First… What IS “Religion”?
Note: This is a lengthy, detailed article. For a quick summary, scroll down to the conclusion.
The word “religion” means many things to many people. The working definition that “I” use is “a system, set, or collection of beliefs”. I think that this is a pretty inclusive definition that does a good job of capturing the essence of the meaning of the word as most people use it today. When I use the word “religion” in this article, this is what I will be meaning.
But even though this definition does a good job of conveying what most people are thinking most of the time when they say the word “religion”, notice what is missing from this definition. There is not even a hint of the UNITY with the Divine, Holy Spirit of God that the Bible so clearly relates that Yahweh God desires with all of His people through Jesus / Yeshua (click here to see why I call Him Yeshua).
By ascribing to “a system, set, or collection of beliefs”, a person can seem very enlightened and “religious”, yet have practically no relationship with The Creator at all while living sort of a parallel existence that runs along side The Most High, yet never intersecting with Him.
Religion encourages developing “beliefs” while learning ABOUT God; while the unity that the Bible clearly relates that He desires to have with us is about being intimately connected as one WITH Him.
What’s wrong with learning about God?
What’s wrong with learning about God? Nothing. I have personally logged MANY thousands of hours of Bible related study. However, we will NEVER know EVERYTHING “about” The Most High.
Our Heavenly Father can tolerate a misunderstood doctrine; in fact, we are ALL wrong about some things. But what He DOES require is a committed heart: Not a perfect heart, with perfect knowledge, but a committed heart. That is something that we are ALL capable of yet very few genuinely pursue.
Also, obviously there is nothing wrong with talking or learning about Yahweh God in a positive manner. The problem lies when we stop at learning ABOUT Him instead of going forward and ALIGNING with Him.
The difference lies in learning ABOUT God mentally vs. reading, praying, meditating, worshiping, spiritually connecting, and practicing other spiritual disciplines in order to better align with the Divine Holy Spirit.
Religion in the Bible.
When this subject is introduced, usually someone will try to defend “religion” (remember my definition above) by saying that it’s mentioned in the Bible” as if to say “if it’s in the Bible then it can’t be all THAT bad…..” But let’s take a quick look at exactly HOW religion is mentioned in the Bible.
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
James 1:27
Notice that Apostle James excludes funding large commercial buildings that are only used once or twice a week, extravagant robes, processions, “special music”, choirs and bands with thousands and thousands of dollars in sound equipment, 501(C)3’s with their highly paid corporation presidents (aka “pastors”, “priests”, and popes), denominal Headquarter buildings and staff, special effects for attention grabbing, weekly bowling nights, or anything else of that nature in his description of religion. Rather Apostle James says in chapter one verse 27 that religion is simply having God’s heart for others and extending that life that He gives to everyone you can in a simple, loving way.
One other thing should be mentioned about “religion” in this context. What did Yeshua think about the religious people in the Bible? Not much. At one point He even called them a brood of vipers.
Religion requires that we perform in certain ways in order to be accepted
Most people of average intelligence can easily study and memorize a religious “system, set, or collection of beliefs” as explained above. Most can learn to fluently recite Bible verses and flow within prescribed doctrines and practices. In fact, religion can be, and in many cases is, studied and memorized much like a person would study and memorize history, a language, science or any other subject.
Religion is learned just like any other learned behavior.
From a human perspective, religion can be much easier than committing to a relationship with your Creator
Many find it pretty easy to “go to church” once a week and socialize for an hour, maybe help out at the church bazaar, or even to take a meal to a struggling family: Besides, these are nice things to do.
Religion encourages people to participate in various activities according to the “learned culture” explained above because it keeps them involved; it keeps the machine running, and they are told it is the right thing to do. Plus it keeps them in good standing in the “church” community. Participating in these ways may even give them a little leverage in the future should a difficult situation of some sort arise in the community. From a humanistic perspective, in many ways, being involved with a religious organization can make one’s life both easier and better.
Sometimes good social skills are all that is needed to penetrate the inner circle of a “church” community. Otherwise, just regular attendance, average social skills, and regular donations is almost always enough to elevate someone to good standing in an institutional “church” organization. With just this combination alone, a person may very well even find themselves on the church elder board, fully engulfed in church governance and “business”. I have seen it several times. In these situations, an intimate connection with the Most High is sometimes rarely even thought of.
In these ways, you can see how a person can become quite immersed in religious activities without even really knowing God at all. It’s not unusual to become engulfed in these things while knowing about God, but not being one WITH HIM. In fact, it is my observation that this is the situation more often than not.
To be fair, this sad state often times isn’t entirely the individual’s fault. It is what christians, catholics, mormons, and other various groups have been taught from the pulpit since their inception. In many cases people have been raised in this environment from early childhood: It’s all they know: Sad.
In fact, I couldn’t be more sincere when I say that my observation has been that as a whole, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT BEING RELIGIOUS IS BEING UNITED WITH THE DIVINE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD. But it isn’t…
Why do I say that? Because in John 7:38 (and other places) Yeshua says that when we are one with our Creator He will flow forth from the most inner part of our being. 1 Samuel 16:7 says that “man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.” These are the types of standards that should be used to assess the fruit of a Spirit-filled life rather than just mere attendance at large meetings, tithing, having right answers, being polite, and bowing one’s head while someone else is praying. All of these are good things to do, but, by no means should they be the soul basis of assessing the fruit of God in a Spirit-filled life.
Being “nice” is a good thing, but it’s not necessarily synonymous with being one with Yeshua
Most religious people are “nice”. But just being “nice” won’t give you a free pass with The Most High.
Many years ago I did some work in a customer’s home. I had never met them before. I was there because they were adding a second story to their house in order to help Mom and Dad’s aging parents. There were to be three generations living under the roof of that very “homey” home. My part of the project took most of a week to complete.
When you are in a home in situations like that often times you come to know people in a very unique way. Even now, many years later, I can still say that this family was one of the nicest, if not thee nicest family that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Their love for each other, lifestyle and communication seemed to make it obvious they were Christians and so one day I asked them what church they went to. I was profoundly surprised when they quite purposefully informed me that they did not attend a church. The way they said it made it obvious that not only did they not attend a church, but that they would have no part of it. Without provocation they then went on to specify that they were atheists.
Being “nice” doesn’t certify someone as being one with Yeshua. There were many times that Yeshua’s words and actions didn’t appear to be “Nice”, but He was always loving.
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Messiah. And no wonder! For the satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.”
2 Corinthians 11:13-14
There are several reasons that a person would prefer religion over unity with The Most High – here are five
Apathy – After 20+ years of ministry It is my observation, and experience, that most (not all) who say they follow Yahweh God are apathetic. They may or may not “go to church” but if they do, they feel that, that is where their obligation ends. While there, they will usually listen to the speaker most of the time and, unless the speaker says anything too outrageous, what they hear from the pulpit will shape their religion until they hear something else that sounds better to them. These people will try to live a mostly “moral” life based upon what they have been told God wants, and what seems right to them, but not necessarily because of any spiritual conviction.
Ignorance – This group is similar to the first group except they are a little more committed to the Bible and what they think is “right”. While “at church” they may follow along when the speaker suggests that they look at a verse in their Bible, they usually pay their tithes, they may be a little more set in their doctrine, and they may even pray before dinner, at home. However, no one has ever told them that there is much more involved with being one, united with The Creator, and they haven’t bothered to earnestly seek first the Kingdom of God for themselves.
Selfishness – (closely related to pride) There can be a lot of advantages to being involved with “a church”. It can be a good way to climb the community social ladder. It gives you a built in reason to dress up once a week and look your best, it give you an opportunity to socialize, you can feel good about donating some extra cash (never mind that is tax-deductible): In all it’s a pretty good return for a relatively small investment. You might even find a husband, wife, or friends there that are morally similar and you have things in common with. One time I was associated with a Christian church that had an influx of singles because the young singles mistakenly thought they were more likely to find virgins in the church singles group. There are many selfish reasons that people are religious and attend “a church” with little or no concern about becoming one with Yeshua.
Pride – In the end, apathy, ignorance, selfishness, and most other reasons that a person prefers religion over genuinely aligning with The Most High (perhaps except for the demonic spirit addressed next) is pride: Pride prevents a person from entering into genuine unity with God, and really anyone. In the end, most sin is rooted in a person’s pride. If a person is willing to acknowledge that Yahweh God is God and they are not, they will do whatever it takes to humble themselves before Him.
Demonic religious spirits promote religion but they discourage unity with Yahweh God
For those unfamiliar with how demonic spirits work; they can come upon (any) person for a number of reasons, or sometimes for no “legal” reason at all. Demonic religious spirits can and sometimes certainly do influence a person to be “religious” as we have defined here. This sometimes causes the person to “think” that they are “doing good”. However, rather than aligning with God, they are simply living an illusion in a parallel existence while never really connecting with The Most High.
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away… 2 Timothy 3:5
The religious spirit influences a person to embrace performance and self righteousness as substitutes for the unity that Yahweh God wants with His people. Religious organizations abound in America. Therefor, relatively few people in the United States, and probably even the world, have been taught what REAL unity with God is. Because of that people with a religious spirit are influenced to think that doing good things IS the sum of what The Most High wants of us: But it’s not. Certainly doing good things is a FRUIT of Holy Spirit, but on it’s own, a nice act is just a nice thing to do.
Another very problematic issue with religion, related to performance, is that religion often demands that others live up to the same level of performance perfection that IT thinks IT does. Of course, in reality, the religious person makes as many (or more) mistakes as everyone else but it is difficult for a religious person to see their own mistakes. So they often end up demanding perfection from those around them which often puts a very serious strain on relationships.
Ten signs that you may have a religious spirit or spirit of religion
In this article, I am basically addressing two categories of people. There may be several variations of this first type of person. This person may have some sort of religious training that they are zealous and dogmatic about, they may be more of an analytical type person that sees everything as right and wrong according to THEM, or they may have some Bible knowledge. But generally speaking these people are NOT Spirit led, yet they are dogmatic in what little they do know, et Cetra.
The other type of religion-based person that we are addressing here is a person that has an evil demonic spirit of religion. To the casual or undiscerning observer, someone with a demonic spirit of religion may appear to behave similarly to the person described above. There may appear to be very little or no difference between the two.
However, while they may appear to be similar, there is a great deal of difference between someone with an evil demonic spirit of religion. and someone who just has some religious tendencies or training.
While religion without unity with God is bad enough, an evil demonic spirit of religion is much more destructive and even potentially deadly.
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and (THEY even) shudder!
James 2:19
Here are the ten signs that you may have a religious spirit or spirit of religion:
Being strict, rigid, unwavering
You demand that things are a certain way and you are resistant to considering change or that there might be a better way
Unforgiving
Because of your rigidity, you have formed a strict code of right and wrong. You conclude that anyone who you perceive to be on the wrong side of your set of rules to be in sin and therefore on the wrong side of right.
Judgmental, critical
You have your ways of thinking and doing things that you feel are right. Any deviation from your way is flawed.
Self-condemnation
Not only can others not live up to your expectations but even you fail to live up to your own expectations which leads to self-condemnation.
Religious meetings and events are acceptable even with limited personal involvement
The spirit of religion likes to keep others at a distance so that personal interaction seems unnecessary.
Approval / acceptance is based upon outward appearance
Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks on the heart. The religious spirit is largely performance-driven and accepts / analyzes others on that basis. Motivation matters, but it is secondary.
You are more concerned about what the Bible SAYS than its author
You like to study, debate, or discuss the Bible but taking steps to really know Yeshua on a personal basis doesn’t seem to be as important.
You will listen to God, but not man
You say that you hear from God but that you only hear directly from Him. It is difficult for you to acknowledge that God frequently speaks through others or that someone else may be right or have a better way.
You crave a position in the church
You desire a position of authority to rule over rather than leading by serving according to the Biblical model.
You acknowledge God’s love but you attempt to earn it rather than just receive it
Because the Bible says that God loves everyone you accept that but you believe that salvation is, at least, largely based upon performance.
“I think I have a religious spirit. What do I do”?
As always, acknowledging a problem is often half the battle to resolving it so congratulations for overcoming that hurdle.
Of course our first step should always be to connect with God through repentance and prayer. Another consideration should be to break ties with others who may be facilitating this faux existence.
Rebuking the spirit of religion and verbally confessing who you are in the Messiah, with a heart to go deeper in the genuine things of God will go a long way.
Also, there is tremendous power in recruiting the assistance of a trusted Brother or Sister that is capable of assisting you. Often this is extremely difficult to find, particularly if you have a religious spirit and you have surrounded yourself with other religious people and resources.
With the spirit of religion there are often many other issues such as broken relationships, inferiority complexes, and others so this may end up being more involved than what it initially appears.
If you find it is difficult to cut loose from this destructive spirit and address all of its related issues, it may be worth it to enlist qualified assistance.
Religion will suck the life out of whatever it attaches itself to. While it appears righteous and holy; to the unsuspecting it is a killer.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: Psalms 139:23
Rejecting Religion
I did some research to see if anyone has ever calculated the percentage of time that Yeshua spent rebuking the Pharisees relative to everything else He said. I was unable to find that information and I am not going to undertake the task myself: But I am confident that it is significant. Yeshua spent a good portion of His time countering the religious rulers / dogma of the day. It was unquestionably the religious people, with a spirit of religion, who gave Him His most serious problems; including murdering Him by way of His crucifixion.
Today I see a very similar situation. Throughout my ministry, which now spans over two decades, I can say, without question, that it has definitely been “religious” people who have created the most conflict around me. The spirit of religion is definitely alive and active.
Everyone has a “a system, set, or collection of beliefs”– it is impossible not to.
However, what I have found is people generally seem to want to hold on to their “religion” much more than they desire truth and unity with Yeshua. Many religious people you might encounter will not even be interested in what is right: You may find that if they even care to discuss the things of God, most of them are more concerned about winning the argument than discussing truth.
In order to have a right relationship with God and a healthy relationship with others, the spirit of religion must be eradicated; especially from within ourselves.
I myself suffered with a spirit of religion for many years without any idea that I was plagued by it. It is hideous.
The Scriptures are clear that anything and everything that is not built upon the foundation of God’s Holy Spirit will be destroyed.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
2 Peter 3:10
Conclusion
Religion, as defined at the beginning of this article, leads you AWAY from God. On its own, Religion is deadly because it gives people a false sense of security; a false sense of right standing. Religious people will often depend upon the pulpit to tell them what to do (their fault) and when the pulpit sets ungodly standards (pulpit’s fault), people think that meeting some sort of external obligation to God is all that is necessary and that they are now Heaven bound. However, nothing could be further from the truth.
Religion is also deadly because it kills. It kills relationships between people and between people and God. It kills joy, It kills the TRUE things of God and much more. It can even affect physical health.
There are many things that contribute to becoming a victim to religion. This article should help you to recognize the religious spirit both in others and in yourself.
For me, when I discovered that I had been operating under a spirit of religion it was very difficult. I wanted to be right with God and I thought I had been, but I wasn’t.
Consequently, I had a LOT of DEstructing and CONstructing to do in order to gain an accurate understanding of who I am in the Messiah. The good side of that is I know it can be done.
So if you would like assistance eradicating religion in your life I would be happy to help as I can.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
Please feel free to contact me if I can be of further assistance.
Parson Rayphe
Holistic Spiritual Director
Chosen Glory
Chosen Glory 