religion - a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
According to the above definition from Dictionary.com, religion is: Belief in a superhuman agent as Creator Devotion to that agent, made manifest in practice through ordinances Moral adherence to that creating agent's laws of governance I believe that is a pretty good definition and that it sums up "religion" fairly concisely.
True religion does involve these things. As a Christian,
I believe that the God of the Bible (Yahweh of the Old Testament, further made manifest to mankind by Jesus in the New Testament, and finally, made effective to us by the Holy Spirit) is the Creator of all things. I have pledged my allegiance to Him alone, turning away from and making continuous effort to guard myself against worshipping any one or any thing other than Him. I practice and proclaim my devotion to Him through the official ordinances of Baptism (for initiation) and The Lord's Supper (for remembrance and consecration). I both long to know and do strive to adhere to the laws that He has given to me in His word, the Holy Bible. He gave Ten Commandments for His people to follow, which He later summarized into two. These two are: 1. To love Him fully, with every ounce of my being, and 2. To love the people He has made in the same manner as I do myself. In doing these things as He has prescribed, He will accept my worship. He will be pleased because I have honored Him with my heart by submitting to His instruction. This is proof (to Him, to myself, and to anyone who may be watching) that He is my Lord.
My ability and willingness to worship Him correctly are very weak, however. I fail Him often and do disgrace His name, even publicly at times. But my security is not based upon my ability to understand everything that He has said or done, nor is it based upon my devotion in practicing His ordinances, nor is it based upon my ability to adhere to His commands. My security lies in one thing only...that the man He sent, Jesus, was able to and did entirely keep all of these things before the Father in my stead. Though I was/am weak and evil, Jesus was/is strong and good and He has credited His ability to my account. My joy, my peace and my hope rest entirely on what Jesus has done, not on anything that I have or have not done.
Dear reader, there is no other religion like this. The rest are poor substitutes. False. Phonies. But don't take my word for it, read God's Word for yourself. Dig into it and discover this amazing truth with your own eyes. Begin to attend a church in which the leaders and the worshippers are fully convinced of this truth and where they refuse to compromise it in any way. If you do these things with a humble heart, I am convinced that you will eventually see it for yourself. You, too, will come to believe.
Embrace the only true religion. Do it, even today. Become a follower of Jesus Christ. Receive His salvation. What great joy Jesus brings! What great comfort! What great hope!
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." - Acts 2:38
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