Make me Religious before I claim Religion…

This morning, I read from a great collection of Puritan prayers called The Valley of Vision. This statement resonated in my heart…

Help me to be in reality before thee, as in appearance I am before men, to be religious before I profess religion, to leave the world before I enter the church…

The Valley of Vision, 21

Some years back, a popular saying among some in “church circles” was, “It is not about religion, but a relationship.” While coming from a place of good motives, I think this particular “bumper sticker” statement is unhelpful. More to come on that and a few other unhelpful statements in a coming article. 

According to Webster:

Religion: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices; the service and worship of God…

Religious: relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity. Merriam-Webster.

Now let’s modify the prayer slightly with these considerations in mind: 

Help me to be the same before you as I appear before men, to be devoted to you before I profess to others to be your follower…

I cannot think of anyone who would resist the sentiment of this prayer. After all, it speaks of being consistent rather than duplicitous; being devoted rather than merely adhering to a defined code of conduct; working from our faith rather than working for it (See Phil 2:12 for more on this). 

Now, in a way that only the Lord can and for His own purposes…notice how Paul addressed this in my reading from Romans 9. 

³⁰What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; ³¹but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. ³²Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not bedisappointed.” 

Romans 9:30–33, NASB95

Paul said to the church in Rome that outsiders (Gentiles) attained their righteousness by faith, whereas insiders (Israel) sought to fulfill the requirements of the Law to attain righteousness. One (Israel) sought to serve God for their faith, whereas the other (Gentiles) served God from a position of acceptability by faith through Jesus Christ. Israel made their “Messiah” the proper conduct of life, while the believers trusted a Messiah and then lived in a manner that reflected Him as they followed. Do you recognize the difference? 

No matter how hard you work toward righteousness, you will never obtain it. However, when you run to Jesus, recognize Him as your only valid hope of right standing before God, and live your life accordingly, you experience righteousness by faith. 

The choice is not merely an exercise in semantics. It is faith. Will you trust Jesus to give you what you could not work for, or will you work for what you cannot attain apart from Jesus?