by Edgar Mark Sotomayor
There was a time that I didn’t believe in Christ – not even a little bit.
I thought He was just a fancy delusion that people that didn’t want to die told themselves to feel better about their daily lives, to have something to hold on to, a hope.
I thought Christianity was just a coping mechanism for life, a psychological loophole to make some people feel more special than the people around them.
I thought these things, and many, many more things about religion because I didn’t understand it.
I’m asking the Lord to give me more understanding to this day.
I thought religion was a nasty beast, and I still think it is, but now I think about life, Christ, and religion in a new way.
Christ has renewed my mind (Romans 12:2).
Now, I have a new, empathetic, no, sympathetic (having gone through it and been a Christian for a 3 years) view towards religion.
While religion is still re-legion, a legion of saints, sinners, demons, perceptions, and accusations, now I see that this concept of religion that we Christians hold to is truly not religion at all.
In it’s purest form, Christianity is really just relationship with Christ and the body of believers, hearing from Him, doing what He says, as if He’s king and you’re a vassal to His Kingdom.
Like in the Book of Acts.
But “religion” as a term is very touchy for many people for various reasons.
I believe that the word “religion” has to be defined before addressing.
The term means not only one thing, but can mean a plethora of things in various people’s minds.
To the Islamic man, when you hear religion, you may think of Muhammad.
To the pagan, when you hear religion, you may think of Roman or Norse gods.
To the Jew, when you hear of religion, you may think of the Torah.
To the Catholic, when you hear religion, you may think of old cathedrals and sculptures of saints.
To the Christian, when you hear of religion, you may think of sermons, denominations, or hopefully Jesus Christ.
So as one word as fully charged as “religion” might mean multiple different things to different people, depending on the knowledge which they possess within themselves, so does ‘God’, ‘Jesus’, ‘Holy Spirit’, and ‘Christianity’.
What are we to do, with so many definitions, so many meanings that could be attached to just a single word?
Is there any way to get us all on the same page?
No, I don’t believe so. Not if we continue using the same systems and processes that have been used until now.
And who would want to be on the same page, anyway?
Because that would take away the uniqueness from different people groups and the benefits of creative thinking present in language, words, and perception.
What I’m getting to is this – we can all be told something about a certain topic, a certain word, a way of life, a movement, or whatever!
An individual’s way of thinking may constantly be changing due to culture and the public.
But what’s to inform us on the true meaning of anything?
What remains the same throughout time?
It’s the source. The creator gets original rights to dictate what the creation is, what it’s called, and what it’s function or purpose is.
The root word, whether it be in Greek, Latin, Aramaic, or Hebrew shows us what the meaning of the word is.
Andthe one who made that thing gives us the source to the meaning of the word.
Well, the source of all things is God.
And through the Word, which you could say is the first name Jesus Christ ever received (John 1:1), God created everything. The world, people, everything.
All was created through the Word.
Every word, and every meaning of every word, is operated by Spirits and are abstract in conception.
If you have a mind open to spiritual things, spiritual bodies, spiritual ways, then maybe you can visualize this.
If not, then I’m sorry – you’re stuck in this concrete world.
May Christ illuminate the eyes of your understanding (Ephesians 1).
The Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. Many Christians don’t understand spiritual things, do they have the Holy Spirit? Hmmm.
Not for me to say, but I do know that there’s a way for one to profess Christ, be baptized in water, yet not experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit, nor the gifts that come along with that.
Yet I still subscribe with the notion, “everyone who professes Christ as saviour can only do so by the Spirit of God,” (1 Corinthians 12:3).
The name Holy Spirit, in and of itself, may make us think that we ourselves must be pure, that the Spirit is only for those who don’t sin, or atleast try their darndest not to.
No one is holy by themselves, but with belief in Christ they become holy in God’s sight, because Jesus now covers them.
Holy in “Holy Spirit” means it’s simply God’s Spirit, for no one is holy, only God, so we must be covered by God to be holy to God.
Christianity entails God redeeming us back to God by and through God.
If God declares you holy, who can make you unrighteous?
If God says you’re a saint, not because of you, but because of Him, then why do you still think you’re a sinner?
You ARE a sinner – without Him.
But WITH HIM, “even though I sin, it is no longer I, yet sin in me”, writes Paul (Romans 7:17).
Behold, all things are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Not some things, but ALL things.
Meaning the law in which you operate in has now changed from death to life – from the law of sin and death to the law of the Spirit of life (Romans 8:1-2).
Christianity is a quantum leap into a new reality.
Christianity is a dimension not bound by these physical terms, but now heaven is superimposed in front and within everything on this earth.
Christianity is “having eyes to see” (Proverbs 20:12).
By “Christianity”, I mean being in relationship in Christ, for those who are led by the Spirit of God are His children (Romans 8:14).
Satan also has children, and they can be hidden in religion, but not in Christ (John 8:44). There’s a difference.
So though words, like “religion” can be used by different people to mean different things, God is the original creator of everything and truly dictates what’s what.
Especially in this culture where people misconstrue meanings, context, and purposes due to their lack of knowledge, understanding, and Truth.
Learning the real meaning of God, Jesus, Holy Spirit requires going to the source – not just the root word, though that can help to a certain extent.
Not just the Bible, though that may help immeasurably, but the root Word above all things.
Ask the Lord Jesus Christ directly.
Many religious so-called Christians may not understand this, but it’s through pursuit in the Spirit, not in scripture.
There’s a difference.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)”
Our own form of righteousness is as filthy rags to a Holy and Just God (Isaiah 64:6).
Yet, at the same time, faith without works is dead (James 2:26). How do we get this?
How do we think through this, how?
It is in doing the work God has ordained for You – the thing he told YOU to do that our faith grows.
You cannot please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6).
It’s almost better that we don’t know the exact answer as a conjoined body between this seeming paradox, between those who hesr the word of God directly from Him, and those who read it from their own perspective.
This distinction separates denominations, schools of thought, and even religions as a whole.
In order to get the right answer, the correct answer, we have to go right to the source – and this is by the Spirit of God.
No Spirit of God, no getting the right answer when it comes to “religious” subjects.
God has different things for different people.
Different “lots”, or pre-assigned destinies.
You can accomplish your destiny, just as I can and should accomplish mine.
There’s nothing greater than your God, if He’s Jesus Christ, who goes before you and behind you, safeguarding your passage, and defending you from the back (Deuteronomy 31:8).
If you walk in His calling for your life, in the location he has brought you to, with the people he has put in your life, in humility, then most of the enemy’s attacks will fall to the ground.
There’s very little the devil can do to a man rooted in the right place, other than try to keep him from coming there.
Location, geographic, physical location is actually an important theme that is overlooked in the church and general Christian education.
We aren’t told, “ask God where you’re to go and ask Him to help you get there”.
Yet countless men of God in the Bible were called to specific geographic locations. From Abraham to Paul. Location wasa key aspect of life and relation to God.
If we were more aware of the Spirit of God and spiritual principles, as Children of God, a lot more people would probably be better off.
There are evil witches out here that know spiritual things better than Christians. Yet they don’t know THE SPIRIT, Christ. It’s sad.
And believers in Christ are suffering from spiritual malnourishment meanwhile we sing “waymaker, miracle worker…” and stay bound through life by basic sins which Christ has already given us the power to overcome… we need Holy Spirit, y’all.
You sin because you have not. What don’t you have? In Christ, you must ask Him and He’ll direct your course.
You’ll be so busy and full of joy doing what He has for you by the Holy Spirit, you won’t even remember your flesh’s desire to sin.
Sin happens in our lives from a lack of fulfillment in doing the will and bidding of King Jesus.
Instead of relocating to where God is working through us and those around us, we’re oftentimes told, “no, don’t go,” “bloom where you’re planted,” and “God will meet you right where you’re at.”
This is unbiblical, but in Churchianity, not Christianity, but Churchianity, we have integrated and corrupted Jesus’s call through manmade thoughts and religous doctrines.
This is a spirit of control, and it’s disasturous, because we pervert the Word of God to our vey own demise.
Follow the Holy Spirit, which will lead you into all Truth (John 16:13). Anything else anything but Christ.
I hope this helps whoever was led bere. God loves you.
May Jesus bless you more than your wildest dreams in His holy name, Amen.
MARK SOTOMAYOR 