Then maybe we could start over, and then one by one implement just those elements of religion that can deepen and enhance our relationship with God.
A Christ-religion is concerned with the past. A Christ-relationship is concerned with the future. Col. 2:17 When Paul uses the term “shadows,” he is speaking specifically of rules and traditions regarding holy days and diets. He is speaking... of things that had meaning in the past. But the shadow is no longer important because the Colossians now had the real thing. “And Christ Himself is that reality.” Paul speaks of something in the future, “the reality yet to come,” yet Christ had already come. He had already died for their sins. He had already rose from the dead. Christ had come and had already done everything necessary for the Colossians, and us, to enter into a relationship with Him.
Paul is saying that in a relationship with Christ, there is always a freshness. But when we only have a Christ-religion, things get stale and old.
When we are in a relationship with a spiritual God, we are going to have spiritual experiences. Things are going to happen to us that we can explain in no other terms than God. If we are only involved in a religion-- even a Christ-religion, we’ll have nothing to share-- except something that happened to us way back there during the days of the “shadows.”
When our focus is on the past, on what God did for us a long time ago, on what we’ve learned, rather than on what we can learn or have learned recently, then religion has invaded our lives. If you think you have all you need to know you’ve definitely got religion.
When we want to continue to use forms and methods that no longer have meaning, and are no longer effective in our culture we’re not promoting a relationship with Christ, we are promoting something that will get absolutely no one to heaven...a religion.
There’s a song that goes like this. “Gimme that old time religion, gimme that old time religion. Gimme that old time religion. It’s good enough for me.” If by “old time religion” you are speaking of proclaiming the ageless gospel message that brings people to Christ, then that’s great. That is good enough. But if you are speaking of something that is merely a shadow, something to keep just because that’s the way we’ve always done it, then please don’t pass it on. It’s not good enough for me. And it shouldn’t be good enough for you either.
When we get caught up in religion, then everything must stay the same even though the world and the culture and the times change around us. But if you’ve been in a relationship-- then you know, change is the order of the day. And it is adapting to those changes that keep the relationship fresh and vibrant. That also applies to our relationship with Christ.
It’s our tie in to man-made things that bring the most trouble for the church. It’s the man-made isles that divide most churches and keep churches from accomplishing their mission. Not important doctrinal issues, or issues of ministry. It’s the buildings, the order of service in worship, the music, various programs in the church, HOW PEOPLE SHOULD DRESS IN CHURCH, the length of a worship service, the topics the preacher preaches on, the use of technology in worship, the announcements, those are the things that get us all hot and bothered. We should be hot and bothered about those folks who get hot and bothered by these issues, man made issues that have nothing to do with eternity,and prevent us from accomplishing our mission.
It has to be, it must be a relationship. It must be all about Jesus. And I can assure you that anytime there are problems in the church that cause disunity, and stifle the church, it is because we’ve got involved in religion-- rather than on our relationship with Jesus Christ. For us to do all the church is suppose to do-- it must be all about Jesus.
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