Why Jesus is Way BETTER Than Religion
Tarah Avery
Did you know Jesus is called “the second Adam?” He is Adam as he should have been – without sin.
Jesus represents life as it is meant to be lived, free of sin and death. That is why we can’t experience true life without a relationship with Jesus; it just doesn’t exist.
Before Jesus, God created a way for sin to be forgiven. But even before that, his people needed a way to recognize when they were sinning; thus the law was created. For hundreds of years, God’s people followed this law or faced the consequences of giving in to their sinful nature.
The whole first testament represents the battle of whether God’s people would follow him or follow sin. It’s back and forth, back and forth, over and over again.
The law was given as a “conscience,” to let God’s people know when they were sinning and when they weren’t. During that time, religion as a set of rules & rituals to abide by was created as a helpful tool to keep God’s people grounded and on the right path.
And that’s the problem with religion – we are following our beliefs about God, including the sets of morals and rituals that are set before us in Scripture (the law), rather than following Jesus.
See, the thing about Jesus is that he came to make a way for us to be one with God. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he came to fulfill the law [religion] by creating a direct way to God’s forgiveness and enter into one on one relationship with him (Galatians 3:19).
Before Jesus, the only way to atone for sin and receive God’s forgiveness was to create a sacrifice. Now the different types of sacrifices get very detailed depending on how you sinned, so we aren’t going to get into all of that. Let’s just say that in that day and age the people of the world all served different gods. And you had to go to great lengths and jump through tons of hoops in hopes that one wouldn’t upset the gods. The gods of the day were ruthless and left people feeling like they were “walking on eggshells” all the time.
So when the one true God gave his people these “rules” to abide by [religion] he was saying, “here is a clear and definite way to win my favor. Do this and all will go well with you.” He didn’t leave them wondering what they should do to win his favor – he was making himself very clear.
But the plan all along was for God to send his one and only son, Jesus, to become the ultimate sacrifice so that none of us would have to physically sacrifice anything on an altar again. He made the way easier for us to walk in right relationship with God.
There is no mountain to climb to get to God like most other religions out there. Instead, God came to us, in human form, never once sinned, and showed us what a relationship with our Creator looks like. He showed us how a relationship with God trumps following our beliefs about God [religion].
Now forgiveness, relationship, and true-life are free gifts for the taking. We just have to receive them.
So it is through Jesus that you are set free from death. Through Jesus, we no longer must work for God’s love, as you do in every other world religion that exists. There is nothing that can separate you from his love. Right relationship with Jesus rather than “works” is what God desires for us.
It’s easy to let God’s rules come before YAHWEH himself. We become obsessed with following this or that to the point of condemning others if they don’t do the same (as seen often in the Scriptures with Sabbath, eating “unclean” food, and circumcision).
Even today, many of those arguments (and tons of others) get between the love and unity that God has called us to as his followers. This is why we cannot let religion get in the way of a true relationship with Jesus.
I was once asked by a friend who is still figuring out what they believe why my faith seemed different than other Christians they knew. I had to simply answer that it was because of building a relationship with Jesus. It was so encouraging to me that this person could see a difference in the fruit of my life compared to others out there, who to put it simply, care more about following the “rules.”
The fruit of our lives is what really shows what we believe. And when it’s in relationship with Jesus we will bear much good fruit. But when we’re more focused on our religion, the fruit might not look so great (Galatians 5:19-23). Jesus so desires for us to have the absolute best in life and to live our lives joyfully and for him. He knows what is best for us, which will bring us the most joy and contentment in life. It’s like the inventor who knows his invention better than anyone else.
And out of that joy and contentment, we worship him. We worship Him through a relationship with him, and then a desire to follow what he says blossoms in us because we trust that he is good and he knows what he is doing.
Have you ever struggled in building a relationship with Jesus? What are some ways you connect with him best?
All my love,
