Be Ware of Religion

 2 Corinthians 11:30-33

“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.”

The apostle Paul is not blowing his own horn so that you or the church at Corinth thinks he something special, but to counter the boasting of the false apostles, that had come into the church after he had left.  Do you recall Jesus warning about these things while he was with us?  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” 

In the book of Acts 9: 23-25, we are given details on the account Paul is sharing with the churches at Corinth.  This is the account: “When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.”  Often we need the rest of the story so let us keep going; in Acts 9: 26-30, “And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples, And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.”

If you are one who is religious be very careful, for it looks as if all who opposed Jesus and Paul were very religious people.  I’ve come to the conclusion that religion’s endgame is always death.  Whereas a follower of Christ is one who has entered into a personal relationship with the Creator, the LORD Jesus Christ has entered into a relationship.  For a relationship to grow, the two must spend time with each other, are you spending time with Jesus?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice