LESSON 8 IDOLS WE NEVER KNEW WE HAD— RELIGION Perhaps the most pristine-looking of idols—the most seemingly outwardly Godpleasing—is the idol of religion. Now, we’re going to have to make a clear distinction of terms here so that there’s no confusion. We’ll define religion as the belief of the world—and the belief of the human heart in its natural state—that human beings can make themselves right with God if they do the right things. We’ll define gospel as the essential opposite, the belief that human beings CANNOT make themselves right with God but that God descended to humanity in the form of Jesus and, through the gift of gracious love found in Jesus’ sacrifice, HE made human beings right with God. In religion, human beings go to God. In the gospel, God comes to human beings. Religion is about what I do. The gospel is about what Jesus did. Religion says that some are born, or eventually become, either good or bad. The gospel says we’re born bad, but Jesus is good, so our future is good. It’s a little difficult for Christians today to understand that, properly, Christianity should not be labeled as a “religion.” The world categorizes us as simply another belief system that possesses certain common spiritual themes and practices. But when Christianity first arose, it was recognized so clearly and uniquely as a nonreligion. The Christians had no temple, and they had no priests sacrificing no animals at this nonexistent temple. Jesus himself was the logical conclusion to each of those religious customs (see Colossians 2:16,17). This lack of formal custom was absolutely confounding to both the pagans and the super-religious Jewish moralists alike.
Luke 15:11-32 11Jesus said, “A certain man had two sons. 12The younger of them said to his
father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all that he had and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted his wealth with reckless living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in © 2016 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.
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