The Problem with Religion

“I believe in God, just not organized religion ... ”

“Religious people are just so hypocritical...”

“I'm happy that you've found sometihng that works for you, but religion just ins't my thing... ”

If these statements or others like them describe you, then I have some great news that may come as a shock to many: Jesus hates religion, too!

If you read any of the gospel accounts, you'll find that some of the harshest things Jesus ever said were to religious people. His words in Matthew 23 are especially scathing: 

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,‘The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

“‘Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

“‘Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

“‘What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.

“‘What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

“‘Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.

“‘What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

“‘What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.

“‘What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

“‘What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’

“‘But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

“‘Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city. As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.’”

~ Matthew 23:1-36 New Living Translation (NLT)

By human standard, these were the "righteous" people Jesus was talking to. They were extremely moral, holy, religious individuals—the priests, teachers, and political leaders of Jewish society. Yet Jesus was not impressed. He saw right through their smoke and mirrors, and saw that their hearts were far from God. They acted the part, true. But they were counting on their pious self-denial and adherence to religious law for salvation, instead of trusting in God. Jesus saw their hypocrisy for what it was and called them out on it. And as a result, they began plotting to kill him. (Matthew 12:14, 26:1-5) 

That's the problem with religion: It can't save anyone. 

As I said in my previous article: "Religion or Relationship: What Must I do to be Saved?" religion is a man-made attempt to regain our lost relationship with God. We bind ourselves up with rules and regulations, hoping that God will accept us; even though we ultimately end up trapped in a net of our own design, condemned by the laws we try to uphold. (Romans 4:14-15) 

This is not what God wants from us. 

God doesn't want religion; He wants to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us. He created us. We are precious to Him. Every single human being is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, hand-crafted by God Himself. (Ephesians 2:10) There will only be one you—ever. And God desperately wants you to know Him as well as He knows you. Not only that, He wants to call you His friend. 

Religion can't do that. You can’t become someone’s close friend if you spend every waking hour trying to patronize them. In fact, most people would probably start to avoid you if you did that!
Likewise, God doesn't want people to try to earn His favor, wasting their lives by thinking that if they're good enough He will somehow love them more. (Romans 2:11, Ephesians 2:8-9) 
That is why God sent Jesus to die for us; to restore the relationship that we destroyed, and to free us from the burden of empty religion. We don't need to earn God's favor—He was already willing to die for us. All we have to do is accept His forgiveness and the gift of life and mercy that He offers to us through Jesus Christ. (John 3:16-21)

We don't need religion—religion breeds self-righteousness and hypocrisy. What we do need is a relationship with Jesus—our mediator—the one who died once to save us all from sin and death, and now lives to restore our friendship with God. 

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”

~Romans 5:1-11New Living Translation (NLT)