The Danger of Being Religious

From they beginning, religion has been dangerous. Long before the Japanese nerve-gas cult Aum Shinrikyo, people of faith have been killing one another in the name of God. Long before Waco and Jonestown, spiritual fervor has created a battleground where some have been saved and others have been lost.

The danger of being religious can be seen as early as Adam and Eve’s fatal mistake which occurred in an attempt to be more like God. Their error was not that they stopped believing in God, but that they began believing in a way that had been forbidden. Our worst errors are always religious ones. Their first son, Cain, also tried to trust God on his own terms. God rejected his bloodless sacrifice but honored the sacrificial lamb offered up by his brother, Abel. Burning with anger, Cain became so jealous that he killed Abel and ruined his own life in the process.

The people of Israel also got in trouble for trying to serve and worship God on their own terms. On the threshold of the Promised Land, some Jewish men accepted an invitation from the local women to be guests at a pagan religious event. Within hours, thousands of Jewish people had died (Numbers 25). Danger follows those who trust God on their own terms.

Saul, the first king of Israel, was no different. He lost his kingdom by making religious mistakes. When Samuel the priest didn’t show up in time to offer a pre-battle sacrifice, Saul thought it was necessary to offer the sacrifice himself. He was wrong (1 Samuel 13:8-14; see also chapter 15).

Even David got in trouble for being religious. After being confirmed as King of Israel, he called for the sacred chest that contained the Ten Commandments of God. With enthusiasm, he led all Israel in a procession to bring the holy object to Jerusalem. Yet, when the oxen carrying the ark of the covenant stumbled, and when a priest named Uzzah put out his hand to make sure that the ark did not fall, God struck the priest dead. David reacted with fear and anger. How could he live with such a God? Only after re-reading the Law of god did David realize he had done the right thing in the wrong way (1 Chronicles 13; 15:12-15).

Why does God make an issue of what we believe and how we serve and worship Him? Because He is looking for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24), not ritualistically and ignorantly. God wants to be worshiped from a heart that is responding to the truth about His love and grace.

It may sound complex, but it really isn’t. All God really wants is for us to know and love His Son. Good religion will follow (James 1:26-27).
We’ll talk about the real difference tomorrow.