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You can either have religion or you can have regeneration. You can't have both. To have religion you do not need to repent of your sins and IDOLS. To have regeneration, you MUST REPENT of your sins and idols and turn to the living God -- the Lord Jesus Christ -- by faith (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 1 Thess. 1:9).

Today's gospel preaching is often devoid of the Scriptural call to repentance. However, the first words out of the mouth the the Savior were: "REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND" (Matt. 4:17). Today's preachers, by and large, do not address their audiences with this proclamation to repent. Today's gospel is a watered-down Gospel, so many people continue to cling to religion and are never regenerated. You must believe, repent, and receive Christ as both Lord and Savior in order to be saved (Acts 2:36-40).

The word religion occurs in the New Testament five times, of which it is used pejoratively three times. The Greek word "threskeia" means "religious worship esp. external, that which consists of ceremonies". That's what Paul had before he met Christ and was regenerated:

Act 26:5 Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. Gal 1:13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: Gal 1:14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

When the Apostle Paul spoke of "religion" he spoke of the meticulous external observations of himself and other Pharisees which were devoid of spiritual reality. It was all a sham and he was the most zealous "religionist". We still have millions of religionists. So, are you a religionist or have you been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-7)?

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!  I couldn't agree more.  It is a sad and terrible thing that a watered down version of the gospel is being preached.  My heart breaks for the body of Christ and the delusion it is under.

In Christ
Kathleen

True and untrue.  Religion as defined in the New Testament incorporates the behavior of the regenerate man as well as all his church duties.  If you mean godless formalism, high church liturgy bereft of saving grace I can see your point.  But I am a very religious man, regenerate and affectionate toward my father in heaven in Jesus. Correction; I am not religious enough for I have failed to love my neighbhor as myself ie widows ans orphans and all others. The former is Paul's definition of Religion.

Believing in God and Jesus has nothing to do with religion. It
has to do with a personal relationship with the Creator.
Belief in God is not religious, it's a personal relationship. ;D

******
I agree! (not much that is)
But to be a Believing in Christ Christian, is what I want! The Israel of old tried it your way. They believed in God & Christ. Just not the one that was Christ!

But still, your post is flawed! See Matt. 23:3. And Acts 9:6 is the command (what thou MUST DO) of Christ to send Saul (Paul) to His NEW ORGANIZED DENOMINATION! See Matt. 16:18-19 & chapter 18:15-18. Why did Christ not give Saul his orders personally? And also restore his eyesight by just speaking the Word?

ALL else are loose cannon's like the rebellion that first started in heaven. These all want to do their OWN thing'y too, huh? Follow Christ's ORDERS? No way! They will not even OBEY the forth Command engraven in stone by God Himself!!

---John

 Religion/Religious:

James 1:26.  If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
 27.  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

New Creature:

2 Corinthians 5:17.  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new

Galatians 6:15.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
 16.  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.


Newness of Life:


Romans 6:4.  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.


New Man:


Ephesians 4:24.  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.


Colossians 3:8.  But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
 9.  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
 10.  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:


In His Love,
Ollie