WHAT IS THE RIGHT RELIGION?

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A colleague once asked me:

“I would like to strengthen my faith in God. What do you think is the right religion that I should join in order to strengthen my relationship with Him?”

Her’s is actually a valid question. When we look at the world today, we are met with a dizzying array of options. Generally speaking, there are five major religions on this planet: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Beyond these, there are hundreds of minority religions. Even within Christianity alone, estimates suggest there are over 33,000 registered denominations, not counting the countless unregistered groups.

Every single one of them claims to be the “right way.” They all claim that membership in their specific group is the key to heaven and a stronger relationship with the Lord. However, logic dictates that they cannot all be right when they teach contradictory things. We must be wise. We cannot rely on human opinion or statistics. To answer the question “What is the right religion?“, we must consult the only authority that matters: the Word of God.

To understand what we are looking for, we must first understand what the word “religion” actually means. The English word comes from the Latin root “Religo”. This term literally means “to bind back” or “to restore us back to God.”

By definition, the very purpose of religion is to bind a person back to the Creator. But this definition begs a terrifying question: Why do we need to be bound back to God?

If we need to be bound back to God, it implies that at some point, we were detached from Him. It implies that a separation occurred. To understand the cure, we must understand the disease. We must go back to the beginning, to the Fall of Man in Genesis 3.

We know that because of the Fall of Man in Genesis 3, Man was separated from God. Because of the Original Sin committed by Adam and Eve, our spirits died and cannot be indwelt by the Spirit of God. Every person born in this world has a dead spirit (1 Cor. 15:22). We were all dead. Therefore, it is impossible for us to access the spiritual world. It is impossible to reach out to God, for reaching out to God is only through an alive spirit. We can no longer access the spiritual things. We can’t receive anything from Him. We have been “detached” from our Lord, spiritually speaking.

We are all dead because of the fall. Consider a dead body at a funeral. You can shout at it, slap it, shake it, or do anything on it, but it will still not respond. Why? Because it is dead to the physical world. Its five senses do not function and therefore cannot perceive anything from the physical world. In the same way, the natural man does not respond to the things of God because he is dead to the spiritual world. It cannot receive revelations or any spiritual things from God because it is dead spiritually, as stated in 1 Corinthians 2:14:

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

The natural man in this verse is a man whose spirit is dead. We need something that can quicken (give life) to our spirit (Eph. 2:1). We need something that can bind us back to the spiritual world because we have been separated from it. So that we can access it again. And this is the goal of every religion. They have introduced us to so many ways to bring our spirit back to life and to bind us back again to God.

Most religions today will offer you good works as a binding back. They will tell you to do this and do that in order for us to access the spiritual world again, in order for us to be attached to God again. Some even claimed that just being a member of their sect will save you. They offer so many ways to bind us back again to God. But the Word tells us that there is only ONE WAY to be attached to God. It is the only way that can “quicken” us—or make us alive again. It is a way to bridge us from the gap that sin has created. The ultimate goal is: to bind us back to the spiritual world we lost.

Before we tackle God’s only way, let’s first explore the different kinds of religions in the Bible invented by men.

Throughout history, mankind has recognized his separation from God. We feel the shame of our nakedness before God, and we instinctively try to fix it. In fact, the very first “religion” in human history was established in the Garden of Eden, not by God, but by man.

After Adam and Eve sinned, they realized they were naked.

Gen. 3:7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

This act of sewing fig leaves is the perfect picture of man-made religion. It was Adam and Eve’s attempt to cover their own sin and shame through their own efforts. It was their own act of binding back to God.

Consider the nature of a fig leaf. It is temporary. Its itchy, it dries up, it cracks, it tears easily and eventually, it withers away. It requires constant maintenance and replacement. This symbolizes the religious systems of man. Whether it is good works, church programs, rituals, or moral philosophy, these are all “fig leaves.” They can easily tear apart. They are man’s attempt to say, “I can hide my sin, as if I have not sinned. I can make myself presentable to God. I can be saved through my own works.”

But just like the fig leaves, these coverings are easily ripped apart. They are a pitiful covering for the magnitude of sin. No amount of human effort can restore a dead spirit to life. No works of us can ever save us.

If fig leaves represent Adam and Eve’s religion, what about God’s religion? What is the correct way or God’s way to attach us back to Him? We find the answer just a few verses later. Even though man rejected God, He still made him coats of skin and provided the right way to cover sin.

Gen. 3:21 “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

Notice the difference. In Genesis 3:7, man made aprons out of fig leaves. Genesis 3:21, God made coats out of an animal skin he killed. For Adam and Eve to be clothed in skins, an innocent animal had to die. Blood had to be shed. This is the first picture of the Gospel.

God was teaching us a vital lesson here: our own efforts (religion, systems, denominations) cannot cover our spiritual nakedness and sins. We can only be saved through God’s own works, not ours. No one can bind us back to God, but God alone. Only God’s own effort can provide the covering, and that covering comes through a sacrifice. This we will learn more once we will get to His ultimate sacrifice – the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. What He did in Genesis 3:21 is just a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice He will provide.

Cain practiced man-made religion. He offered the “fruits of the ground” to God. He thought that sim came from literally eating a literal fruit, and so he also offers fruits. His religion is not founded in revelation.

Just like Adam and Eve, Cain offered the work of his hands. You know, being a farmer at that time was harder than being a keeper of sheep like Abel. The ground was cursed as a consequence of Adam’s sin (Gen. 3:17), that is why it is hard to grow plants. Unlike being a keeper of Sheep, will you just let the sheep graze on abundant pasture since there are still no other people at that time aside from the four of them. There are also no carnivorous animals that will eat the sheep. So Cain’s efforts being a farmer are harder than Abel’s.

Cain might have thought, “These offerings are the products of my own hard work, God will be pleased by these.” But God rejected it. Why? Because again, it was based on human efforts. It is based on Cain’s own thinking and not on revelation.

Abel, however, learned from the mistakes of his Mom and Dad. He has a revelation of what really happened in the Garden of Eden. He knows that blood was involved in the Original Sin. He copied what God have done in Genesis 3:21. He copied God’s religion. He offered a blood sacrifice. It is a religion dependent on God alone. So God was pleased and respected it (Heb. 11:4-5, Gen. 4:4). This made Cain very wroth and killed his brother Abel.

In Genesis 11, we see another example of false religion.

Genesis 11:4 “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

The goal of the people in this verse is not to build a literal tower that can reach heaven. As we all know, no literal tower, no matter how high it is, can reach heaven. Their real goal is to use that tower they built so that they can perform their religion and through that religion, man can access heaven (the spiritual world) again.

Remember that the first being to be separated from God and from heaven (Spiritual World) is Lucifer and his angels (Rev. 12:8). They cannot access heaven anymore (Rev. 12:8-12). So they have been making attempts to access heaven again and to carry on with their original plan which is to conquer it (Rev. 12:7). In here, Satan is using people to build this tower where he can reach heaven again, along with his angels and those people. This is the religion of these people, in the leadership of Satan, in trying to reach God and heaven.

This is also the spirit of many modern religious institutions today. There is often a focus on building a “name” through human efforts and programs, focusing on organizational growth and on “climbing up” to God through rules and rituals. But just like the tower of Babel, it will not reach heaven. Instead, God Himself will destroy it (Gen. 11:7-8).

Many religious systems today are also patterned after these failures. They formed groups, organizations and grew in number. They claim that if you join their group, follow their programs, or pay your dues, you will be bound back to God. Pastors today are forming groups to declare that they are powerful and influential. They disfellowship those who will oppose them. But the Lord will start to crumble them for He is not in groups or organizations. The truth is, He hated them. In fact, during the Lord’s ministry on Earth, He did not visit any organizations or groups like those of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He is outside of those. And he is still doing that today.

If religion means “to bind back,” and we are dead in our sins, how do we truly get back to God? The Lord Jesus Christ gave us the definitive answer to this. He did not come to establish a denomination; He came to be the Way.

John 3:13 “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”

Man has tried so many attempts and ways to attach again to God and to ascend to heaven (like the Tower of Babel). They have invented so many religions today just for this purpose. But the Lord Jesus tells us that no man can ascend to heaven and bind us back to God. His words in John 3:13 are very clear: The only One who can bring us to heaven is the One who came down from heaven. In other words, He is the ONLY way.

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.”

The Lord Jesus said, “I am THE way.” He did not say “I am a Way”. This means that there is ONLY ONE Way that can bind us back to God and can bring us to heaven. And that only Way is Him. He also did not say, “I will show you the way,” or “I will give you a map.” He said, “I AM the way.”

Therefore, the Right Religion is not a system, group or sets of dogmas – IT IS A PERSON. And that person is no other than our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only one you need to attach us back to God. This is why we need to possess Him because He is the only way Who can bring us to heaven. To possess the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, is what He calls “Being Born-Again.”

John 3:5-6 “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

To be “born-again” is the ONLY WAY TO POSSESS CHRIST. It is a spiritual experience where His Spirit dwells in our spirit and quickens our dead spirits. It is allowing the Tree of Life to dwell in you. Once you are born-again, you are sure to go to heaven because the One Who can go to heaven is now one with you. He is the right religion.

If you want to know what the right religion looks like, look at the story of the thief on the cross on the right side of the Lord Jesus.

This man had no time to join a church. He was never water baptized. He never paid tithes. He is not a member of any religion. He had no “fig leaves” of good works to offer God. He was a sinner dying a shameful death. Yet, he looked at the Lord Jesus, believed and declared His faith to Him saying:

“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)

He recognized the King next to him. This is because he is also a sheep (John 10:27). He recognized the only One Who can bring him to heaven. And that’s why the Lord Jesus answered Him:

“To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

This is God’s religion. It is the religion that saves the sinner not through the sinner’s effort, membership or any works. But through the Savior’s merit. It does not cage us in man-made dogmas, groups and membership. It sets us free from them. The religion of the Lord saves us from the cages of men.

Back to my colleague’s question: “So where should I join?”

This is the straight-to-the-point answer found in the Scripture:

You do not need to join any religion today; you need to be joined to Christ. ALL WE NEED IS CHRIST.

Becoming a member of the true religion of God is a matter of the Spirit, not of mebership or groups.

John 4:23-24 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

This does not mean we forsake gathering together. Fellowship is vital. But seek a fellowship whose main aim is for you to possess Christ. And not the secondary things like membership, tithings, church programs, groups, or anything that will take your focus on possessing Christ.

These are what you should look at for a fellowship:

Go with those who seek the truth. Do not settle for membership numbers or groups.
Go with those whose sole authority is the Bible. If a group puts the words of a leader, a prophet, or a tradition above or equal to the Bible, flee.
Go with the fellowship that has no man-made dogma. Look for a place that preaches the “Coats of Skin”—the finished work of Christ—rather than the “Fig Leaves” of human effort.

Remember this: Joining a church doesn’t take anyone to heaven. Only those who are joint to Christ. Be sure to be joined to Christ.

The right religion is not about a label. It is about possessing the Lord Jesus Christ. It is about realizing that we were dead, separated, and unable to bind ourselves back to God. It is realizing that Jesus Christ is the only “Religo”—He is the ONLY cord that binds us to the Father.

Stop looking for the right building or group, start looking at the Man on the Cross. That is where the binding happens. That is where life begins.

God bless you Bride of Christ.