Is Religion Bad?

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]We had a question a long time ago or a while back.

[00:00:03]What is a religious spirit? You ever heard that before?

[00:00:06]Well, they have a religious spirit.

[00:00:09]Well, the Bible doesn't say religious spirit.

[00:00:13]So, that's why I never said it.

[00:00:15]You ever wondered how come I I don't ever talk about religious spirit?

[00:00:18]How come I don't put down religion?

[00:00:22]You ever wondered?

[00:00:23]Good. You don't need to wonder it because it's not in the Bible, so we don't say it. But, if you've heard it a lot and you think it a lot, let's go identify just so you're I mean, you probably understand it, but when terms are used that not that are not scriptural, it can nag at you.

[00:00:40]And you also don't want to base your faith on something like that thinking you know what that is when it's not even defined.

[00:00:46]So, and and I have experience with this because my first couple years with the Lord, I was working at a church and one of this young teenagers got saved and filled with the spirit and he's by himself. He has no family and he's seeking the Lord, but he's kind of he's you know, life's roughed him up and he's really trying to seek the Lord and ask questions and after about maybe a couple months at the church where the church talked about a certain word a lot that I had always been a little concerned about because I can't prove it. I can't show somebody.

[00:01:12]He said, "What is this?"

[00:01:16]I'm like, and he asked about religion.

[00:01:19]There was a one more and then he asked about religion, too.

[00:01:22]He said, "What's What's wrong with religion?"

[00:01:27]Like, well, the Bible religion, nothing's wrong.

[00:01:30]But, when you can't identify it and you Anyway, let's do it real quick.

[00:01:34]It's not a big thing as long as you already know the truth.

[00:01:38]But, for somebody that's wondering, is this is what we do religious?

[00:01:44]Is what we do religious?

[00:01:46]Yes.

[00:01:48]It's just not religious in a bad way like like we've been talking.

[00:01:59]>> Everybody's How am I going to get out of this one?

[00:02:02]Well, go to James. It's real simple. The word religion is hardly used in the Bible.

[00:02:15]James.

[00:02:24]Where are you, James? Come here.

[00:02:27]All right.

[00:02:29]This is the the one place that you're going to see it.

[00:02:33]Pretty much.

[00:02:39]Verse 21. James 1:21. James 1:21.

[00:02:43]Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls or straighten out your wiring.

[00:02:52]But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

[00:02:55]For if anyone's a hearer of the word not a doer, he's like a man observing his natural face in the mirror, for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

[00:03:03]But he who looks in the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

[00:03:10]If anyone among you thinks he's religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.

[00:03:21]So, if you want to be So, if you bridle your tongue, you're called religious.

[00:03:26]Governed to buy another.

[00:03:28]It's all it is.

[00:03:30]Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit the orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

[00:03:40]If you want to be religious, you're going to have to serve others and stay away from the world.

[00:03:47]Now, that's not a bad thing, right?

[00:03:49]So, is religion a bad thing?

[00:03:51]Not according to the Bible. Now, what preachers are talking about is something else where men created stuff, we could say created traditions and commands and ordinances and outward things to say that we served God.

[00:04:05]That's what we're not supposed to do.

[00:04:08]Now, to call it religion though is hard because the Bible doesn't say it that way.

[00:04:12]But let's go see what the Bible does say.

[00:04:15]Go to Mark chapter 7.

[00:04:20]Uh verse 6, Mark 7 verse 6.

[00:04:35]>> [snorts] >> Jesus answered and said to them Well, let's No, let's read what they're doing here.

[00:04:42]Verse 1, 7:1. The The Pharisees, some of the scribes came together with him having come from Jerusalem. Now, when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled people, that is, or with unwashed hands, they found they found fault. You can't eat with defiled Gentiles or with unwashed hands. Did y'all wash your hands today?

[00:04:59]Personally, I like to wash my hands before I eat, but not always.

[00:05:06]I guarantee there's Christians and spirit-filled Christians that try to wash their hands for religious reasons. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. The tradition of the elders, what is that?

[00:05:22]When they come from the marketplace, they don't eat unless they wash, and there are many other things which they received and hold like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.

[00:05:33]What is that? Exactly.

[00:05:35]That's You don't see that commanded in scripture, you don't see that detailed, but they created it.

[00:05:42]People in the name of God will create lots of things to do.

[00:05:46]Some do weird stuff like crawl on broken glass up the mountain to get to the monk monastery whatever to sacri- show that you're seriously sacrificing.

[00:05:56]Hurt themselves, do weird stuff like that. Others create stuff that fills their void but don't do anything.

[00:06:05]The golden goblets pouring the water whatever I don't know sprinkling the whatever that's not in the Bible but it makes people feel like something just happened.

[00:06:19]It's dangerous because it does nothing for one. Number two, it makes people think something's happening so their faith is in nothing.

[00:06:28]If there's nothing that you're put your faith in then you have nothing.

[00:06:34]So having misplaced faith has given people such false hope about lot lots of things.

[00:06:40]Well, as long as I say my whatever is in my whatever is and as long as I quote Psalm 23 and Matthew chapter 5 as long as I say God my father's then I that doesn't do anything.

[00:06:51]But then spirit-filled people have their own stuff.

[00:06:54]Well, as long as I get my praise on this morning.

[00:06:57]Come up with all sorts of little religious things.

[00:07:00]No, as long as I go do my devotional.

[00:07:02]Well, that's good but that that's not the end the purpose is in it.

[00:07:07]>> [clears throat] >> Anyway.

[00:07:13]Verse 5 the Pharisees and scribes asked him why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with eat bread with unwashed hands. He said to them, well, did I well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites?

[00:07:26]As it's written the people honors me with their lips but their hearts far from me.

[00:07:31]And in vain they worship me teaching that as doctrines the commandments of men.

[00:07:36]So this is the religion we don't want to be involved in.

[00:07:38]Right?

[00:07:40]To say that you only can sing uh gospel hymns from the old book or it's not holy, that's that's a tradition. That's a That's not in the Bible.

[00:07:52]To say that you can't sing rap music in the church, that's not in the Bible.

[00:07:59]I wouldn't do it, but you can't take something that man-made and created, even the structure of services, even the structure of how Christians are supposed to live, you can't really do that cuz it's not in the Bible.

[00:08:13]Cuz what happens, people start saying, "Well, I did the thing that I did the thing they said to do, and I did the thing."

[00:08:21]Anyway, verse eight, "For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pitchers, cups, and many other such things you do."

[00:08:30]He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition."

[00:08:35]See that? So, let's be careful of traditions. It's okay to have them, let's be careful of them.

[00:08:41]>> [cough] [clears throat] >> Like we've talked about changing the order of service here at church. Do you have to do the singing before you do the preaching?

[00:08:49]Do you have to do the the this before the that? Y'all want to change it up?

[00:08:56]>> [laughter] >> How How? Tell me how first, and then I'll vote.

[00:09:00]Well, just change it up.

[00:09:03]>> [snorts] >> You know what that was?

[00:09:12]That was a seed.

[00:09:17]That was a seed for all the people that come in late.

[00:09:20]>> [laughter] >> We will give more seeds so that you're firmly prepared that you walk in half the message is over.

[00:09:30]>> [laughter] >> That would be fun, wouldn't it?

[00:09:33]We've even thought about uh given uh you know, nice nice gift card or something for a selected car that's in the parking lot before the service starts.

[00:09:48]They're not very excited about that, but see I was just checking.

[00:09:51]What if it was like four digits?

[00:09:56]How many people would come?

[00:09:59]What if we paid everybody to come to church?

[00:10:06]This is a what if. This is a hypothetical. What if we paid everyone to come to church?

[00:10:12]And if you're thinking how much you're the one I'm talking to.

[00:10:17]>> [laughter] >> But what if we paid people? Would it be full?

[00:10:24]That's another message.

[00:10:26]That's another message.

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