Religion or faith? An important question

It may seem an odd question, “religion or faith?” But I believe it drives to the heart of a matter which makes Christian faith different from the religions in this world.

To most people, religion is the set of rules, regulations, practices, rituals, disciplines, and the like, that one engages in to gain favor with God. Religions have a set of expectations which, if you meet them, you can expect to make progress toward a spiritual goal. In short, if we do certain things for God or follow spiritual instruction, we can expect to be rewarded here or in eternity for our efforts in honoring God and living

Christianity at its worst looks and sounds like any other religion. If you go to church, praise and thank God, tithe, try to be good, do Christian volunteer work, you should hope to receive blessing and eternal life — or so some say. But this caricature and this understanding of Christianity is simply inadequate.

Christian faith is trusting a promise and a whole series of events leading to one big event which fulfilled that promise. The promise is simply “I am the Lord your God.” It’s a promise, not a threat or a power play. “I am the Lord your God – I created you, I have redeemed you, I will raise you to eternal life.” All of scripture tells the story of this promising God and what he has done on the way to fulfilling his promises. Events and stories, poetry and prose, people and nations, all point to God and his activity in the world in creating, redeeming, and restoring a world that fell into sin and death.

The crowning event of this story is the life, work, death, and resurrection from the grave of Jesus, the only son of God. God who sent his son as one of us that we might have eternal life. And now his spirit is out and about in the world claiming people for eternity by giving faith in this God who will finally not be denied when he says, “I am the Lord your God.”

Christianity is not a religion of things we do for God and for others, but a faith in what God has done for us. What we do flows from this trust. In this faith in God’s promise there is life and peace. Come and hear.

Rev. Lou Hesse is the pastor at Living Word Lutheran Church on West Broadway Avenue in Moses Lake, and a Grant County farmer.