What is True Religion?
“None have been more ready to pray in times of trouble than those who have ridiculed prayer in their prosperity.” Charles Spurgeon
We all have dreams to chase, family and friends to love, dear health to preserve, and silver and gold to live a good life. But before we know it, our dreams are dashed, relationships disappoint, loved ones die, we are overcome with terminal illnesses and the economy fails. And when these troubles come, people suddenly become religious!
There is a sense in which difficulties heighten our awareness of the divine. Many times, the sense of a personal god or gods is aroused by our desire to control “good luck.” In order to achieve this, we come up with elaborate systems of faith and worship practices to soothe our battered outlook into a fractured world. All this is man’s idea of religion.
Others simply grow up in a religious system and end up defining religion according to the norms which are often aligned with a denomination. Within Christian circles, requirements can emerge about what true religion is all about. Do this, don’t do that! So, what really is true religion?
In the New Testament, James tackles this question and provides an answer: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 1:27). But this is set in the context of demonstrating true faith through godly conduct and loving God and others. In the Old Testament as well, whenever God talks about the need for people to show compassion to the needy or the vulnerable, it is always an outcome of faith and obedience to God.
You see, the Bible clearly tells us who is to be worshipped and how. God himself sets the expectations for true religion and it starts with the fact that He demands to be worshiped and obeyed. “You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you” (Ex 34:14). “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below” (Ex 20:3-4).
God makes it clear that it is not “religious ritual” that He desires, but obedience that springs from faith and love for Him. Thus, religious expression has many shades, but we will choose to explore the concepts of piety, prayer, fasting and charity.
True Piety
Piety is a devotion and reverence to the dutiful fulfilment of religious actions performed according to a prescribed order to appease the gods. A strict adherence to fulfilling religious practices out of obligation does not fulfil true religion. Instead, true Christian piety is to have faith in Jesus Christ, and our devotional expression of worship should be an overflow of our love and gratefulness to the Father who provided us with salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). A pious adherence to religious obligations without Jesus at the centre is a dream from which you may awake to eternal gloom and separation from God.
True Prayer
Sometimes we think that we must pray at certain times of day or for a certain length of time for God to really hear and respond to our prayers. But the Bible outlines other truths about prayer: we should cultivate a desire to pray at any time (1 Thess. 5:17); according to the will of God (1 John5:14-15); with dependence on God; with confidence (Hebrews 4:16), without selfishness (James 4:3). The Father loves and rewards such prayer.
These verses should help us to understand that “power” in prayer is not relegated to a particular place (John 4:21) or to a “man of God.” Instead, all believers can pray to God at any time and in any place. There is a time and importance for praying with others corporately; and there is a time and importance for praying privately. True prayer is fellowship with God.
True Fasting
In a literal sense, fasting is religious abstinence from food and drink. As a ritual, we believe that fasting will make us be more acceptable to God in some way or that He will grant some request that we may have based on the degree of fasting that we commit to. Yet this is not the natural result of our fasting. Consequently we complain, “Why have we fasted . . . . and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves and you have not noticed?” God in turn asks us whether this is the fast he has required of us (Isaiah 58:3-5).
True fasting is not merely a function of denial; it is also dedication. Not merely what you have abstained from, but what you are committing yourself to. We seek to cleanse ourselves as vessels of honor sanctified and useful for the master’s work (2 Timothy 2:21). Therefore, the act of abstinence from earthly delights and comforts serves to exclusively dedicate and consecrate oneself to God.
True Charity
Charity is voluntary giving of help to those in need. Jesus in Matthew 6 taught that when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do. Although the needy is provided for, God condemns the motive of seeking to earn praise from men. Instead, true Charity is meant to be a discreet blessing to the needy for the glory of God. The Father who sees in secret will reward such. Throughout the Bible, we see God’s compassionate care for those who are needy and He commands believers to also care for the orphan, the widow and the stranger among us.
In conclusion, while Jesus rebuked the Pharisees’ motives for their public display of religion, he encouraged his disciples saying, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). True religion will ultimately have a public display of good works that spring from a heart of pure motives and an intimate relationship with the heavenly Father.