Midweek Lenten Devotion: “Only
Two Religions; Only One God”
America is convinced that there
are many types of religion in the world and that all of them pray and lead to
the same God. But this isn’t so. The shocking truth is that there are only two
religions and only one of the two is true, that being the religion of
Christianity. The other religion which encompasses most of the world is
paganism; teaching man that by his own works, and by his own righteousness, he
can attain heaven.
But Jesus himself
illustrates His position on this matter by means of a parable. This is what
Jesus says: Luke 18:10-14 NKJV, “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that
I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax
collector. I fast twice a week; I give
tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would
not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be
merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified
rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he
who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Yes, only one of the two men
stood justified before God and thus had the forgiveness of his sins and
declared to be righteous. This is the only true doctrine of justification that
causes it to be the cardinal doctrine of Christianity. This is the only one,
true religion, by which man attains salvation for the New Covenant is known in
the forgiveness of sins for Christ’s sake and by His merits alone! As it was
prophesied by Jeremiah 31, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah— not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I
took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which
they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with
the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law
in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their
God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man
his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all
shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I
will remember no more.”
This precious teaching brings joy
in knowing that true repentance indeed is comprehended only by one’s desire to
be free. The one, true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has revealed the one,
true, faith: Christianity is known in the forgiveness of sins ad therefore begs
mankind to confess and be reconciled to God. St, Paul explains it this way: “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ,
as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
As Luther stated, concerning
confession, in his Large Catechism: “…whoever is a Christian, or would
like to be one, has here the faithful advice to go and obtain this precious
treasure. If you are no Christian, and desire no such comfort, we shall leave
you to another’s power. Hereby we abolish the pope’s tyranny, commandments, and
coercion since we have no need of them. For our teaching, as I have said, is
this: If anybody does not go to confession willingly and for the sake of
absolution, let him just forget about it. Yes, and if anybody goes about
relying on the purity of his confession, let him just stay away from it.
We urge you, however, to confess
and express your needs, not for the purpose of performing a work but to hear
what God wishes to say to you. The Word or absolution, I say, is what you
should concentrate on, magnifying and cherishing it as a great and wonderful
treasure to be accepted with all praise and gratitude.”
Our Lord Christ
declared that the Pharisee, with all his civil good works and all his moral
rectitude, was not acceptable before God the Father. This works-type religion
stands as an affront to Christ and His Church, which is comprised of all who
believe in the free Gospel of salvation by grace through faith; yes, all who
trust in the merits of the only-begotten Son of God. The Christian religion
identifies only with the penitent sinner, who looks alone to God for mercy.
Keep this thought in
mind this coming week, namely, that Jesus entered into Jerusalem triumphantly and
He, as the high Priest, offered Himself upon that old rugged cross of Calvary
to defeat sin, death, and the devil for you. Don’t lament His sacrifice but
rather lament your sins. It is as Jesus (Luke 23:27-29 NKJV) told the great
multitude and the women who followed him as he was on His way to His
crucifixion: “Daughters
of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say,
‘Blessed are the barren, wombs
that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’”
Only when you truly
lament your sins and desire to follow Christ to receive His blessing, then will
you see how sweet this Gospel really is. Only then will you understand why we
call next Friday, Good Friday. Any other understanding of Good Friday will
stand in opposition to the one true religion for the religion of works, other
than the works of Christ, no matter if it is combined with faith, is still a
pagan concept.
We pray: O God of
all mercy, show to us all evil intentions in our worship and direct us to rely
alone on the works of Your dear Son, our only Comfort and Salvation, Jesus
Christ. Amen.
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