IS YOUR RELIGION REALLY YOURS???

     A very good morning to each one who has honored us with your time
and invited us into your home today. I trust that you have your Bible
and pen and paper before you, that we might study together, "What
Sayeth the Scriptures?"
     I am confident that I am speaking to religious people this
morning. And that your religion is something that affects you: The way
you live, what you do, how you act on a daily basis. Also, that your
religion is based on certain principles. Such as: Faith in God, Love
for God, Hope of eternal life; conviction regarding the Bible, certain
moral standards, and many more related thoughts.
     But, I raise a question. Is your religion really yours? Is that
too presumptuous to ask?  In other words: Upon whose faith does your
(or my) religion really depend?  When we view the religious world
about us, this question is truly in order. How about each of us? Let
us examine ourselves.
     I am persuaded that many people's religion is purely
organizational. By this I mean that they act and believe as the
church they are associated with would have to act and to believe. If
they don't drink, it's because their church doesn't allow drinking. If
they do not dance, it is because their church doesn't allow dancing.
If they don't, and we could go on and on just here. Whatever moral
standards they hold, it is not because they themselves have thought it
out; but rather, it is because their church holds those types of
convictions.
     The same is true of their doctrinal beliefs. It is whatever the
church teaches and practices. If the church believes this, then they
believe it; if the church practices that, then they practice it. If
their church baptized infants, then they hold to this practice.  They
never question why certain things are done or not done. They simply
say, "Surely the church knows" and they simply leave it at that. If
they are shown something different, they say, "It's my church that
believe this and if the church changes, then I'll change"  There is no
real personal conviction on their part. This is purely organizational
thinking and not individual thinking of conviction. This person has
never spent much time in the Bible and really doesn't have time to be
bothered with the Bible.
     Jesus said, "If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the
pit" (Matthew 15:14). Christ is saying that one who follows has the
same responsibility as the one who leads.
     This is seen when we witness people changing churches and just
adopting the standards of the group to which they have affiliated
with. If the church's standards are loose, then theirs are loose; if
strict, then theirs are strict. Some churches are purely
organizational in their efforts to convert people. Their efforts are
to convert people to their church and not necessarily to the Lord.
There are those who go about knocking on doors seeking to convert
people to their beliefs and their doctrine for the furtherance of
their Society.  This is not to say that it is wrong to knock doors.
But, we are talking about motives; Why do you knock doors?  To meet a
quota or to study and learn the truth of God's word, or simply to
parrot some particular theory.
     In the New Testament times, people were not converted to a
particular doctrine or practice of an organization, but to the Lord.
This required a personal faith in Christ. In John 20:30-31, we read,
"Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the
disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written
that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that
believing ye may have life in his name." In Romans 1:16, we find, "For
I am not ashamed of the gospel; for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek."  It required a personal acceptance of Christ's atonement
for sin. "But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8).
     How often do you hear those who knock doors seek to discuss what
one must do to become the child of God?  What one must do in their
worship and service of our King, Jesus Christ??  Usually they are
concerned with hypothetical arguments and endless explanations of
difficult passages, rather that the simple plan of salvation.
     We all need to be reminded that when we worship Jehovah that we
are present because of what the church wants us to do. That type of
worship will never be acceptable to God, because it is not done out of
Love; nor the willingness to obey the Word of God. If I attend worship
only because this is what the church expects of me, I may as well stay
at home. Our motive to worship God must go a lot deeper than that.
This is not to say that worship is not important, for it surely is.
Jehovah God has always demanded our homage, or worship; even public
worship. But, what we are saying is that we need to look deep into our
heart and be sure that we are present with the desire to please Him,
and not present simply because it is the church's expectation.
     It seems that many times one's religion is founded on family
loyalty. All that they do and hold to in religious service toward God
is based solely on family loyalty. This is somewhat similar to
politics. Have you ever heard someone say, "Ever since the civil war
my family has been democrat, therefore I am democrat." Or, "My family
has always been republican, therefore I am republican." The same
principle effects people's religion. Have you ever heard, "Ever since
great, great, grandpappy joined the __________ church, my family's
always been ____________, and if it was good enough for them, it's
good enough for me." My friend, that may be all right in politics, but
it certainly is not safe in religion.
     I am reminded of the story about the newly wed young lady. She
decided to bake a ham. So, she cut off the shank and put it in the
oven to bake. Hew new husband asked her, "Why did you cut off the
shank?" The answer was, "mother always did that." When she asked her
mother why she cut off the shank, the answer was, "Your grandmother
always did that." When grandmother was asked why she cut off the
shank, the answer was, "My pan was not large enough to hold it until I
cut off the shank."
     How tragic it is that many are basing their eternal destiny upon
what others before them have believed, rather than making their faith
a matter of personal conviction. What others have done does not remove
my responsibility of determining my own convictions. One cannot go to
heaven upon the faith of someone else. This is not to say that we
should not respect the lives and actions of others, but that we, each
one, must look deeply into the word of God and determine what we
believe and practice with reference to Jesus Christ. Surely, mothers
and fathers have a responsibility to set examples for their children,
to teach them the word of God. But mother`s faith cannot become her
daughter's faith. Daughter must develop her own faith. And then move
to obey.
     So often today we hear that society makes a difference, and
religion must adjust to the society around us.  NOT SO!!! The majority
has never been the standard to serving God. Jesus said that the
majority was on the path that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).
Society has never been the criterion for deciding morals. It is the
Word of God and it alone that determines what is right or what is
wrong.
     The fact that "everybody is doing it," does not make it right. If
the whole world decides to reject the teachings of God's Word, it
still stands as the standard of righteousness and by it we shall all
be judged.
     I began this morning with the question: "Is your religion really
yours?" And, I ask it again: "Is your religion really yours?" Do you
do what you do in religion because of a deep conviction in your heart
that it is founded upon a "thus sayeth the Lord?"  Regardless of what
mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, may have or may
not have done??? It will take a personal faith in Christ Jesus. A
faith that leads you to ask what must I do to be saved. The answer it
"Repent and be baptized everyone of you for the remission of your
sins" (Acts 2:38). And if the whole world refuses to obey that
command, it is still the requirement of Heaven.

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