ENEMY OF GOD OR ENEMY OF RELIGION
Given the ubiquitous presence of religion in all cultures, temptations to be religious are ever-present and, for many, irresistible. It seems fair to say, however, that no one would submit to religious temptation if they knew that doing so would make  them an enemy of God instead of a friend. It is critical, therefore, to understand who is, and who is not, God’s  enemy and who is and is not our enemy.

Jews and Christians like to think that they are God’s friends. Little do they know, however, that they are actually God’s enemies. Here several reasons why this is true:

Thinking in terms of warfare, Jews and Christians are enemies of God because, in addition to the above sins, they do not follow his command to utterly destroy religious kingdoms. If they do not see fit to destroy those religious kingdoms, it is because they are citizens in good standing of those kingdoms and would not want to see the kingdom to which they belong destroyed. Being friends with the world of religion, they are enemies of God. This situation is what Jesus was referring to when he talked about serving two masters.

Old/First Covenant religionists are in the business of advancing religion — not destroying it. Thus, religion is their master and they do not see themselves as enemies of God. To the contrary, they are deceived into seeing themselves as ambassadors and even missionaries for God. In their deception, they do not realize that they are really ambassadors and missionaries for religion. This reality exists because they sin in the following ways:

Giving them credit for sincerity and good intentions, we can say that none of them set out to be God’s enemy or practice idolatry. But the fact remains that, in God’s eyes, this is exactly what they do.

When we apply a New Covenant perspective (i.e. God teaches his people himself), it becomes painfully obvious that religious kingdoms/nations (including Judaism and Christianity) are not only enemies with each other, but are also God’s enemies because they are friends with the world of religion. Being locked into the Old/First Covenant religious paradigm (i.e. a human mediator always teaches about God), the ultimate, although unstated, purpose of both Jews and Christians is to enslave people to their particular religions — not to set captives free from any and all religions.

Slavery might seem a harsh term to describe religion, but this is the language that God uses to represent the difference between having his laws written on our hearts (i.e. freedom) and following religious rules (i.e. slavery/bondage) created by humans. We first learn this principle in the story of Israel in Egypt.

When Israel first went down to Egypt, it was a good place to be during the season of plenty. Life was good because they had food, land, and a brother who was close to Pharaoh. After the season of plenty, and during the season of famine, however, the freedom and prosperity Israel had turned to slavery and death. This story is a picture of how it is for Jews and Christians. It begins with a season of plenty where life in religion (i.e. Egypt) is good. They are well fed and prosperous. But it ends badly when there is a spiritual famine.

STUDY TIP: See this link for understanding of the symbolism of Pharaohs.

There is much to learn from Israel’s time in Egypt, but none of it makes any sense unless we first understand that it was all according to God’s plan. God allows the seasons of plenty, prosperity and growth. God also ordains the following seasons of spiritual famine and bondage. In order to apply this story to ourselves, it is necessary to apply to individuals — not to a group of people all at once. It is a parable of our individual experiences with religion. Why we get into it and how we get out of it.

We get into religion for the same reason that Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: It seemed good for food. But, seeking for spiritual food from any source other than God is sin for which he exiles us from his God’s presence (i.e. Garden of Eden). Thus, if we choose to seek spiritual food from another source (i.e. idol), God lets us do that until we learn that spiritual life comes only from God’s mouth.

We get out of religion because it no longer satisfies us and because we have become slaves to the religious system and its leaders (i.e. Pharaohs). But just seeing this truth is not enough. We must also cry out to God for deliverance and repent for seeking spiritual food from religion and its many idols.

Although religious people do not realize that they are enslaved to religion, non-religious people often understand what is happening and criticize religious people for their mindless, stupid, attraction to religion. Since God actually hates religion, public displays of religion effectively discredits and misrepresent God in the eyes of people who observe religion with a skeptical eye. A wrong view of God as a god who expects his people to follow rituals and traditions is not attractive and does not compel non-religious people to seek him. This view represents God as someone to be feared because of the consequences of not following religious rules that are actually made by men — not by God. The real appeal of religion, therefore, is acceptance in a community of like-minded people that affirms and encourages its members to be religious because religious worship feels good. But this acceptance is conditional: Obedience to the religious community’s traditions and rules.

Life is good for those who join a religion and follow the traditions and rules. But woe to those who break with those traditions or disobey religious rules. If the violations are extreme and long-standing, offenders will be punished and perhaps even removed from the religious community through subtle or even not-so-subtle means. Religious law-breakers are not welcome in religion.

The worst offender of religious laws in the Bible was Jesus. He paid for his lawbreaking with his life. But, breaking religious laws was what he and his followers are commanded to do.

John the Baptist and the Apostle Paul also paid high prices for their challenges to the religious system (i.e. Judaism). In Biblical terms, these men suffered death because they refused to obey Judaism’s religious rules and follow its traditions. But more than that, they spoke out against Judaism in ways that drew the attention of Jewish leaders who did what they could do to silence them.

What we learn from the experiences of Jesus and his most ardent followers is that persecution and rejection is normal for anyone who makes a break from the traditions of their religion and then dares to speak up against it. This is exactly what people who break from religion in any age, including today, can expect if they dare to speak out against religion. This was how prophets of old were treated when they spoke the truth, and it is how prophets of today will be treated when they follow God’s command to utterly destroy religious kingdoms.

Because Jesus and his friends broke religious laws/rules/traditions and spoke out against Judaism, they were persecuted by the religious leaders who had the most to lose from destruction of the religious system: The Pharisees, Scribes and temple leaders. By disobeying and challenging Judaism’s rules, rituals and traditions, Jesus, John the Baptist and Paul became enemies of Judaism. A kind of warfare ensued when they dared to expose their opinions and backed them up with behaviors that were inconsistent with traditional Judaism. This is how they followed God’s commands to utterly destroy religious kingdoms, and in doing so they made themselves targets for abuse and persecution. This is what followers of Jesus can expect to experience when they confront false prophets (e.g. pastors, rabbis, apostles, evangelists, etc.)