{What Do I Know of Holy}: Jesus Came to Abolish Religion

Thank you for joining us for the final post in our I HATE RELIGION series. Go here to read the previous posts in the series.

Have you ever been to a church service and felt like you were simply going through the motions?

Maybe you felt out of place. Maybe it was simply a bunch of rituals done over and over again. Maybe you sang the words without really knowing what you were singing. Maybe you repeated the prayers from memory but made no connection to the pleas coming from your lips.

Whatever the case, you were going through the motions of religion - a meaningless experience associated with an institutionalized system of worship.

I think it's pretty safe to say that we have probably all been there at one point in our lives. Can I get an amen?

But did you know...

Jesus came to abolish religion.

Say what?!

On the contrary, Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with each one of us. He is not interested in our half-hearted rituals.

You see...

Religion never gets to the core; it's just behavior modification like a long list of chores.

Yes, God could have created us like little robots - always doing what He wanted us to do, the same thing over and over again, with no minds of our own.

Can you imagine having kids that were that way?

On the one hand, I would love for Little A and Little E to do exactly what they are supposed to do at all times without me having to ask...or repeat myself 4000x! But really, what fun would that be? And would I really want them to love me with a robotic love - forced, automatic, insincere.

Absolutely not. I will trade a little chaos every now and then to hear my boys whisper with sincere hearts, "I love you Mommy." Not because someone told them they had to, but because they truly do.

Love is simply not love...without a choice.

But God knew that we would never be good enough on our own. Our sin could never coexist with His holiness.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. {Romans 5:6-8}

Wow. While we were still sinners.

Quit trying to "get it all together," my friend. Come to Jesus and He will purify you. He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He will make you new.

Religion is Man searching for God. Christianity is God searching for Man. Which is why salvation is freely yours and forgiveness is your own, not based on your merits but Jesus' alone.

What are you waiting for?

Feel free to email me at worthyoftheprize.erin@yahoo.com if you want to discuss further what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Before you go, be sure to watch this incredible video one more time and share it with your friends. 

Hope to see you next week as we begin our new summer series!

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.