A City Called Religious
A Devotional
© 2001 Steve Lattier and Men's Help Ministries

Can you find that city on a map? No, none that I have ever seen. Nonetheless many, many people live there, Christians and non-Christians alike! It is not on a map and it doesn't even have roads per se, though it does have a lot of buildings. Oh, yeah I almost forgot, it has a lot of walls, that is what keeps the buildings apart. It is a curious landscape, all those disconnected buildings loosely together making up a city with no roads, not even walking paths. Some of the walls are so low you could stumble on them, others are tall enough to lean on and yet others still are high and formidable, so high in fact that you feel held prisoner by them. Sometimes you can see another building from the one you are in, but not always. Sometimes you can even talk to people in another building, and some seem strangely hostile and off-limits. Each one of the buildings has a familiar feel to it, though they are all quite different. It is as if you could almost know what the people inside would be doing, that is, if you would be allowed in.

That is a pretty scary sounding place that city, isn't it? Almost surreal, very much a desolate ruined, unloving place. Where is it, you ask? My Christian brothers, just look around you, it is everywhere. I hear many people being referred to, after they die, as having been very “religious.” When I hear that phrase, I just hope that they were Christian. Even our current president George Bush has been called religious, he may or may not be. I do know that he is a professing, Jesus confessing Christian. There is only one way that any of us can get into Heaven and that is to believe and confess what was done two thousand years ago.

The Word:
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever *believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. (*emphasis mine)

There, you see, it is not nearly as complicated as we make it out to be! Sure there is more to it than that, but that is the nuts and bolts of salvation. Most certainly that is also the bare beginnings of a lifelong experience where we learn and grow every step of the way, or at least that is the way that God designed it. That city I referred to is not only the state of the church, all chopped up and walled off from each other, but it is also the state of our hearts toward each other. Just because it is not a place on a map does not make it any less real, nor any less a threat towards the church that Jesus taught about. I am not afraid to say it, I like to rattle people's cages from time to time, Jesus never once mentioned religion. On the flip side I am not going to renounce all religion either. Jesus gave us a relationship, which is the basis for Christianity. Since Jesus ascended, men have sought to bridge the gap between man and God with rules, guidelines and practiced petitions, that is religion. Religion is not necessarily wrong it is just not God-authored. (an aside note: there are over six hundred different practicing religions of Christ confessing faith in the U.S. today, the chance of a single one of them being 100% right is next to impossible!) Now I will say that there are some that are just plain wrong and the belief system that they use teaches something other than Christ, though they use His name. (cults etc) Are you beginning to see that city I mentioned? Those buildings are our churches and those walls are the teachings of our different religions. I am not going pick every religion apart but I will give you some guidelines to think about. Some of the teachings I equated to a low curb that you could stumble on. Imagine that you are walking toward God, and in a sense we all are. What could cause you to stumble? Hypocrisy in the leadership, too many rules that sort of thing. Some of the teachings I likened to a low wall that you could lean on. These would be things that make you stop walking toward God and just rest in comfort like too much structure in a service, the pageantry of the service, anything that makes you feel as if you have arrived. Then there are the higher walls. Some are just too high to see over and some can stop you from even seeing God. For instance one wall is who you can pray to, and how you can do it. Another wall that is taught is that you can work your way into Heaven. Still another that is showing up more in the last ten or so years is that good people will go to Heaven. That last one is a wall that will keep more people OUT of Heaven than it lets in. Jesus warned His disciples about the “churches” teachings and to not let them get in the way of a relationship with him.

The Word:
Matthew 16:5 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. [6] "Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." [7]They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because we didn't bring any bread." [8] Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? [9] Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? [10] Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? [11] How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." [12] Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.


That city I have been talking about was even around in Jesus' time. He told the disciples to be careful about what those men taught. We should always be on guard of the teachings of men. I have and prayerfully always will encourage people to check what I teach out in the bible. I am human and I am certainly not even close to the end-all of bible scholars. I don't want to make this sound like a religion bashing tirade. It is not that. Let me go a little farther and I will tie it all together. Jesus caught up with the Pharisees one day and really cut into them about the way that they taught.

The Word:
Matthew 23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: [2] "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. [3] So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. [4] They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. [5] "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries* wide and the tassels on their garments long; [6] they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; [7] they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.' [8] "But you are not to be called `Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. [9] And do not call anyone on earth `father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. [10] Nor are you to be called `teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.* [11] The greatest among you will be your servant. [12] For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. [13] "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.* [15] "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

Jesus went on and on for a while, just really ripping the Pharisees for their teachings. Many modern churches are playing the part of the Pharisees today. Some teach that only a certain number of people will get to Heaven, some teach that you must say a certain thing a certain number of times to get forgiven, still others teach that their particular faction is the only one that is scriptural, this list goes on. This where I wanted to go with this today, we don't have to succumb to poor teaching. No I don't want you to leave your church, well unless they are just wrong of course. I am saying to read the bible to know if you are being misled. Steep yourself in God's word and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance as you read. That city called religious, or properly named “religiosity”, is real it keeps people who believe in the same God the same Christ and the same verse in John 3:16 from acting like brothers and sisters because of all those walls, walls that were put there by men. Well meaning or not, men put them up and some of them are tall enough to keep us from seeing God, let alone have a relationship with Him. That is what it is all about after all.

The Word:
Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' [23] Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'.

Ouch that is pretty plain! “I never knew you!?” I don't think I want to hear that when I stand before my Lord! Just because someone does everything that their religion teaches doesn't guarantee that they can go to Heaven, remember we already explored the possibility of any religion being all the way correct? Don't leave religion, it can be a nice thing, but don't let religion stop you from having a relationship. God wants to know you, it is simple really. If you have a religion, use it like you would use a car to drive to the store, to get closer to God and shuck the rules that stop that from happening. Don't live in that walled in place called religiosity, where men's jealousy keeps Christians from being brothers and sisters. The church that Jesus did give us has no walls in it! If it came down to it and you were to die tonight, would you want someone to say at your funeral that you were a religious person or that you had a relationship? If you do not have a relationship, or the one you do have is clouded by the walls of religiosity then pray this with me.

Pray with me: Father I am sorry for all my sin. Those sins that I know and even those that I have forgotten. Lord I want to have a relationship with you. I confess that you died for my sin. Help me to cast off the shackles of men that keep me from you. Teach me how to use my religion to get closer to you. Help me to study so that I can know what is right in your word. Help me to live my life so that when I stand before you I hear you say that YES, you knew me. I love you and I ask this humbly in Jesus name. Amen!


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I read through your devotionals Steve and go in many directions while winding my way to the end. The tie-ins at the end really do bring it all together.

We've talked about this a few times on here... so many churches base their existence on one set of scriptures or even one verse. Blinded by "I am right, therefore you must be wrong" countless people are turned off by the "religion" in churches today. A relationship with the Father is where it's truly at. Churches that realize this and seek to gain that relationship and shuck the religion are the ones people are flocking to. The rest are dieing slowly as they succomb to the "us four and no more" walls they have put up.