Religion can be helpful...but only if the heart is right.
"At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, 'Cornelius.' And he stared at him in terror and said, 'What is it, Lord?' And he said to him, 'Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.' When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa." (Acts 10:1-8 ESV)
Cornelius did practice religion; he "gave alms generously" and "prayed continually to God." He was actually "devout" in his practices (devout = pious, dutiful).
He practiced religious habit in his flesh (meaning, he did the best he could).
But.
It was not only a practice of his flesh; Cornelius ALSO "feared God." Here, the word "fear" means "to reverence, venerate, to treat with deference or reverential obedience." It was a condition of Cornelius' heart. He didn't just go through the motions, but revered God.
When the condition of our heart is right, religion is good. When our hearts are not right, religion means nothing. In the latter case, religion is empty
and devoid of any power or meaning.
No comments:
Post a Comment