A wonderful Post by a brother in Christ

"Religion, I believe, is the greatest disappointment of our time.
Today’s brand of Christianity is the chief culprit.
People are given laws, rules and regulations which instead of helping them seems to plunge them deeper into sin and fear of death.
Why?
The more we know, the more we find out that we are not good enough. The more rules and regulations we have, the more we see that have fallen short of the ideal.
This kind of Christianity cannot be the answer. Religion cannot be that which we are looking for.
The sincere student of the life of Jesus cannot help but notice the paradox of today’s Christianity. The holiness that Jesus practiced did not intimidate the sinner, it attracted him. The average sinner flocked to Jesus. The holiness that Jesus preached attracted the sinner but repelled the religious. Isn’t it strange that today’s message attracts the religious but repels the sinner?
Religion meets the sinner and gives him guilt. Jesus met the sinner and gave him mercy.
Religion meets man and gives him laws. Jesus met man and gave him love.
Religion meets a man in trouble and explains to him that it’s the will of God, he deserves it. Jesus only solved problems.
Religion refuses to be touched by the stain of sinners. Jesus died a sinners death.
Christianity today is a system of self righteousness paying lip service to the finished work of Christ. Please take away the religion, give me Jesus. Him alone.
It’s a shame that we are sacrificing our lives to build walls, denominations, instead of building the body of Christ. Patenting His body. I'm not Roman Catholic [The church is made in heaven not in Rome], neither am I Anglican [The church is not made in England either], I’m not even Protestant [I wasn’t born in the 1500’s]. I'm not even Pentecostal [though I fellowship in a “Pentecostal Organization”]. I don’t have a denominational label. My only identity is Christ. I am from the beginning to the end a believer in Jesus. That alone.
Jesus never started any religion, we did.
Jesus was not denominational conscious, we are.
Jesus never emphasized dress codes, we do.
Jesus was not title conscious, we are.
Jesus never emphasized places. We do.
Jesus did not start the worship of altars, we did.
Religion has taken away my lord, we must find out where He is.
Don’t give me a candle, give me light.
Don’t give me a crucifix, set me free [it’s a shame that the only Jesus some will ever see is a naked man hanging on a cross, dead]. The cross is empty. The tomb too. He is alive and well!
I don’t want “Holy Water”, quench my thirst.
Remove the “pulpit’, give me His message.
Don’t load me with guilt, set my soul free.
Give me Jesus, Him alone."

written by Chinedu Chinweokwu