Americans are a religious people. We go to church in greater percentages and with more frequency than the other major industrialized nations. Yet for most of us "just a little religion will do." We are quick to fault someone for being too religious, but are indifferent to those who are not religious. What we seem to fear most in religion is fanaticism, excess, and zeal. This is understandable given the way the public media discuss religion.
If a person's entire knowledge of religion were derived from television and the newspapers, he might well have the idea that Islamic Fundamentalism and Christian Fundamentalism were two strains of the same virus. (They are opposites.) He probably could not tell the difference between a "Jerry Falwell" and a "David Koresh." As a result, any zeal for things religious appears akin to the fanaticism of Islamic Fundamentalism or of a cult leader like David Koresh of Waco, Texas.
A further result of this fear of fanaticism is that many people never discover the depth, the beauty, and the wonder of true Christianity. Their religion remains superficial. Unfortunately, such a shallow faith cannot master the crises of life. It cannot soothe the soul in grief, nor strengthen the resolve in times of trial. But there is an even greater danger in "just a little religion will do." Religion has to do with our relationship to God our Creator. What does God think of "a little religion will do?"
We can all agree that God dislikes hypocrisy. If we, who are made in God's image recoil at hypocrisy, how much more does God? Jesus said it this way (quoting an Old Testament Prophet),
This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. (Mark 7:6)
Perhaps you have had the experience of going to church physically, but not mentally and emotionally. It is easy to say the words, and sing the hymns, but to miss the meaning. Though you honored God with your lips, where was your heart?
"Where is your heart?" That is the most important question in things religious. We can fool men with pretence and show. We can even deceive ourselves about our true motivations. But God looks on the heart. Jesus was once asked what was the greatest commandment. You probably know his answer. He said,
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)
Love for God is not to be measured out in small doses. We are to love God with a total love that requires all our heart, mind, and strength. Anything less is unworthy of God and an insult to his majesty. It is this greatest commandment that puts the lie to "just a little religion will do." Certainly we can do religious things (go to church, read the Bible, etc.) to the neglect of other duties (work, family, marriage). Some people do this. We can rightly call them fanatics. However, to strive to love God with all our heart is not fanaticism, but the essence of true religion. It is the greatest commandment.
What sort of religion is your religion? Do you worship God with your lips, but your heart is far from him? Or are you striving to love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength? And if you are convinced that you ought to love God, where do you begin? The answer is that we begin with God's love for us. Love for God stems from God's love for us. The Apostle John put it this way:
We love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
This brings us to the second problem with "just a little religion will do." Just a little religion means that we talk about God, but never experience his love for us. Our religion remains a shallow recognition that there is God, but it never touches our soul.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
God loved us and sent his Son for us . This is the heart of true Christianity. It is the message of God's love reaching out to us. It is good news. But it is also bad news. It is bad news about our human condition. God sent his Son because we are sinners. Our evil thoughts and deeds have alienated us from God. Therefore, God sent his Son "to be the propitiation for our sins."
We get angry when people do us wrong. We are offended when others treat us with disrespect. Or when they lie about us. It hurts if our efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated. So too, God is angry when we do him wrong, when we lie about him, or fail to notice his continual kindness and care for us. Sin is an affront against God. But unlike us, God never compromises his standards. He does not grade on a curve. Rather his judgments are always true. He will give to each of us according to our deeds.
There is no human escape from a true and perfect administration of justice at the hands of God. Every evil thought, word, and deed will appear before his perfect tribunal. Can you image the terror in your soul if a companion were to begin to recite every cruel thought, every wrong deed, every moment of hatred, jealousy, or evil lust in your life? God will call them all to account. They will all be exposed to his scrutiny when you appear before his throne.
It is for this reason that God sent his Son "to be the propitiation for our sins." God would not compromise his own character as just and holy. Sin must be punished. Therefore, God provided a substitute to assume our guilt, and bear our punishment. In this way the just anger of God could be turned from us, and we could discover his forgiving love. This is what it means that God sent his Son "to be the propitiation for our sins." God's Son, Jesus Christ, took our human flesh, and died for our sins, that God might be both just and forgiving. This is the love of God that touches the very depths of our souls. Has it touched your soul?
Until we receive and accept God's love for us in Jesus Christ, we cannot begin to love God with all our hearts. Our religion will remain shallow and superficial. And it will be true of us also:
This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. (Mark 7:6)
However, if we acknowledge our sin before God, and accept his Son as our savior from sin, then the love of God fills us beyond all human reckoning. Knowing ourselves as loved by God, we in response learn to love God more and more. "Just a little religion" will not do. It is an insult to God and a starving of our own souls. What we need is true religion: namely, the love of God, and the love for God that flows from it.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
Only such religion counts in the face of death and the judgment of God. Is this your religion?
Dr. Jack Kinneer