A Form of Godliness

        Easter is the most disturbing of holidays to the enemies of the Christian Faith.  Our secular society is full of “secular religions.”  These are religions which seek to replace the true religion of which Jesus spoke when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  Environmentalism has become a false religion.  It seeks to replace worship of the God of the Universe with the worship of the earth.  Moral Relativism is another false religion.  It tells us that one person’s “values” are just as valid as another’s.  It’s just a matter of one’s point of view.  This false religion seeks to persuade us not to mind when a President commits adultery, or when judges release child molesters in the name of civil rights.  Another false religion is humanitarianism.  It values helping others, but in the name of “human compassion,” rather than in the name of Christ.  To these godless religions, Jesus is a nice man, a great teacher, and a fine example (if you don’t examine Him too closely). 

        These false religions like to talk about Jesus' love for the poor, but they ignore His message of personal responsibility.  They love to talk about Jesus’ forgiveness, but they don’t like the part where Jesus tells the woman at the well to “Go and sin no more.”  They love the nice Jesus, but they don’t like to think about the powerful Jesus who made a whip and used it to drive the secularists out of the temple.  They do not like the part of Jesus that was holy.

        Easter reminds us of the uncomfortable fact that Jesus was not just another good man.  As C. S. Lewis said, “Either Jesus was the Son of God, or He was a madman.”  Jesus claimed to be the Son of God.  If one makes that claim, He can no longer be just a great teacher.  The resurrection is the part that bothers our modern culture.  That is why our society prefers the pagan sexual symbols of Easter Bunnies and chocolate eggs to the more disturbing image of an empty tomb.  Historians have said that there is more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus than for many other accepted historical events.  The resurrection was what energized and created the early Christian church.  It was what made the Founder of our faith unique.  The resurrection tells us that our Saviour is not just another great teacher; and it tells us that we need to worship Him, and not just “respect” Him.  Easter is much more a threat to our secular culture than is Christmas.  All great men are born, but only Jesus Christ conquers death.

        We should be good stewards of the earth, but we should not let environmentalism become our religion.  We should value compassion and helping the poor, but we should also preach righteousness and responsibility.  We should help others in the name of Jesus Christ, as a means to sharing the Gospel.  Helping others is not an end in itself.  Helping someone without sharing our faith is like giving a starving man a taste of our dinner.  It will not make a real difference.  Jesus Christ  will make a difference.

         Finally, we see the secular culture proposing many alternatives to the risen Christ because He brings accountability.  Our culture hates the idea of obedience.  We think of  slavery when we think of obedience.  We have learned to hate authority.  But we can never serve God unless we become obedient to Him.  His demand of obedience is offensive in our world today.  “No one is going to tell me what to do,” is the mantra of many groups in our world today.  But if I tell my child not to run across the highway, it is not to exercise power over them, but to save their lives.  How much of our rebelliousness today has led to disease, poverty and violence?  God wants our obedience to guide us to a joyful life.

        How do you recognize a secular religion?  Quite simply, it substitutes something else for the risen Christ.  It may be the environment, it may be “serving the poor,” it may be a political cause, or it may be the worship of money.  It can be almost anything which seeks to change the whole message of who Christ is.  You may find secular religion in your church.  Jesus Christ holds us to a biblical standard of living.  Jesus Christ convicts us of our own sin.  Jesus Christ resists evil, and most importantly, Jesus Christ has overcome death itself.