True Religion Expounded!

Dr D Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that true religion is the very opposite of false religion.  It is, first, based entirely and exclusively on God’s revelation and teaching.  God has spoken, and the church must “Listen to Him!”  Woe betide her if she refuses to listen obediently to Him who speaks.  But she is promised the fullness of divine blessing if she submits herself to His self-revelation and teaching.  This is the very essence of Christianity.  This is true religion.  This is what Christianity is all about – joyful submission to the will of the Sovereign God.  They conduct their religious affairs and their church worship, not on the basis of our ideas, but on what God has made known.  

Secondly, there is honesty and sincerity.  True religion is most careful about this.  A man does not do as David did when he murdered Uriah the Hittite and committed adultery with his wife, Bathsheba, but went on worshipping God as usual.  You do not stop presenting yourself at worship even when you know you have done wrong.  You keep up the practice so that no one will realise just what you have been at!  It is all a balancing act – between wrong-doing and right-doing.  You pretend that all is well and hope that you will end up with a zero balance, or better still, something on the ‘plus’ side.  True religion is about ensuring that what goes on in the life and heart are synchronised – that the hands on the face of the clock are reflecting what is going on inside.  It is a united life.  This does not mean that we cannot and do not make mistakes - we do; and we sin.  But it means that we recognise our sins, repent of them before God with a broken heart, and seek His gracious forgiveness.  It is about congruence.

Third, true religion is “of the heart, not of the letter.”  It is intensely spiritual because “God is spirit” (Jn.4:24).  It is deeply inward, an inward change showing itself in outward expression.  God never had a house – he dwelt in a tent in the wilderness.  He is a spirit and those who worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth. 

Fourth, the most vital aspect of true religion is truth itself.  The Christian faith is nothing if it is not the religion of the Book.http://thebible-online.com  Truth directs us how we must worship and serve Him, glorify and enjoy Him forever.  He is the God of truth, and His Son, Jesus Christ, described Himself as the Truth (Jn.14:6).  Do you know Him?  Have you out your trust in Him?  Are you a real Christian, or a sham Christian? Be sure, and come to Christ and trust Him NOW!