The Bible on Religion
The word ‘religion’ never appears in the Old Covenant. There is simply one God who gave life to all creation. He is called the Father and the Creator.
In the Old Covenant, the Hebrew word used for God means true God. It also means God is everywhere at all times, which is what the New Covenant word omnipotent means.
“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns.”
This one God is the ‘engine’ behind all life, meaning nothing can exist unless He allows it to exist.
I love how one New Covenant writer describes God. I have never found anything better.
“God that made the world and all things in it, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things … for in him we live, and move, and have our being.”
The belief in one God is what made the Jewish people different from other ancient peoples, who believed in many gods.
In academic circles, the belief in one God is referred to as monotheism. The belief in many gods is referred to as polytheism.
In the New Covenant, the word ‘religion’ appears five times. It means to worship God. Jesus spent His life teaching people how to worship God.
“The hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
This means you must get your spirit involved! If your spirit is sleeping or polluted by lies, then you have to ‘fix’ your spirit before you can worship God. The way you fix your spirit is by learning the truth, which is why God gave us the Bible.
“The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
You can go to church your whole life and yet your spirit can be dead because the church you are attending is not feeding you the truth. Any lies about God, Jesus or the Bible (whether intentional or unintentional) will cause a person’s spirit to become sick. The condition of your spirit affects your physical body and your level of happiness.
“I am against them that prophesy false dreams, says the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, says the LORD.”
The Bible’s definition of ‘religion’ is beautiful. It has nothing to do with a fancy building or performing special ceremonies throughout the year. It has to do with a lifestyle, meaning the way we live our lives and how we treat others.
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”
“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”
If you want to learn more about pure religion, stick around!
-Jo
Bible passages: Revelation 19:6, Acts 17:24-28, John 4:23-24, John 6:63, Jeremiah 23:31-32, James 1:27, James 1:26
Tags: bible, christianity, culture, God, jesus, judaism, life, lifestyle, monotheism, polytheism, religion, sickness, Understanding the Bible
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November 16, 2008 at 6:01 pm
[...] relayed the Bible’s definition of religion in another post, which has nothing to do with a system, but rather a [...]