Nine Cons of a Religious Spirit Get free now while there is still time

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Nine Cons of a Religious Spirit Get free now
while there is still time
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Religion An organized system of beliefs,
traditions and rituals, that when adhered to will
bring favor from a supernatural
being.Religious One who adheres to an
organized system of beliefs, traditions, and
rituals in order to gain favor from their god.
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Mark 71-4 One day some Jewish religious leaders
arrived from Jerusalem to investigate him, and
noticed that some of his disciples failed to
follow the usual Jewish rituals before eating.
(For the Jews, especially the Pharisees, will
never eat until they have sprinkled their arms to
the elbows, as required by their ancient
traditions. So when they come home from the
market they must always sprinkle themselves in
this way before touching any food. This is but
one of many examples of laws and regulations they
have clung to for centuries, and still follow,
such as their ceremony of cleansing for pots,
pans and dishes.)
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Mark 75-9So the religious leaders asked him,
"Why don't your disciples follow our age-old
customs? For they eat without first performing
the washing ceremony." Jesus replied, "You
bunch of hypocrites! Isaiah the prophet described
you very well when he said, 'These people speak
very prettily about the Lord but they have no
love for him at all. Their worship is a farce,
for they claim that God commands the people to
obey their petty rules.' How right Isaiah was!
For you ignore God's specific orders and
substitute your own traditions. You are simply
rejecting God's laws and trampling them under
your feet for the sake of tradition.
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We can never get to God through our own efforts

• Romans 323 For all have sinned and fall short
  of the glory of God.
• Romans 623 For the wages of sin is death,

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We can never earn Gods favor or blessing by our
own efforts

• Isaiah 646-7 We are all infected and impure with
  sin. When we put on our prized robes of
  righteousness, we find they are but filthy rags.
  Like autumn leaves we fade, wither and fall. And
  our sins, like the wind, sweep us away. Yet no
  one calls upon your name or pleads with you for
  mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us
  and turned us over to our sins.

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Salvation is a free gift from God!

• Romans 623 for the wages of sin is death, but
  the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
  Jesus our lord.
• Eph 28-10 because of his kindness, you have
  been saved through trusting Christ. And even
  trusting is not of yourselves It too is a gift
  from god. Salvation is not a reward for the good
  we have done, so none of us can take any credit
  for it.

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Matt 107-8 "And as you go, preach, saying, ' The
kingdom of heaven is at hand.' "Heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out
demons. Freely you received, freely give.

• You cant give what you dont have.
• You cant earn it by your own efforts
• You cant get unless you receive.

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Why does God give to us?

• Because He Loves us!
• John 316 "For God so loved the world, that He
  gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes
  in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

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Paul Rebukes Peter for Being Religious!

• Galatians 21-21

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1. Confusion

• Definition To mix things up, disorder, to
  mistake one thing for another.
• 1 Cor. 1433 For He is not a God of confusion
  and disorder but of peace and order. As in all
  the churches of the saints (God's people),

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Confusion comes in many ways

• When we mix truth and error there is confusion.
  Example College friend who prayed with his
  girlfriend and felt God wanted them to have sex.
• When we mix biblical truth and religious
  tradition. Ex. Do not get drunk with wineJesus
  came eating and drinking wine
• If we misapply one scripture against the whole
  counsel of God.
• Ex. Prayer

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Galatians 31-3O YOU poor and silly and
thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless
Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or
cast a spell over you, unto whom--right before
your very eyes--Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was
openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as
crucified? 2 Let me ask you this one question
Did you receive the Holy Spirit as the result
of obeying the Law and doing its works, or was it
by hearing the message of the Gospel and
believing it? Was it from observing a law of
rituals or from a message of faith?3 Are you
so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having
begun your new life spiritually with the Holy
Spirit, are you now reaching perfection by
dependence on the flesh?
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2. Conform

• Def. To act according to customs or rules, to
  make like in external appearance
• This is the easiest form to see. Do you act
  differently at church than at work? Home? With
  your friends? By Yourself?
• Do you change your language, music, dress,
  actions, jokes?

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2 Tim 31-5 (LB) You may as well know this too,
Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be
very difficult to be a Christian. For people
will love only themselves and their money they
will be proud and boastful, sneering at God,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful to them,
and thoroughly bad.
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They will be hardheaded and never give in to
others they will be constant liars and
troublemakers and will think nothing of
immorality. They will be rough and cruel, and
sneer at those who try to be good. They will
betray their friends they will be hotheaded,
puffed up with pride, and prefer good times to
worshiping God. They will go to church, yes, but
they won't really believe anything they hear.
Don't be taken in by people like that.
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We want to be transformed not conformed!

• Rom 121-2 NASU Therefore I urge you,
  brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your
  bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to
  God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
  And do not be conformed to this world, but be
  transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that
  you may prove what the will of God is, that which
  is good and acceptable and perfect.

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• Rom 121-2 TLB
• And so, dear brothers, I plead with you to give
  your bodies to God. Let them be a living
  sacrifice, holy-the kind he can accept. When you
  think of what he has done for you, is this too
  much to ask?
• Don't copy the behavior and customs of this
  world, but be a new and different person with a
  fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you
  will learn from your own experience how his ways
  will really satisfy you.

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• Greek word- metamorphoo (met-am-or-fo'-o) to
  transform (literally "metamorphose")
• Webster's 1828 TRANSFORM', v.t. L.trans and
  forma.
• 1. To change the form of to change the shape or
  appearance to metamorphose as a caterpillar
  transformed into a butterfly.
• 2. To change one substance into another to
  transmute. The alchemists sought to transform
  lead into gold.
• 3. In theology, to change the natural disposition
  and temper of man from a state of enmity to God
  and his law, into the image of God, or into a
  disposition and temper conformed to the will of
  God.

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Internal transformation brings external change
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Internal transformation brings external change
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3. Conceal

• Def. To keep from observation, discovery, or
  understanding.
• Luke 817 NIV For there is nothing hidden that
  will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that
  will not be known or brought out into the open.
• Eccl 1020 TLB Never curse the king, not even in
  your thoughts, nor the rich man, either for a
  little bird will tell them what you've said.

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God is merciful and ready to cleanse you right
now!

• Proverbs 2813 NASU He who conceals his
  transgressions will not prosper, But he who
  confesses and forsakes them will find
  compassion.
• 1 John 18-10 TLB If we say that we have no sin,
  we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to
  accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to
  him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to
  cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have
  not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar,
  for he says we have sinned.

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4. Condemnation

• Rom 81-3 TLB
• So there is now no condemnation awaiting those
  who belong to Christ Jesus.
• For the power of the life-giving Spirit-and this
  power is mine through Christ Jesus-has freed me
  from the vicious circle of sin and death.
• We aren't saved from sin's grasp by knowing the
  commandments of God because we can't and don't
  keep them, but God put into effect a different
  plan to save us.

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• Rom 83-4 TLB
• He sent his own Son in a human body like
  ours-except that ours are sinful-and destroyed
  sin's control over us by giving himself as a
  sacrifice for our sins. So now we can obey God's
  laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no
  longer obey the old evil nature within us.

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5. Constipation (Spiritual)

• Def. The packing of sin into the soul to the
  point of piercing pain. This pain will affect
  the spirit, mind, will, emotions, and body of the
  afflicted person.

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1 John 18-10 TLB If we say that we have no sin,
we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to
accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to
him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to
cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly
proper for God to do this for us because Christ
died to wash away our sins. If we claim we have
not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar,
for he says we have sinned.
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6. Conceit

• Websters def.
• Entertaining a flattering opinion of oneself,
  having a vain or too high conception of ones own
  person or accomplishments.

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• 1 Tim 63-5 TLB Some may deny these things, but
  they are the sound, wholesome teachings of the
  Lord Jesus Christ and are the foundation for a
  godly life.
• Anyone who says anything different is both proud
  and stupid. He is quibbling over the meaning of
  Christ's words and stirring up arguments ending
  in jealousy and anger, which only lead to
  name-calling, accusations, and evil suspicions.
• These arguers-their minds warped by sin-don't
  know how to tell the truth to them the Good News
  is just a means of making money. Keep away from
  them.

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7. Contentious

• Apt to contend, given to angry debate,
  quarrelsome, perverse.

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• It is better to live in a desert than with a
  contentious and vexing woman.
• Proverbs 2119

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8. Control

• To Unjustly try to govern, direct, rule or
  subject to authority.

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9. Condemn

• To pronounce judgment against, to express
  disapproval, criticize or reject.