Your Daily Devotional for June 22, 2006

 

June 22, 2006

The Deception of “Religion”

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“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

 

Throughout the world today, false religions abound and men and women display a zeal for God without truly knowing Him. Whether it is in the Philippines, where some men are nailed to crosses in an attempt to atone for their own sins, or at the Basilica in Cebu City, where men and women crawl on calloused, bleeding knees across hard stone floors to make penance for their trespasses, people need to hear that true righteousness is available through Christ alone.

 

Paul is all too familiar with the religious zeal mentioned in these verses, and his heart breaks for the people of Israel as they ignore the salvation that is available through faith in Christ. The religious zealots that Paul speaks of were probably keeping a score card of their own, but Paul said, “I bear them record.” What a shock it will be when they see the real record kept in Heaven! Instead of seeing their high marks and impressive piety, they will see their zeal without knowledge, their ignorance of God, and their righteousness without Christ.

 

One of the greatest examples of zeal without knowledge took place during a football play in the early 1970’s. The play was made by Jim Marshall of the Minnesota Vikings. Marshall made an outstanding interception, broke through tackles, knocked people down, zigzagged across the field, and triumphantly spiked the ball into the end zone. The only problem was that he went the wrong way and scored for the other team. He had great zeal but lacked knowledge.

 

How impressive is the scorecard of someone who does not know Christ? Consider the testimony of one of the most religiously zealous people who has every lived:

 

“…If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ” (Philippians 3:4-7).

 

Paul came to the place where he realized that his religious assets were liabilities: he took them off the profit side of his balance and counted them as loss. Though he was sincere in his efforts, without the saving knowledge of Christ, his works would profit him nothing.

 

While in Singapore several years ago, a local missionary took me to see a Hindu temple. As I observed the crowds, I saw a priest standing with a small group gathered around. The priest took into his arms a little baby that had been crying night after night. After examining the child, the priest determined that the cause of the sickness was an evil spirit in the child, and placing the hands of that little baby over an open flame, he attempted to force out the spirit. I heard the baby scream and scream as his little hands were blistered in a vain show of his parents’ religious zeal that profited nothing.

 

Whether Paul saw empty religiosity in Jerusalem or false idol worship on Mars Hill, his response to false religion was always the same: he gave them the Gospel. The Bible says, in 2 Corinthians 4:3, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.” What a challenge for us to take the Gospel to every corner of the earth! Will your Gospel remain hidden from those that are deceived by “religion,” or will you reach the lost with the same passion demonstrated by the Apostle Paul?

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