee (Jeff)]

well, the main way a religion can mees someones up is to prevent them from finding the kingdom of God when they are seeking Him.

i.e. instead of a relationship with Christ Jesus the Savior, a false sense of 'being saved' is put in place for the benefit of that particular religion. it may be very hard to escape that.

 

[reba]

Isa_55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Eze_34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

Joh_10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

 

[His_nee (Jeff)]

a triple in one sentence is rare in Scripture. here's one great promise >>>

Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified Bible)

biblegateway.com
Hebrews 13:5
Amplified Bible (AMP)

5 Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said,

I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]