Same old, same old

‘Religion’ now has a very bad name.

A friend from church was recently out for a meal with work colleagues. With the terrorist threat from jihadists now a given in modern life, the conversation turned to the evils of ‘religion.’ To their surprise, my friend, whom they knew to be a Christian, said he agreed with them. How come?

It has often been rightly said that Jesus came not to bring a new ‘religion’ but a new relationship. His hallmark was introducing an almost new name for God – ‘our Father’. He brings us into the family of God, spiritually by new birth and forensically by justification and adoption (Galatians 4.4-7).