I have been reading an excellent series of articles from www.gospelcom.net which speak quite eloquently about the dangers of being religious. In a nutshell, the religious can be spotted by the following characteristics: comments, mine.

1. They settle for looking good.

Ritually clean on the surface does not change the heart of the problem. "Prayers, communions, confirmations, baptisms, volunteering for "church causes," campaigning against evil, worship forms from fundamentalist to charismatic, committees, tithing, pontificating on scripture and the scholars, having a "ministry," etc. may "look good" and make one appear to be righteous, but it won't fool God. He looks at the heart, speaks to the heart and judges the heart. Only Christ in us makes us righteous.

2. They make much out of little.

Religion gets lost in details, majoring on minor issues and making them major issues of salvation. Religion loses its grip on the foundation of the Christian faith, which is Jesus Christ: His nature, His life, His death and His resurrection! Religion creates many doctrines based on speculation and assumption and places them above the foundation, spewing condemnation towards anyone who does not agree with the doctrine created. The doctrine of religion becomes the basis for salvation rather than Christ. In attending to details of the doctrines of religion, man forgets to LOVE. According to Matthew 22:37-40, that constitutes missing the whole point of the law of God! Holding to the doctrines of religion thus BECOMES a salvation issue: that of a salvation MISSED to the one holding to doctrine of religion as opposed to Christ!

"The trouble with religious detail is that it feels like it's working when it isn't."

3. They love the approval of others.

Face it, it FEELS good to be spoken well of by men: to be recognized as a good and godly person. The title of priest or pastor, or elder, or deacon sounds a whole lot better than whore or thief. But Jesus says that unless there is a change in the HEART of man, the "priest/pastor, the godly man, the church pillar" will inherit the same hell as the godless. Knowing all the "rules" of the game makes us look very good in the eyes of men and they stand to attention at our "keen knowledge" of the scripture. Submitting to Christ, however, is the only way we can have God's favor. Are we going to "play to the grandstands, or to God?" Better to have folks mocking, judging your every word and deed and accusing you here on earth than to hear, "Go away, I never knew you" from the Almighty.

4. They practice coverup rather than disclosure.

"Religion has to cover up, since it is powerless to restrain the flesh. Religious beliefs, ritual and association often give people a way of denying their shame, guilt and need of a savior. . .a front and cover for their unresolved problems." The Lord said the other day ("Halloween Day," in fact), that the most frightening mask one can wear is the mask of religion, the mask of deceit, that "looks Christian" but hides the God-hater that truly exists behind it.

5. They deceive themselves.

A religious parent who resents that his child truly wants to follow Christ needs to do some serious soul searching. The same applies to spouses, friends and even "brothers and sisters" in the church! Jesus said that the religionists of His day prided themselves in honoring and building memorials to the prophets. The irony is that when they met a real one, they wanted to kill Him. Barclay says, "The only prophets they admired were dead prophets: when they met a living one they tried to kill Him. They honored the dead prophets with tombs and memorials, but they dishonored the living ones with persecution and death." This same scenario is played out daily even now world wide. Just let a true believer in Christ say so, and see how quickly religion sees RED! Paul hated it before Damascus Road. Then religionists hated PAUL AFTER Damascus Road. Face it, when one confesses Christ, that means he emanates Christ from within his being. That divine outraying of God's glory from within the heart of a believer reflects an intimate relationship akin to a MARRIAGE between that believer and Jesus Christ. That provokes jealousy and hatred. It makes religion look bad. Religion hates it and loudly denounces it. However, to hate Christ in a believer, and the manner in which He reveals Himself through that believer, is to hate Christ. Plain and simple. The soul of the believer is saved, while the soul of the religionist is in danger of hell.

6. They take away the key of knowledge.

"You did not enter in yourselves (to the fullness of the blessings of the Kingdom of God) and those who were entering in, you hindered." Religion cannot enter in to Christ. It is too busy trying to prove itself to be right. And. because of the obstacles it has built to prevent entry into Christ, religion in turn hinders others from entering.

The one thing religion hates is that God can have a personal relationship with a believer and actually speak to him personally, giving guidance, comfort and orders for carrying out His kingdom. Religion hates the NOWness of the Lord and His kingdom! Religion must relegate Him to the past (a memorial to worship) or put Him off to the future (some great event that never seems to get here). But HEAVEN FORBID that He be the I AM!!!!!!!!!!!! Therefore Christ is put on a pedestal or a high shelf to be admired, but NEVER known.

So, in not KNOWING Him, religion takes away the key of knowledge, thus shutting away the Truth that sets men free. The Lord said to me in 1980 REPEATEDLY. Over HALF of my people perish for lack of knowledge. Not scholarly knowledge but YADA...Intimate knowledge of ME. Conjugal knowledge of the LAMB. GO AND TELL MY PEOPLE THIS.

These are times of great peril, where the very motives and attitudes of our hearts are in the huge spotlight of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is STILL brooding over the "waters" seeking whom He may find. Christ comes now (not later in some ethereal eon to be) to His own who love His appearing. He finds Faith in His own, NOW, and says, " Finally I have found a place to lay My head. I am at rest in you, for I am pleased with you." Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Love you all ......Becky