"In the Name of Religion"

Maybe it's me...I find too many people who profess a relationship with God and Christ, using and doing things in the name of God which has to be a great disappointment to Him. In the days of Isaiah, God people were doing things they professed in the name of God, but God called their hand (Isa. 58:13-14). On the "holy day" of God, they sought their own pleasures in the name of God, speaking their own religious words and God found it abhorring! Today, we find too much of this among the church. Everyone claims to do things in the name of God when in reality, they are doing things in the name of religion. There is a huge difference.

I was speaking to a Christian mother. She was proud of her children (which I know any mother would be) who had grown up. As she went into detail about where they attend the assemblies, her son in particular, led singing, waited on the Lord's table, led prayers and read Scriptures. She was speaking how great it was to see him doing all these things. Over and over she stated how proud she was of her son. I would be too and I don't blame her. However, the revealing of how the lack of discernment and the knowing the name of God came to the forefront and the mother could not even see it nor her son. Her son walks in, she introduces me and I stood in disgust...he was wearing a shirt from "Hooters" with a revealing woman on the shirt. I never heard one more word that mother said to me. It struck me, "Here you are speaking of the things your son is doing and how proud you are yet doing the things she thinks are from God are nothing more than religion!" Sometimes we are more proud of our children and glory in them rather than see the God who called us into fellowship with His holy name and glory in Him!

God is holy and pure. He does not look upon evil and fellowship sin. Our relationship to Him should reflect His holiness in all our behavior (I Pet. 1:14-16). We were called into Christ, under His cleansing blood to free us from the power of sin. We were cleansed, made holy and blameless before Him. We need to walk in a manner that is worthy of that calling and take it seriously! Do you think our Lord takes His life seriously? We need to reflect on the wonderful blessing and seriousness of being set free. If the blood of Christ, His cleansing power have so little effect on us, we aren't doing things in the name of God. It has been watered down in the name of religion...exactly what the Pharisees were doing! The name of religion will never save anyone. We need discernment to know the difference between good and evil. It's the name of God and the name of His Son that saves. What name are you doing things in? Take a serious look and open your eyes to your practices and it might shock you!