Thursday, April 3, 2008

Religion vs. the Gosple

From time to time I find discussions with friends turn to issues of faith, God and spirituality and invariably "religion" comes up as a key topic and often is a great source of confusion for most. That is, when asked what do I believe I'll say the "Gospel" to which they say yes but what religion are you; as if that is more important.

All religions are "man made" whereas the Gospel is the message, 'the good news of Christ'; a big difference. To that end I came across the following that was posted by Mark Driscoll and thought it did a pretty nifty job of further clarifying the sublte yet very important difference.


  • Religion says, if I obey, God will love me. Gospel says, because God loves me, I can obey.


  • Religion has good people & bad people. Gospel has only repentant and unrepentant people.


  • Religion values a birth family. Gospel values a new birth.


  • Religion depends on what I do. Gospel depends on what Jesus has done.


  • Religion claims that sanctification justifies me. Gospel claims that justification enables sanctification.


  • Religion has the goal to get from God. Gospel has the goal to get God.


  • Religion sees hardships as punishment for sin. Gospel sees hardship as sanctified affliction.


  • Religion is about me. Gospel is about Jesus.


  • Religion believes appearing as a good person is the key. Gospel believes that being honest is the key.


  • Religion has an uncertainty of standing before God. Gospel has certainty based upon Jesus' work.


  • Religion sees Jesus as the means. Gospel sees Jesus as the end.


  • Religion ends in pride or despair. Gospel ends in humble joy.

4 comments:

phil melnik said...

One of the difficult issues here is the definition of terms. I'm not sure why Mark Driscoll is so cynical in his take/definition--- " Religion is about me"
Here is Webster, " Main Entry: re·li·gion
Pronunciation: \ri-ˈli-jən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English religioun, from Anglo-French religiun, Latin religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perhaps from religare to restrain, tie back — more at rely
Date: 13th century
1 a: the state of a religious nun b (1): the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2): commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness
4: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

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