The other day, I saw a sign in someone’s front lawn which said, “Stand up for religion.” This got me thinking about the world in which we live: with all of the different religious groups practicing various forms of what they call “worship,” is there a difference between religion and righteousness (i.e., doing what is right) OR can you practice the religion of your choice and still practice righteousness? To answer this question, I’d like to direct our attention to four different passages.
The first of these passages is Colossians 2:23 which says “These things have the appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.” What is Paul talking about here? Isn’t he talking about those who don’t hold fast to the Head for the edification of the Body (2:19), but those who only concern themselves with the commandments and doctrines of men (2:22)? And, isn’t this the most common kind of religion we see in the world today?
In our second passage, we see what Jesus has to say about this type of religion. In Matthew 15:8-9, Jesus says, “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And, in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Jesus makes it very clear and to point where it is beyond debate that this type of self-willed religion, where people “worship” according to their own thoughts and desires, is not real worship. Thus, neither is it righteousness because it is NOT what is right!
This type of religion, in all actuality, is the same type of “worship” that we see in our third passage. In Mark 15:17-20, we read this: “And they clothed Him with a purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Then, they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat upon Him; and bowing the knee, they worshipped Him. And, when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.” These soldiers had no interest whatsoever in actually worshipping the King of kings. And, so many people today are just like these soldiers, mock-worshipping God.
This type of religion is not what God wants. Instead, He wants what we find in our fourth passage. In John 4:23-24, Jesus says, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” THIS is righteous worship as God has requested us to do. And, unfortunately, this is NOT the type of worship most people offer up to the Lord.
May we always strive to focus more on righteousness than on religion, on what is right rather than what is popular. And, may we always worship God with all our heart, in spirit AND in truth!
By: Norbert Maudlin
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