A Complaint By People Against Religionists.

One of the biggest complaints people have against "Christians" is that they come across as flaking fakers and hypocritical bigots. One of the reasons for that is their relationship is based on a religious routine rather than in the Spirit of Christ. 

Most religionists talk like they have all the answers to life and maintain that the bible contains every solution to life's problems. One well known preacher's slogan was..."You don,t have any problems all you need is Jesus." But the fact is, they often prove by their actions that they're often just as screwed up or more screwed up, frustrated, confused and have the just as many of the same problems as the rest of humanity. To make matters worse, rather than simply pointing to Christ as the answer to what ails them, they point them to their ministry and their church to hear the gospel... Ah, "church"...the building where religion manifests all its wisdom, emotion, beauty and charm and where seminarians  preach a denominated gospel rather than the gospel of Christ...no wonder it never seems to work beyond the Sunday-programmed-event-driven-meeting. Isn't it sad that this is actually what religionists have come to believe "sharing the Gospel" is all about; inviting people to a denominated church to hear the denominated preacher preach a denominated sermon so the invitee can become as denominated as they themselves are.

Sunday-go-meeting people need to realize that in the denominated building they call church...that is not the church...careful attention is given to the denominational beliefs, rituals and practices and denominational needs of the denominated group. Everything is structured to provoke a certain denominated emotional or denominational response. They think that if the music compliments the atmosphere, the three point sermon is perfectly laid out, and the lights appropriately dimmed to set the mood while the plea for the sinner to come to the alter for salvation, it will make it easier for the poor sinner to come to Jesus.

There is no dependence on the Holy Spirit...His work really isn't necessary (though you will, of course, never hear anyone admit that. It's the skillfully presented program that does the work, or so they think... Now think about how many times we have ever invited a friend to church only to find that nothing went as was hoped? Have you ever, after the service apologized by saying, "It's not usually like this..."? Why would we say something like that? Would it be because our hope was in the religious program rather than the Spirit of God to begin with? So much hope is put in the hopeless program of religion....a dead thing that needs converts to keep its religious wheels turning.

Religionists need to understand that the Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't a business that needs a marketing campaign to win converts. The gospel isn't there so you can "get religiously busy" and try to make God and your religious denomination pleased with you. God is pleased when you are simply who He made you to be and when you share Him genuinely from your own heart and experience.

When all that religious pressure comes off and we realize that we are totally free in Jesus, then we can begin to just live freely and trust Him. We don't need to manipulate people by fear-mongering them with the threat of hell fire! The people of God are not some cult that tries to suck converts into, to load up a crew for the secret rapture spaceship coming to whisk us away. The gospel is Christ in us doing His work through us! Imperfect people with real problems, but God still loves and understands us and is not threatened by our imperfections. We don't have to be religious to have God effectively reveal Himself to us or through us to others. 

Besides the point of the Gospel is that our righteousness are as filthy rags, that is why Jesus clothes us with His righteousness and perfection. You can be a religious slave all day, every day, to try to be a more religiously devout person, but it won't make you any more accepted or effective for God than if you just engage in a relationship with Him based on love, sincerity and honesty. In fact, giving your life to religion basically amounts to a form of idolatry because we should only give our lives to God Himself. 

Some people devote their lives to a religious denomination more than to God therefore, that is why they have trouble obeying God when He directs them to do things that don't fit their denominational belief system.