RELIGIOUS BUT LOST

BY OSCAR LESKE

I was reading a testimonial from Pastor Ron Van Hee which I thought you might find interesting in regards to this subject. He has been in church all his life, taught Bible study classes and was a chaplain's assistant. While attending the University of Montana, he realized he was “religious but lost” and then trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior. He preached 25 years before God saved him. This is no isolated case. This might shock you but there are students coming out of theological schools today who don't know Christ and go into the ministry – the lost preaching to the lost. To them it's a job.

The apostle Paul was a great theologian and a great preacher writing a good portion of the New Testament; but he loved to give his testimony. Paul tells us in Galatians 1:13-14 that, "As a young man I was religious and zealous for the traditions of my fathers (Judaism) and I persecuted the followers of Jesus and I wanted to destroy the Church of God." Saul of Tarsus (later re-named Paul by Jesus) had a very strict, religious upbringing, and he was familiar with all the teachings, the rites and ceremonies and the traditions connected with the Hebrew economy (Acts 26:5); yet, in spite of all his religious background and his religious convictions, Saul was unsaved, spiritually dead and blind to the things of God. There are many people like that today – religious but lost.

Just because a person is religious, it is not a sign that he or she is saved. Satan has pulled his blindfold over the eyes of the average individual, thinking that is, that every individual who is religious is saved, but let me say that just because a person is a preacher, a Bible teacher, or an outstanding member of a given church, it is no evidence at all that such a person is saved. One of the reasons our churches are filled with unsaved individuals is that an unsaved preacher cannot tell a sinner how to be saved. They may preach the Word of God, but they cannot preach the Gospel unless they are redeemed by the blood of the Son of God, and the reason for it is, they do not know the Gospel. They may talk about Christ and tell us individual things about Christ, but they can't preach Christ to the salvation of that sinner. Simply, you cannot tell something you don't know, and if you have never met the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you have never come to know Him personally, you can't preach Him.

It does not surprise us that many people will be lost and not going to heaven. We expect evil people, wicked people and unholy people to be lost. We expect those who choose the ways of the world and those who reject Jesus to be lost. We expect those who belong to false religions to be lost.

But what about the multitudes of "good people, humanly speaking" and "moral people" and "religious people?" What about a great number of church members and even church workers? What about a great number of preachers and Sunday School teachers and Church leaders? We don't expect them to be lost – do we? Look at these disturbing words from Jesus in verse 21 (Matt. 7). "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven." I believe the initial response of anyone who reads this passage is: "Could I possibly be one of those who is self-deceived about my salvation?" "Am I truly saved?" "Am I in a religion or am I in Christ Jesus?"

Would it surprise you if I told you that there will be some (many) preachers in hell? Just because a man can quote Scripture and speak with great eloquence doesn't mean he is saved.

Turn on your TV to any number of stations and you will see men "slaying people in the spirit".... and delivering them from every kind of physical ailment from back pain to paralysis. And because they do it in the name of Jesus many believe that these evangelists possess the healing power of God.

The Scriptures are very clear that there are "two powers" that can produce signs and wonders. One is the power of God, the other is the power of Satan, who can produce "counterfeit miracles" that look so convincing that it might possibly fool even a saved person.

We cannot judge a man's heart by the size of the crowd he draws or the incredible wonders he seems to produce. A person can evidence great power in the name of Jesus, and still be lost. Entering the kingdom of heaven requires more than a religious profession, a religious production and more than a religious performance. If you are trusting in your religious performance to save you, then one day you will hear Jesus say the saddest words ever spoken to man, "Depart from me, you sinner, for I never knew you (Matt. 7:23)."

I have heard "professing" Christians say, "I just hope when my life is over that my good will outweigh my bad and God will find me worthy enough to enter heaven. Let me tell you, if you believe your salvation is based upon your religious performance you are tragically mistaken. You aren't saved by how many Sundays you go to church or how many times you read the Bible. You aren't saved by how much time you spend in prayer, how much you give to the church, or how many religious deeds you do. And, you definitely aren't saved by going to a priest in confessing your sins. You and I can only be saved by our complete surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, and that full surrender is demonstrated by our faith and obedience to God and His infallible word.

The truth is there are going to be a lot of so-called good, decent, and moral people in hell who trusted in their legalistic churches – law keeping, trusting in their priests, sacraments, rules, traditions or even in their own goodness to save them rather than putting total faith and trust in Christ Jesus and inviting Him into their hearts and life to be their Lord and Saviour.

The truth is, hell will be full of billions upon billions of church members throughout the centuries whose names were recorded in "Church Roll Books" but not in the "Lamb's Book of Life (Rev. 20:15)." Religion cannot save anyone. Only a relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ can save you, when you are Born-Again from above with the spirit of God dwelling in you. Every churchgoer can have religion, yet not everyone has salvation. Religion is man reaching up to God with a regiment of works. Instead of following the Bible and what it teaches us they follow man-made church traditions – keeping and following church laws, sacraments, rules and regulations. In essence they put their faith in their church and its traditions to save them, instead of following the Bible and what Christ Jesus teaches us. They are totally religious and devoted to their church – physically alive but spiritually dead and separated from God – religious but lost. Look, Jesus couldn't have made it any clearer regarding entrance into heaven when He said to the religious leader Nicodemus, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)."

Clearly, to be born again does not refer to a physical rebirth, but to a spiritual rebirth. Only those individuals who have been born again from above (from God) will see heaven. Professing to know Christ Jesus does not save you. Only the born again Spirit enters heaven (Hebrews 10:14-17). Before the new birth, self and sin are in control; but after we are born again from above, the Holy Spirit is in control. Scripture tells us that a born again person shares in the very life of God. He becomes a "partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)" and he is described as a "new creation (2 Cor. 5:17)." Quite simply born again refers to a "spiritual rebirth" or regeneration of the human spirit from the Holy Spirit, as contrasted with physical birth. Just as the first birth is necessary for physical life, so a second (spiritual) birth is necessary for divine life. Romans 8:9 tells us that when a person is born again, he is no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit. He lives in a different sphere. Just as a fish lives in water and a man lives in the air, so a believer lives in the Spirit. He not only lives in the Spirit, but the Spirit lives in him. In fact, if he is not indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ and will not see the kingdom of God.

Once again, salvation is not a religion. Salvation is God reaching down to man. It's not rules or regulations, law keeping or rituals. Salvation is a relationship with our Creator. The same type of relationship God had with Adam before he disobeyed God and fell from grace. That relationship doesn't begin when you get to heaven. It begins here on earth. Jesus wants to be your best friend and He wants to have an intimate relationship with you – it's called love. He wants you to get to know Him and to spend eternity with Him. That's the reason God created you in the first place – to have fellowship with Him.

There is more said in God's word warning religious sinners who are lost than is said about those who are saved. It is amazing, as we study the Scriptures, to note God's warning to religious men. Take the book of Hebrews. It was written with this intent to warn religious men of their impending doom. The apostle Paul sets forth two things in the book of Hebrews: First, he tells the believer what he has in Christ. Second, he warns religious men that they have missed Christ. I wish you would read the book of Hebrews with those two thoughts in mind, because in every chapter the apostle Paul warns religious men of their doom.

Religion is a futile attempt by people to reach up with their self-effort for the purpose of trying to please God. But redemption is the successful conclusion of God reaching down to people with love and acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world not to establish a religion, but to give LIFE which begs the question; "Who needs life" – a dead person of course. A person that is born into this world physically alive but spiritually dead and separated from the life of God. Jesus said, "... I have come that they may have LIFE.... (John 10:10)." Only Christ's body of believers, born again of the spirit from above, can receive the hope of eternal life. Those who die "in Christ" are absent from the body and present with the Lord ( 2 Cor. 5:8). Unfortunately, religion sometimes hardens people's hearts from getting into a relationship with our Creator, because God's intention all along has been to bring man back into a relationship (reconciliation) with Himself just like He had with Adam before Adam's disobedience and spiritual separation from God. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20, "That God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself and therefore, as believers, we are ambassadors for Christ."

In closing; please don't be like the religious Scribes and Pharisees who believed they could make themselves righteous in the eyes of God by their own good works. They truly believed they could "earn their way" into heaven by all their religious works and tradition. The name of God was on their lips, but there was no love for God in their hearts. They could quote Scripture with the best of them. They could pray the prettiest prayers you ever heard. They could expound on the Scriptures as eloquently as the finest of orators. But they were fakes, frauds, counterfeits, hypocrites, and impostors. They were "Religious but Lost."

Question: Every person has to seriously ask themselves, "Am I in a religion or am I in Christ Jesus, born again, with the Spirit of God living in me?" You can talk all you want about your religion – your religious sounding words, works, and deeds may impress a lot of people. God is no fool! Mere "profession" of faith will NOT get you into heaven!