Religion In The Bible
Would it surprise you know that religion and being religious is only mentioned seven (7) times in six (6) verses in the entire Bible? That’s right. God only provided us with these few verses concerning religion. Could that mean that God does not want us to be religious?
The verses of Acts 13:43, Acts 26:5, Galatians 1:13-14 and James 1:26-27 are the only verses that mention religion and being religious and are listed below.
Acts 13:43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
Acts 26:5 They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.
Galatians 1:13-14
13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14 And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
James 1:26-27
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Vain Religion Versus Religion That God Calls Pure And Undefiled
In James 1:26 we are told that if any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
However, in James 1:27 pure and undefiled religion before God is this, to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Religion That God Hates
In Matthew 23:14 Jesus Christ speaks of scribes and Pharisees that are hypocrites, that devour widows’ homes and for a pretense make long prayers. Christ tells these scribes and Pharisees that they will receive the greater damnation. In this verse, Christ is referring to the scribes and Pharisees that took money from widows in exchange for praying for the widow’s dead husband, thereby taking money that these widows needed in order to survive.
Matthew 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Paul Profited From Religion
Paul tells us in Acts 26:5 that he was a member of the Pharisees, which was the strictest sect of the Jewish religion. In Galatians 1:13-14 Paul tells us that he profited from religion above many of his equals in his Jewish nation and was exceedingly zealous of the religious traditions of the Jews. Paul also tells us that beyond measure he persecuted the Jews that believed Jesus Christ to be their Messiah.
Galatians 1:13-14
13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14 And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
Paul helped the religious establishment destroy any hope for the return of Christ and the establishment of His earthly Kingdom, when with his help the religious Jews rejected the gift of the Holy Spirit when Stephen was stoned to death. We are told in Acts 7:58 that those who stoned Stephen to death laid their coats down at the feet of Paul. We are told in Acts 8:1 that Paul was consenting to the death of Stephen.
Christian Religion Versus The Bible
The Roman Catholic Religion “profited” from the same religious practice that Jesus Christ rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for. The Roman Catholic Religion collected money from widows when they promised to pray for the widow’s dead husband to be released from purgatory. Additionally, the Roman Catholic Religion had their religious practice of charging their members for indulgences. Moneywise, these were very profitable religious practices.
Religion twists God’s word. Religion establishes man-made traditions. Religion by design separates us from God, by confusing us as to the truth of God’s word. In the Garden of Eden, Satan was able to separate Adam and Eve from God and the home that God had made for them by twisting God’s word. Satan wants the same for us. Satan wants to separate us from God and the home that God has made for us in heaven.
When Christ died on the cross and the veil was torn from top to bottom, it symbolized the beginning of a personal relationship with God. There would no longer be a need for mediators between God and man. The cross was the means to establish the relationship between God and man that had not been possible since the “fall of man” in the Garden of Eden.
However, religion has installed a “religious veil” that limits our vision and understanding of God’s true and faithful promises to us. Religion speaks constantly of sin and hardly ever mentions salvation. Religion hardly ever even mentions hell or Satan. Religion hides so much from those who desire the truth of God’s word.
God gave the Law of Moses to the Jews to give them knowledge of their sins. The Law was never intended to be used as a means of salvation for the Jews. God gave the gospel of the kingdom to the Jews to tell them of their future eternal earthly kingdom, where they could have an eternal relationship with Jesus their Lord, their Messiah, their High Priest and their King, if they believed their gospel.
God has given the gospel of the grace of God to the entire world. The gospel of the grace of God promises us an eternal heavenly abode with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when we believe the gospel. Those of us who are saved by our belief of the gospel of the grace of God have already been assured of our relationship with Christ, as we have become saved members of the “body of Christ.” Our promise of an eternity in heaven is assured upon our belief of the gospel.