Religious Interference

 

    People really get upset when you mess with their religion.  It is almost as bad as politics, unless politics is their religion.  It has always been that way.  That is why people wanted to get rid of Jesus so bad.  He turned religion upside down.  He destroyed the structure that made since to the people.  He turned the religious order upside down.

    Jesus changed things by giving a message of life.  Life is worth living, not just always holding back.  Life is more than right now.  It is eternal.  Jesus provided a new concept on love and forgiveness to free your life from heavy burdens.  This has always been counter-cultural. 

    Jesus taught people about prayer (true communication with God).  That was new because the people always had to go through priest until Jesus changed the structure.  He taught the people how to live our  faith through trusting God in every situation.  Jesus used miracles to get his point across and to show people love.  

    Jesus' way is more than a concept or mystery.  It is something that can actually happen.  His actions put fear in the heart of the religious because it proves that a religious heart is dead.  It takes faith for a heart to truly live.  

    The religious type did not want to change.  Their lives were the way they wanted them.  They liked the structure and the power it gave them.  They didn't think about how their way oppressed the people.  Jesus came to free people, not burden them more.  Life is hard enough.  We all need hope and that is what Jesus is still giving us today.

    Jesus put fear in the hearts of the religious because they had to face the truth that religion does not save, only faith.  That meant they were losing control of the people.  That meant that to really face the truth that they were losing control over all they had ever known for their own lives.  They had to face what it was to be morally free.

    Jesus was disruptive to the religious world and that society.  He put pressure on the world by teaching us what it is to follow Him.  The choice is a high pressure choice because you have to walk away from religion and live solely by faith.  That means stepping out of the norm which will not make you popular, even among some "Christians".  

    Jesus was so committed to his purpose on earth that he even died for us.  He died to stop the control over human nature.  That is part of the decision of following him.  He rose again as part of designed plan, but it shows us that we will rise again if we follow him now without fear or regret.  

    When Jesus becomes the center of our world, we interfere with the religious world too.  Our bodies will die, but our souls will rise.  That is why we can live burden free.  We get saved, then baptized, then then our lives transfigure to be like Jesus.  Salvation through faith is the only way to Heaven.

    We were not meant to be like anyone else, only Him and ourselves at the same time.  God made us the way we are for a reason.  We need to embrace who we are and how that can be used to be like Jesus at the same time.  Do you know who you are in Jesus?  Are you prepared to do anything to defend your faith?  When you know the answer, then you are ready to step out of religion into the powerful world of faith.

    The more you become like Jesus, the more unacceptable you become to the world.  You will be called all sorts of insults.  You will be made fun of and called narrow minded.  You will be called weird or different.  That is good.  Don't let it put doubt in your mind.  Instead embrace it.  Be proud because you are honoring Jesus.

    Jesus died for sinners.  He died because he loves all of us.  His death and resurrection is the reason we can disrupt the religious world.  It makes us righteous and alive.  His sacrifice is the only way to salvation.  You have to go through his blood to be reborn spiritually.  Like your natural birth, it is not easy, but it is only the beginning.  The growing pains will disappear over time and you will be stronger for it.

    You are not Jesus.  You can't do what he did.  No one can.  Honestly, no one probably would even try.  Why would anyone naturally go against everything that is about self-preservation to die for strangers.  He died for those that hated him.  He died for people not even born and knowing that they will sin and ignore his sacrifice.  

    However, our faith does make us righteous.  It makes us better by motivating us to be more like him.  We become sacrificial.  It just doesn't come naturally in the beginning.  Our lives bring out the weaknesses in religion.  It exposes the self-righteous.  This can make you unpopular, but would you rather be popular or righteous?

Acts 4:8-12, Romans 5:6-11, & 1 Corinthians 1:18-31