Why I Hate Religion: 10 Reasons to Break Free from the Bondage of Religious Tradition (4 page)

H
ow many times have you watched Christians turn their noses up at people whom they perceive to be sinners? A perfect example that I have witnessed is when a young man comes to church wearing an oversize football jersey with baggy jeans large enough to fit two people. He’s wearing a scarf under a backward-turned baseball cap. Tattoos are visible on his arms, diamond earrings sparkle in both ears, and platinum chains hang around his neck. The first reaction from Christians is shock that anyone dressed like that would dare show up in church. They are quick to call him a heathen and label him as a drug dealer or a gang member. In a lot of people’s minds, he is definitely on his way to hell.

The same attitude tends to apply to the young, pregnant single mother who shows up at church or the divorced man who comes to church with another woman. Even though these individuals haven’t said a word, many congregation members will pass judgment on them. This is a huge problem among Christians. Unfortunately, religion has taught many believers to judge others
without knowing their hearts. This attitude isn’t biblical or Godly, and it definitely doesn’t reflect the grace and love of God. No one wants to admit that they have a judgmental attitude, but the truth is that many do. People who are not saved, or new born-again Christians, can really become discouraged by Christians who forget about the grace and love that were extended to them by God. We must get rid of the judgmental, self-righteous attitudes that push people away from God. Instead, we must show mercy and compassion toward others by letting them know that God loves them and has empowered them to be overcomers in life.

Jesus warns Christians about the dangers of judging others, yet many of them wear their judgmental attitudes as a badge of honor, not knowing that they will receive the greater condemnation for their actions. Read what He said in Matthew 7:1–2:

Christians have gotten into the habit of judging their brothers and sisters in the Lord over everything from men wearing their
hair too long and women wearing makeup, to not speaking in tongues. These types of issues have caused rifts in the Body of Christ, which ultimately have led to the formation of the denominational churches that are in existence today. Not only that, but these issues cause believers to get into a type of legalism that actually keeps them in bondage instead of setting them free.

A law-based mind-set is focused on doing things through self-effort in order to gain God’s approval. As a result, the focus is taken off the finished works of Christ as the criteria for our acceptance by the Father and puts the focus on what people are doing or not doing to determine whether God loves and accepts them. This completely goes against the objective of Jesus coming to the earth and redeeming mankind.

In Galatians 5:1, the Apostle Paul warned against becoming entangled with legalism as New Testament believers when he said, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” He was talking about the liberty that comes through God’s grace being threatened by the legalism of Old Testament laws that some Christians were trying to implement in their lives and in the lives of others, even though they had been set free from the Law and the condemnation that came with it.

The Law (the rules and guidelines God set up for the people of Israel in the Old Testament) was established in order to make people aware of their sin and ultimately show them that they needed a Savior. In the Old Testament, the Israelites had to offer continual animal sacrifices to God in order to atone for their sins.
They worked to keep the Law as best they could, but the reality was that it could not be kept in its entirety. This was not because the Law was not good, but because the fallen nature of man prevented the people from being able to accomplish what they were trying to do through their own efforts. Their attempts to remain righteous through keeping the Law continually fell short, which was why sacrifices had to be offered on their behalf. This was where Jesus entered the picture.

God saw that man was not able to keep the Law, so He made a better way. He sent Jesus to become the ultimate blood sacrifice for mankind once and for all. As a result of what Jesus has done, we now have access to the free gift of righteousness through our faith in Him. This means that we are righteous not because of anything we do, but we are made righteous through the finished work of Christ that we receive by faith. We are now under the covenant of grace, which means that God has equipped us with the supernatural ability to overcome sin and every other attack of the enemy. We are no longer bound by condemnation or a sin-consciousness.

People who try to live by the Law will inevitably fall short of their goal, and will develop a self-righteous and judgmental attitude not only toward those outside the church but also toward other Christians. God doesn’t want division in the church. Yet religious attitudes have caused monumental strife and separation within the Body of Christ. The division can range from disputes between denominations to disagreements regarding doctrines
and everything in between. For example, I’ve seen Charismatics look down on people who don’t attend a Word of Faith church. They believe that if you don’t attend this type of church, you don’t know God the same way they do. Even when it comes to having understanding about certain aspects of the Word of God, Christians can become extremely judgmental toward those who may not be as spiritually developed or have obtained certain “revelations” from the Word. Unfortunately, people argue over petty issues that cause division. The Apostle Paul had to deal with the same issues that we face today.

In 1 Corinthians 3:1, he says, “However, Brethren, I could not talk to you as to spiritual [men], but as to nonspiritual [men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates], as to mere infants [in the new life] in Christ [unable to talk yet!]” (
AMP
). These believers operated in a fleshly, carnal mind-set that kept them trapped in an immature state where the things of God were concerned.

Paul goes on to say in verses 2–7:

These Christians were controlled by their sinful human nature. They were acting on the evil impulses of envy, jealousy, and strife, and saying, “I’m better than you because I go to Apollos’s church and you don’t.” That’s not spiritual, and this attitude does not line up with the Word. Paul called them ordinary, unchanged men because, with the strife and jealousy among them, they had not yet received the life-changing power of God.

When you compare doctrinal differences to demonstrate that you are more spiritual than someone else, and then judge others by your standard, you are only demonstrating your immaturity. Likewise, when your judgmental attitude causes division and strife, you show your lack of knowledge of the Word, and development in the love of God. This is a common “side effect” of being more consumed with religion than you are with your relationship with God, who is love.

A person who shuns judgmental attitudes and embraces living a life of love would know that God doesn’t prefer one person above another or hold someone higher than the next. God is not a respecter of persons (see Romans 2:11), and His grace has been made available to all people. Proverbs 24:23 says, “It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.” In 1 Corinthians 3:8, Paul says, “He who plants and he who waters are equal (one in aim, of the same importance and esteem)” (
AMP
). God is the one who causes increase to come.

Have you ever tried to compare one sin against another sin, making one seem less serious than the other? A person could say to himself,
Okay, so I smoke a little marijuana every now and then. At least I don’t do hardcore drugs like Jim does.
By giving different sins different degrees of wickedness, religion allows a person to feel good about the sin that he participates in, which makes it easier to condemn others who are perceived as committing worse sins. Religion judges people and ranks their sins based on an invisible scale.

Traditional Christians who assign degrees to sin determine who is accepted and who isn’t. For example, when a prostitute comes to the church seeking direction, the traditional church will do their best to crucify her. She will be ostracized and quickly pushed back into the world. The church looks at this woman’s sin as being at the top of the sin totem pole. After driving her off, they feel good about their own sins because they have told themselves that what they are doing is nowhere near as “bad” as this person’s sin. These same people can be causing sedition within the church.

For instance, having sex before marriage often goes under the radar while a young woman who becomes pregnant outside of marriage is shunned, avoided, and run out of the church. Men
who physically abuse their wives are excused because they have “anger issues,” however, child molesters should be burned at the stake. Sexual sins, such as adultery and homosexuality, are considered to be at the high end of the sin scale by most Christians, while smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, cursing, gossiping, and lying are considered minimal.

This phony scale has allowed those who adhere to it to become comfortable in their sin. You see, homosexuality and adultery are quantifiable sins: either you are gay or you’re not; either you are cheating on your spouse or you’re faithful. The other sins, such as smoking, drinking, and pornography, are considered smaller sins because they are seen as not hurting anyone and can be easily hidden. This has misled people into thinking they are getting away with something because no one knows about it. This is true only from man’s standpoint. God weighs the heart as well as the action. He knows the secret thoughts and sees all hidden sins.

Take adultery, for example. If a married man gets caught in the act of adultery, it’s a bad situation for him because it has come out in the open. But if he sits at his desk every day at work and fantasizes in his mind about being intimate with his secretary, he is just as wrong as if he committed the actual act. He thinks because he’s not hurting anyone, he hasn’t committed a sin. This is a religious idea that contradicts the Word.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:27–28, “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who so much as looks at a woman with evil desire for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (
AMP
). Imagining a
sexual encounter with anyone other than your spouse is just as much a sin as the physical act. Even though no one around you knows you are having lustful thoughts, God knows.

If this man is born again and has made Jesus the final authority over His life, this hidden sin will eat him. He’ll constantly battle guilt and condemnation. The sad thing is, he can’t tell anyone because it’s his dirty little secret. Unless he renews his mind and finds out that he has the blood-bought right to receive forgiveness for his sins, he’ll be trapped in a cycle of sin and condemnation. Not only are sexual fantasies of equal value to the actual act, but their effects are just as damaging. Though carnal-minded people have determined the severity of each sin, God does not categorize it. To Him, sin is sin.