"My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; which knew me from the beginning, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee." (Acts 26:4-50).

         To say that as a young man Saul/Paul was RELIGIOUS would be understating the case, and there is no need to establish this fact by quoting many verses of Scripture, for he stated it plainly, "after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee." But one day he experienced a direct encounter with the Lord, when "suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice (saying) I am Jesus..." (Acts 9:3-5). From that moment on his "religion" began to fade away, and an ON-GOING ENCOUNTER, A RELATIONSHIP filled his life. A purging out of the old, to embrace the new and living way.
         Well could Paul declare, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may WIN Christ, and BE FOUND IN HIM." (Phil. 3:7-9). How forcefully he repudiated his past "religious" attainments. His assessment of it all was "but dung" and something to be discarded, as he forfeited the earthly, to receive of the heavenly. He gave up a religion that trusted in human attainments, in the works of man, that he might enter into a relationship with the Divine. The Amplified reads, "The over-whelming preciousness, the surpassing worth and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, and progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly." Bless His name!
         The Pharisees did not have a supernatural system in which salvation was a work of God in/for man, but theirs was a natural system in which salvation was a work of man for God, as they sought by their works to have a religion that gave them a sense of self-satisfaction, trusting themselves to measure up to a standard which they formulated and approved.
         Paul had a new goal, a new focus before him, and cried out from the depths of his being, "That I may WIN CHRIST, and BE FOUND IN HIM." To win, from the Greek word "kerdaino" meaning: TO GAIN, with that sense of acquiring a true knowledge of Christ. Also, interesting to find that our English word GAIN comes from the Old High German word "weidanen" meaning: to pasture; and it literally means: a pasture without fences. How marvelous! For when God brings us into the fullness of our union with Christ, it is truly into a realm with no fences-- unlimited pasture. Or, we could change the metaphor for a moment, to find in Christ "waters to swim in." (Ezekiel 47:5). There is a going on, to enter into Christ, to plunge into the depth, into a union with Him where there are no barriers or limitations. And we are challenged by the words of the beautiful old hymn, written over a hundred years ago:

                                                        "The mercy of God is an ocean divine ,
                                                          A bottomless and fathomless flood;
                                                          Launch out in the deep, cut away the shoreline,
                                                          And be lost in the fullness of God."

         RELIGION does not lead one into this expansive realm in Christ, but rather fences you in with its many creeds and doctrines which all become an end in themselves. Our English word "religion" comes from the Latin "religion," and means: a taboo, a restraint, and bespeaks of a system exercised by the will of the carnal man, designed to supposedly gain favor with his God. The word dissects as RE--return, LIGARE--to bond. And bluntly spoken, it means-- a return to bondage, into a realm of "do this, don't do that."
         Paul writes, "'For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." (Romans 10:2-4).
         Submitting requires a special relationship that is not found when we go about seeking to establish our own self-righteousness. It is when we walk with Him, talk with Him, and have an intimate oneness with Him, that there develops a joyful surrender to Him, laying down our life, to receive His life. But in just "having religion" this in working cannot be. Thank God, He would lead us far out and away from the confines of man.
         There is a common expression these days, people say they are "going to bond" with their children, etc. as they share a special experience together while on a vacation, or even just a weekend centered on mutual enjoyment-- and there is a positive blessing in this betimes in human relationships. But when our "bonding" is a return to the religious rules and regulations of men, and we but have a bonding to a system, which then is substituted for a relationship with our Redeemer, it's a negative thing, and we need to be loosed from all such religious attachments. When our bonding has become bondage, then we have a matter that needs overcoming.
         It is significant that the Hebrew word for "HOLY" is "qodesh" and means: AN OBJECT SET APART, a devoted thing, for it was/is SEPARATED UNTO, devoted to God; but negatively it is called a taboo, for God's holiness, if touched by man, brought forth a FIRE FOR CLEANSING. This produced a dark fear in man, "DON'T TOUCH IT," and so, as a law this became a negative thing-- a don't religion. Whereas, just the opposite when Christ dwells within our heart by faith-- for HE expresses, LIVES OUT HIS LIFE-- and it becomes a positive manifestation, to His glory. His fire cleanses and then our relationship is enhanced and we desire to embrace Him more and more. Then judgment is not feared, but welcomed, for it corrects and brings us into His life.
         The Greek word for '"religion" is "threskeia," meaning: outward ceremonial observance. It traces back to the base of "throeo," which means: to wail. I have known some very religious people that could really wail, moan and groan; and others quite mistakenly thought them very spiritual because of their ability to wail, for they judged by the outward appearance of some ceremonial expression. And it is interesting to note that when the Spirit "helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: (then) the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Romans 8:26). There is a spirit dimension that goes beyond the wailing, into a realm that cannot be uttered. At best you can only cry out "Oh, God,'" as your spirit reaches out to embrace Him who is invisible. It's not the noise that counts, it is the Spirit's groaning, for HE knows our need, and He knows the mind of God concerning that need. In ways that reach far beyond our limitations, His unuttered groaning will bring us to the throne, and into the victory of our God.
         In their book "Theomatics," by Jerry Lucas and Del Washburn, they point out that the words "satan" and "'religion" both have the same theomatic value. And they state, "Religion is of Satan, but Christianity is a new life and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Christianity is not a religion. Praise God for this fact!" unquote.
         Perhaps it is a little strong to say that ALL religion is of Satan for that glorifies Satan too much, giving him credit that he does not deserve. But I dare say, an awful lot of religion gives too much emphasis to Satan, and his so-called power, almost making him omnipresent, though he is not. IF people would WORSHIP GOD as much as they talk about the devil, they might soon break out of their mode of religion, and come into a new dimension of LIFE. Yet even Christianity can become a religion just as soon as we infect it with self-effort and self-will, turning it into some form of enterprise which becomes self-serving for the interests of the flesh.
         In the side notes of The Companion Bible, by Bullinger, he points out that in Genesis 3, Satan is introduced to us in his special sphere-- denying the Word of God. He comments that Satan is the god of this world's religion, not of its crimes and immoralities. His sphere is the corruption of the truth rather than the degradation of the flesh. (This thought bears some real pondering by open hearts, as God quickens its truth to us).
         How man is enticed and seduced to bow down to the gods of this world-- to take any other way, but GOD'S WAY-- when we should be GOD'S WORSHIPER, to serve Him! Yet if we know Him not, how then can we serve Him? Hence Paul's desire to KNOW HIM in a deeply intimate and personal way.
         Revelation 22:3 reads, "His servants shall serve Him." And Paul uses the same word "latreuo" (serve) in Philippians 3:3, "Which worship God in the spirit." SERVE-- WORSHIP-- but not in rituals that appeal to the flesh-- it is IN THE SPIRIT.  Jesus taught this very plainly in conversation with the woman at the well. She said, "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus saith unto her, " Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:20-21,23-24).
         In commenting on this, Origin wrote: "He who would follow the Lord must lay aside all preference for particular places. He called God SPIRIT, that He might distinguish Him from bodies (i.e. mankind); and He named Him the TRUTH, to distinguish Him from a shadow or an image. They who worshiped in Jerusalem worshiped God NEITHER in truth or spirit, being in subjection to the shadow or image of heavenly things." unquote.
       A worship that requires an atmosphere to stimulate an attitude and a mood for our ceremonial observances, with robed choirs, stained glass windows, attention focused "front and center upon a leader," is not a spontaneous outflow from our spirit-- rather it is a religious expression generated by the will of man. This has long time been the way it is for body-conscious people, who require something to be seen and felt. The prophet cried out, "Verily Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, 0 God of Israel." (Isa. 45:15). And again, "There was the hiding of His power." (Hab. 3:4).
         Paul plainly stated, "The creature was made subject to vanity." (Rom. 8:20).
         In our frailty we reach out for something stronger than ourselves--yet we fear any greater power as if it were a threat to us, for we would be self-sufficient gods in our own right. Religion allows us to retain this little domain for self-- perverting the truth of true godship. It is in the realm of self-promotion that the error of man being a free moral agent finds its more ardent following. But in a relationship with Christ, where we give all glory and honor to Him, we also share in the in working of His cross until self has been fully dealt with, and He becomes ALL IN ALL in all in us. It was in sensing this great need, that the Psalmist cried out, "Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I." (Psa. 61:2). It was in his relationship with the Lord that he found peace and victory. Self cannot bring us into the fullness of His life/reality. It is God working in us-- totally by His grace. "Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast wrought all our works in us (margin, for us)." (Isa. 25:12). And it is not just what He did/does, but HOW HE DOES IT-- which far exceeds the imagination of man-- as we daily present ourselves to Him.
     How Israel struggled with their serving an INVISIBLE GOD. Again and again they had to be reminded-- "Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure." (Deut. 4:15-16). Don't make any graven image-- male, female, animal, or of the heavenly hosts.
         We walk by faith, not by sight, though man wants the visible. Often people live in chronic frustration and guilt, because they do not see any visible results which others claim to have. And so they proceed to concoct mental images, ideas about God, limited to the intellectual, rational explanation. These mental images BECOME AS IDOLS, a product of our own making. This also means that you are bigger than your god. The CREATOR is bigger than the creature formed. It is no wonder men have little or no respect for the Lord when they have down-graded Him to their own size, or less, and end up with nothing to worship, and thus are easily disillusioned. As Paul points out, in Gal. 4:8, if you serve them "which by nature are no gods," what good?  I dare say, religion and true Christianity are at opposite poles.
         Religion is man-centered, with faith in man, in his own works as he seeks to appease his god. Religion would like to just refine human nature by an exercise of good works-- ceremonies, programs, rituals, formalities, any thing which entices man to "DO," rather than to "BECOME." And thus....
                                                       Man is the subject-- God is the object.
                                                       Man is the doer-- God is the one done for.
                                                       Man is the giver-- God is the receiver.
         In Christianity God is Central. Faith in Jesus Christ, with regeneration producing a new creature, one who is a partaker of His divine nature. So, while religion is man seeking God, Christianity is GOD SEEKING MAN, God revealing Himself to man, and working in man. "We are His workmanship!"
                                                       Thus, God is the subject-- man is the object.
                                                       God is the Doer-- man is the one done for.
                                                       God is the Giver-- man is the receiver.
         For since the world began no one has seen or heard of such a God as ours, who works f or those who wait for Him." ( Isa. 64:4, Living Bible). God SERVES HIS CREATURES, His worshipers. All other nations serve gods that do nothing for them. And now, sadly, Christendom's religion took hold of this, and devised a system of works to appease this god formed in their imagination. We must overcome this IDOLATRY, and believe in the living God. Truly, we are unable to save ourselves, so HE COMES TO US. We are unable to heal ourselves, and so HE BECOMES OUR GREAT PHYSICIAN. We are unable to solve our perplexities, and "HE IS MADE UNTO US WISDOM, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." (1 Cor. 1:30).
         Again the message is clear, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me - thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." (Ex. 20:3, 5). There shall be no other gods, no graven image, no building an idol and calling it a festival of the Lord-- placing His name on this fabrication of men.
         In John 4:22, Jesus told the woman, "Ye worship ye know not what." And the Phillips translation reads, "Nowadays you are worshiping with your eyes shut." BLIND WORSHIP, obscured by form and ritual, with no idea of TO WHOM it was directed. God gives a revelation and people are drawn to Him, but soon others come and ADD THEIR CONCEPTS, interpretations, etc. and soon the vision is distorted, and its life-force is depleted.
         "See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount." (Heb. 8:5). The pattern was given, and then it was RE-built, changed, modified, restructured, and now we have those who teach for THE EARLY CHURCH in the END TIME, which is as much out of order, as if they tried to have the END TIME in the early church. Truth out of time is error. No wonder the Father keeps the times and seasons in His own power, (see Acts 1:7), man is so prone to want to change all times and seasons. And how soon worship is turned to idols-- images that are a caricature of our God.
         We find it most interesting, that the beloved apostle John, who had such depths to write about, warning them not to love the world, nor be ensnared by ANTI-christs, yet he summarizes his brief epistle with the cautionary word, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. amen." (1 John 5:21).
         Profound revelation and deeper truth has its place. If we are going to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18), we need more than just the milk of the Word-- we need its meat. Yet John didn't deal with this fact. His deep concern was that the church would gradually turn to idols. One shares a God-given message but this does not make one "god of the message." God might use you in working a miracle, as He did the apostles, but this does not make you some miracle worker. Barnabas and Paul cried out, "We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven and earth." (Acts 14:15). In harmony with this, we read that Peter said to the people, "Why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?" (Acts 3:12). Yet people want visible gods to idolize, and forget that GOD IS THE DOER! Often men stroke their ego, as being God's great man of the hour, when we all need to decrease, while He increases.
         One of the main Hebrew words for "idol'" is "gillullm" meaning: what are rolled about, large idols. Ahab "did very abominably in FOLLOWING IDOLS, according to all things as did the Anmorites." (1 Kings 44:10). The big idols could not be carried about so they just rolled them along, down the street, and the people followed and worshiped them. It is not easy to be an over comer and forsake the religious crowd which follows the ROLLING ONES and are having a PARTY TIME. To leave all of this, and walk on ALONE WITH GOD, is a challenge. Yet an idol is anything that captures the attention of your heart-- be it a person, a position, a possession, etc. For Christ alone must be the Centre of our life. Materialism, humanism, places man at the centre and makes them an idol. People struggle so hard, and PAY SO MUCH to be a part of this religious caravan that goes rolling along. But when religion has uttered its last word, performed its last ceremony, and stands benumbed and empty, then we will find that GOD HIMSELF is all we need. Not God AND-- God AND works, God AND creed, God AND ritual, etc. but GOD ALONE!
         Yes!  By His enablement we can OVERCOME all these things. Don't be afraid of  idols, they cannot hurt you. "We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but ONE." (1 Cor. 8:4).
         It is a FACT that you cannot be redeemed or lifted any higher than the GOD you serve. So we read that " They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. They forgot God their Saviour." (Psalm 106:19-20). God cannot be corrupted. You cannot make Him anything less than He is! You cannot change Him in His state of being. But it does say that they changed their glory into the image of the corruptible. Man was created for the purpose of being an expression of the glory of God, yet this man, rather than coming into that place where he could glorify God, changed his glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. When they chose an OX to be their god, they chose to emulate the image/glory of the bestial. Whatever God you worship, venerate, put first in your life, it is into that image that you will be changed. If you join the religious crowd that worships idols, then you will take on that image. But when you fix your gaze firmly upon the Lord Jesus Christ, then you will be changed from glory to glory into the very same image, to be as He is.
         You become what you see and worship. If your religion centers in the bestial, then you will be dumb like an ox, stubborn as a mule, sly as a fox, wise as a serpent, silly as an old hen, etc. as men share these traits with the world around them. IF your God can only save a small portion of mankind, then you likewise will end up with a partial salvation. If your God is angry-- you become angry. If your God is vindictive, and always demanding vengeance, then you likewise will find yourself manifesting those characteristics. But if your God is MERCIFUL then the challenge, therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." (Luke 6:36). We definitely need a strong daily relationship with our Lord, to become as He is. "As we have born the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."  (1 Cor. 15:49).
         Thank God for the in workings of His grace-- "Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt NO MORE worship the work of thy hands." (Micah 5:13).
         Scorned by the too easily satisfied religionist, men have been snared by a spurious logic-- accept Christ and you need seek no farther, just maintain a tie with some religious system and wait  for a rapture. Oh, how our heart cries out for that reality that is found only in a relationship, a deep and intimate communion with our Lord--on-going and precious. Then time and place matter not, for the things of the world grow strangely dim, and we have but one desire, "to be present with the Lord."  (2 Cor. 5:8).
        "The Lord spake unto Aaron,-- I am thy part and thine inheritance. . ."  (Num. 18:20). While the Psalmist said, "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup." (Psa. 16:25). And again, "God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." (Psa 73:26). IN HIS PRESENCE is fullness of joy! Truly, "THE LORD IS MY PORTION, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him." (Lam. 3:24). Not in religion, BUT IN CHRIST, is all we need.
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(1)Prinzing, Ray and Doris "Letters of Truth"  Boise, Idaho 83705, P.O. Box 5822

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