Have you ever recognized a peculiar behavior in yourself and thought, “Where did that even come from?” I recently had a moment like that. I wasn’t raised in church so I don’t have a quote-unquote “religious” background. AND YET, my thoughts (mindset) can wander towards religious do’s and don’ts, and is God mad or disappointed in me, etc.
Where does that come from?
What I’ve come to realize is the enemy loves to pervert the good ways of God. This isn’t necessarily new news to me, but how he twists our good intentions caught me off-guard. I’m specifically referring to the genuine desire of my heart to please God. When I discovered salvation and how God so generously forgave my sins, my heart was sold out to Him. I wanted to spend the rest of my life showing my gratitude.
- This is where you could say: “Enter Scene One: the devil.” (and add a roll-eye emoji)
Paul understood this dilemma. He said, “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it, killed me” (Romans 7:9-11).
In layman’s terms, Paul was saying that before he knew what pleased God, he was free (sort of). But then when he learned more, the commandments that were meant to give life (or help) actually introduced him to condemnation.
“Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful” (Romans 7:13).
Can we say it this way: “But [the devil]… was producing death in me through what is good.” In other words, my heart (Paul’s heart) and desire to do good and please God was a great opportunity for the enemy to get in my head and make me question if I was doing “enough good” things.
And this, my friends, is the simple definition of religion.
Religion is a mix of the old and new covenant– law and grace. Under the Old Covenant, you had to perform the whole law to be right with God (Deuteronomy 6:25). Under the New Covenant, we are made right with God through faith in Jesus (Romans 3:28). Religion sneaks in and says, “Are you sure that’s enough?” And if we don’t know God’s Word, we’ll naturally question God’s love for us.
- “Enter Scene Two: a religious mindset.” (and add a hand-on-head emoji)
Here’s the truth we need to know: The law demanded payment for sin and seared the conscious. The Gospel provides payment for sin and frees the conscious! Under the Old Covenant, sacrifices were only a reminder of sin. Hebrews 10:2 says, “If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshippers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared” (NLT). Can you say “no more consciousness of sin and separation”?
The CROSS of Jesus was designed to free us– including our sin-consciousness!
This means any condemnation you might feel is not from God.
This is why it’s important to know the difference between the Old and New Covenant and stop blindly accepting a lukewarm mixture. The Old required performance. Even something as simple as “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart” can equate to performance if we don’t have a full understanding of grace. On the other hand, the New requires only faith. God simply asks us to believe “This is love: not that we love God, but that He loves us” (1 John 4:10).
Now for all you Bible scholars, I know you’re thinking “But faith without works is dead!” True. But good works as a result of faith isn’t the same as trying to earn favor by our works. And when we don’t know the difference, the enemy smiles because he sees an opportunity.
So I just want help bring some balance to your life (as the Holy Spirit brought balance to mine). I’m so glad you love Jesus (I do too)! Your faith in Him makes God smile. So don’t let your desire to “do more” override His great love for you.
