Are You Religious?

As a church, we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled “Trial”. During this series, we have been looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in our Bibles that gives us a glimpse into a trial that occurred 2,000 years ago. This trial involved a case that was brought against humanity by the Apostle Paul on behalf of God.

So far, we have seen Paul provide timeless and true charges against those who leave God out and live as though He does not exist and those who try to live as though they can achieve moral excellence. This week, we will enter back into this section of this letter in our Bibles, called the Book of Romans, where we see Paul address another group of people as to whether or not they are guilty of having a problem when it comes to a relationship with God, beginning in Romans 2:17:

But if you bear the name "Jew " and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,

Paul begins this section of his letter to a first century church located in Rome by describing what we would call in our culture today a religious person. And it is in this description that we see Paul reveal several timeless characteristics that make up what we would call a religious person. First, we see that religious people tend to readily identify themselves as being religious. We see this today, don’t we? “I am a Buddhist or I am a Muslim, or I am a Baptist or I am a Methodist or I am catholic”. What religious people tend to do is identify themselves with their particular religious system and methodology of what they believe that they need to do to get right with God instead of identifying themselves as being in a relationship with God.

Second, we see that religious people often tend to base their well being or security when it comes to their relationship with God in their religious system or works. Paul reveals the reality that for the religious Jewish person, their security and well being was found in the Law. The Law is the first five books that we have in our Bibles today, which the Jewish people called the Law or Torah. And for the Jewish religious person, they boasted, they took pride in the belief that their well being and security was founded in following and keeping the Law. And in the same way today, religious people will often take pride and find security and well being from doing something for God. For the religious person, it is what we do for God that makes us right with God.

Third, we see that religious people often claim to have the ability and right to critically examine and judge the religious behavior of others. Have you ever met such a person? You know the religious person who comes alongside you and has a list of all that they believe one needs to do to be right with God. They will tell you that you need to be doing this and not doing that and will point out all the things that you should have on your list that you don’t have on your list. And then a group of religious people will get together and criticize one another about who has the better or right list. For the Jewish religious person, the list was the Law.

Fourth, we see Paul reveal for us the reality that religious people often are convinced that their religious system or list is the road map to God. By jumping through these hoops and by doing these works you can arrive at a destination or place where you are enlightened and right with God. And because of this confident self assuredness in this list, the religious person views themselves as having the right and responsibility to expose the foolishness and immaturity of those who do not follow their list or religious system. For the Jewish religious person, it was their right and responsibility to convince others, as they were convinced and so sure of themselves that keeping and doing what the Law required would make a person right with God. And in the same way today, religious people are convinced and compelled to keep and have others keep their list of activities and actions that result in us being right with God.

Have I just described you? Do you find yourself identifying more with religious system and methodology of how to get right with God than being in relationship with God? Do you base your well being or security when it comes to your relationship with God by what you do for God? Do you claim to have the ability and right to critically examine and judge the religious behavior of others based on the list that you keep? Are you convinced that your list of what you do for God is the road map that can help people become right with God? If, so you are a religious person.

Now you might be offended by that statement and you may be thinking to yourself, "Well are you saying that I have a problem with God because I am religious? I do all the things that I am supposed to; I go to church; I give; I serve; I do all these things so I can be right with God. So are you saying that I guilty of having a problem with God?"

As Paul continues in this section of this letter, we see him answer this question and reveal for us the timeless reality that we are guilty when live life as though we can achieve religious excellence. In Romans 2:21-3:8, we see the Apostle Paul, like an excellent prosecuting attorney, reveal three pieces of evidence to prove that we are guilty when we live life as though we can achieve religious excellence.

Tomorrow, we will look at the first piece of evidence that serves to prove we are guilty when we live as though we can achieve religious excellence.

In the meantime, do you consider yourself a religious person?