It's About Him

            For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. (Genesis 5:24)

 

As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. (II Kings 2:11-12)

 

Let me begin with the statement that religion is not a bad thing – or not always or entirely a bad thing. Religion and its sterile sibling, philosophy both seek to understand the nature of the universe, and to prescribe how best to live based on their individual understandings. Religions tend to include deities, while philosophies tend not to – but that rule is not written in stone. In simple terms, both religions and philosophies are – generally speaking – about what is real and how to live within that reality to the best of the understanding of the religious or philosophical leader. Philosophy tends to be reductionist in comparison to religion.

          What this means is that religion and philosophy are manmade. They are about what people think about the universe and how to live well. In the case of religion, it generally involves the answer to the question of how to live well enough to be allowed into heaven.

          In other words, religion is basically about bragging rights, but today’s passage is one of many in the Bible that makes it clear that what is taught in the Bible isn’t about religion, and it’s not about bragging rights. Consider, for example, the Mosaic Law. What it promised was is ever Israelite and every foreigner living in the land of Israel kept the law perfectly that their lives in Israel would be blessed. And if anyone in Israel violated the Law, not only would their lives in Israel be cursed, but they would lose Israel. And because it was obvious that keeping that Law to that extent was impossible, a sacrificial system was set up that would allow Israelites to receive forgiveness for their sins. This would let them continue to dwell in the land.

          If you read the biographies of the few men in the Old Testament who were described as “righteous,” you’ll find they had their faults. David was described as “A man after God’s own heart” but he committed adultery and murder and wasn’t a good father. And while David claimed to want to dwell in the house of the Lord forever, there is nothing in Scripture that tells us what he did to earn that right. Prior to Jesus, the only men who might have made the grade were Enoch and Elijah, and we’re not given much clue as to how they did it.

          Jesus is different. Yes, He taught religion/philosophy, because He taught about reality and how best to live, but He didn’t teach that if we do A though Z and AA through ZZ, we’ll earn our way to Heaven. Instead, He taught that He is the way to Heaven. As I have stated before – this difference between what all the standard religions teach and what Jesus and His followers taught is why I believe that Jesus is, as He said, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It’s not about religion and our earning bragging rights. It’s about Him.