Dead Religion Resists Salvation

In this article, I want to discuss how religious leaders seek to defend their own man-made religious system because of the great benefits which they derive from it. Jesus often rebuked religious leaders of his day and the same sort of religious nonsense is still being propagated by religious leaders today. The scriptures below set the stage for this subject by showing that Jesus was referring to these religious leaders when he spoke parables against them. It was these same Pharisees and scribes that persecuted Jesus because he was a threat to their religious system which they had created and by which they made huge profits and gained nearly unlimited control over the people within that system.

Luke 5:30–35 (ESV)
30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.”
34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”

So, Jesus was speaking to these religious leaders (Pharisees and scribes) when he gave the following parables. I included the words (Pharisees and scribes) in parenthesis for “emphasis” in the scripture below to illustrate that these religious leaders were the focus of the parables which Jesus told here.

Luke 5:36–39 (ESV)
36 He also told them (Pharisees and scribes) a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.
37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.
38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
39 And no one (Pharisees and scribes) after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’ ”

First Jesus spoke about not taking a new piece of material and sewing on an old garment and He mentioned how these materials would not match and are not compatible (since one material was not washed or shrunk yet). But these are parables which utilize natural things to illustrate spiritual truths. The fact of the matter is that Jesus is not referring to any natural materials (or textiles) here but instead he is referring to the human spiritual condition. What Jesus is saying here is that something that is new cannot be combined with that which is old. In the same way, a person who is born-again and made new is not compatible with dead old religion (which is a man-made system of regulations to follow).

The same principle is also illustrated by the parable that says new wine is not placed into old wineskins because the old dry wineskins would burst because they are not compatible with new wine. It is the same revelation spoken in two different ways just like the dreams interpreted by Joseph in Egypt where seven fat cows were consumed by seven gaunt cows and seven plumb heads of grain were consumed by withered heads of grain.

Genesis 41:25–32 (NASB95)
25 Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
26 “The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one and the same.
27 “The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine.
28 “It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
29 “Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt;
30 and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land.
31 “So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe.
32 “Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about.

The dream was repeated twice to Pharaoh in two different forms because it was a sure interpretation and would come about quickly. In the same way, Jesus also gave two parables to these religious leaders (Pharisees and scribes) in two different forms because the interpretation of the parable was true and sure.

So these parables of the new material not being compatible with the old material and the new wine not being compatible with the old wine skins is speaking of the same “revelation” and they both say the same thing. Both parables are natural illustrations that reveal that old dead religion is not compatible with being newly born-again and created new.

Then Jesus concluded by saying that no one after drinking the old wine desires the new because they say the old is good. But again this is a parable and this is not speaking about grape juice. This is referring to old dead religion and how humans who are involved in man-made religion have a difficult time to be saved. Man-made religion is comprised of many rules and regulations and there are religious men who assert themselves into the role of being a “mediator” between God and man. These same religious men then falsely declare that there is no salvation outside of their religious organization. But almost all dead religions of every kind, make all make the same false claim that only they have the only true salvation. In fact religion is an invention of Satan which ensnares millions of humans. There are new religions being invented everyday and all of them will typically claim that there is no salvation outside of their religion.

Religious leaders love religion because they are inspired by Satan to reach out for equality with God. These religious leaders enjoy inserting themselves between God and mankind. They proceed to tell the people that they must be loyal to them because they are the only “true mediator” between God and mankind. But this is blasphemous because they are asserting themselves to be equal with Christ (who is the only mediator between God and mankind)!

Again, it must be noted that Jesus was speaking to religions leaders (Pharisees and scribes) when he gave this parable and He said that no one (none of these religious leaders) want the new wine because they think the old is better. In the case, the old wine is not referring to grape juice but it is speaking of the old wine of man-made religion.

People must understand that those who are religious leaders can obtain great wealth and prestige on earth by having followers who are deceived to think these religious leaders are a so-called “vicar” of Christ or a mediator. So everyone seeks to please them and even buy their favor as if this could somehow better their chances of entering into heaven. But the sad fact of the matter is that those who follow such religious leaders will end up in hell together with these same leaders because these leaders have no power whatsoever to save anyone. There are even religious leaders who receive great authorization from political leaders and will even endorse certain wars to please the political leaders who empower them. The same religious leaders then make the outlandish claim that any soldier who dies in battle will immediately obtain heaven! But there are no humans on earth who can grant salvation to anyone because there is no salvation outside of believing in Jesus and receiving salvation by faith. Any religious leader who offers salvation to any soldier (if he dies in battle) is a liar because none of these religious leaders have any power whatsoever to grant eternal life to anyone.

When Religious Leaders Get Saved

John 3:1–3 (NASB95)
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

There was a man of the religious group of Pharisees who was named Nicodemus. This religious leader held a high position of rank within his religious group and was a ruler over the Jews under his command. It probably took Nicodemus a lifetime to move up the ranks to occupy such a position of authority. But this same man believed in Jesus because of the miracles that Jesus preformed. He knew that Jesus was from God because of the signs which Jesus preformed.

So this same religious leader came to speak to Jesus late at night (secretly) because he did not want his fellow religious leaders to see him. He risked being kicked out of his group if any other Pharisees saw him speaking with Jesus. Jesus however cut to the point immediately and told Nicodemus that he must be born-again or he would not enter the kingdom of heaven because following dead religion and keeping man-made rules does not save anyone.

Matthew 10:33 (NASB95)
33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

Jesus also said that if anyone denies Him before men then He would also deny them before His Father in heaven. It is for this reason that I believe people who are “secret believers” (who love human praises more than God) are going to be denied by the Lord in heaven. Nicodemus wanted to keep his lucrative position within the religious hierarchy to which he belonged. But Nicodemus also wanted to be saved at the same time. This is not compatible just like new unshrunk cloth is not compatible with old cloth. It is also not compatible just like putting new wine into old wineskins is not compatible. There must be a separation from dead religion and they must count the cost in order to follow Jesus.

Matthew 10:34–39 (NASB95)
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;
36 and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.
37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

Jesus told Nicodemus that he came to bring a sword of division upon the earth. Those who decided to follow Christ would be separated from those who refuse to follow Christ. Even close family relationships can be severed if a son is saved but his father is not. Or if a daughter is saved but her mother is not. A person’s enemies would be those of their own household, after the unsaved relatives persecute them and try to get them to deny Christ. This is the sword of separation which forces people to choose either for or against Christ.

The same separation also applies to those who gained a high rank within a religious organization. If they acknowledge Christ as savior, then they are in great danger of being “excommunicated” (a religious-term for kicking them out). Just like Nicodemus, they will have to count the cost before they can follow Christ. Do they love the approval of humans more than God’s approval? If so, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven!

John 12:42–43 (NASB95)
42 Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

Many of the religious rulers believed in Jesus (that he is the Jewish Messiah) but because of their religious peers, these men were not confessing Jesus publicly for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. These men were “secret believers” because they loved the approval of men more than the approval of God. Such men did not count the cost and did not want to lose their lucrative positions within the religious system or lose the praise of humans who thought they were mediators between God and man.

Luke 9:26 (NASB95)
26 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Jesus said that whoever is ashamed of Him and His words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when He comes into his glory with the Father and holy angels in heaven. Anyone who loves father or mother more than Christ is not worthy of Him and this also applies to anyone who loves their position of social-standing within any type of religious organization.

Rebuke for Religious Leaders

Jesus gave a long and lengthy rebuke to the religious leaders of His day and this same rebuke still applies to any of the religious leaders belonging to any of the multitude of man-made false religions on earth today.

Matthew 23:13–37 (NASB95)
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’
17 “You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?
18 “And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’
19 “You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?
20 “Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.
21 “And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.
22 “And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
28 “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,
30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31 “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.
33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?
34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,
35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

These religious leaders took the things of God and make them void and none effect by “adding” all of their human traditions to them. Jesus clearly called them a brood of vipers who would in no way escape the death-sentence of going into eternal punishment in hell.

Out of Envy They Betrayed Him

Matthew 27:15–18 (NASB95)
15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted.
16 At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas.
17 So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
18 For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.

The Roman Governor knew that the religious leaders who had handed over Jesus to be crucified, did so out of envy. But Pilate the Roman Governor was under their control because if he was unable to keep the peace then he would be removed from office by the Romans.

Matthew 27:20–26 (NASB95)
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.
21 But the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”
22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!”
23 And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.”
25 And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

When Pilate, the Roman governor saw that a riot was forming, then he delivered over Jesus to their will to have him executed. This shows that the religious leaders and the governor were in bed together. The Roman governor granted the religious leaders freedom to operate their religious system and in exchange they kept the crowds from rioting. They did not like each other and yet they used each other to get what they wanted like a prostitute and client relationship.

Religious Leaders Compromising with Political Leaders

John 11:43–48 (NASB95)
43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”
44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.
46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.
47 Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.
48 “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, then the religious leaders became panicked! They said, “What are we going to do?” “This man is preforming many miracles and if we let him go on like this then the Romans will come and take away both or place (of control) and our nation.” This shows that these religious leaders only existed because it seemed that they could keep the people peaceful so that the Roman governor could keep his job. But if the people followed Jesus instead, then these religious rulers would be out of their place of control. The Romans would immediate discard them and their lucrative business in religious and manipulating people would be over.

John 12:9–11 (NASB95)
9 The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also;
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

The people believed that Jesus was the Messiah, after He raised Lazarus from the dead. This is why the religious leaders wanted to put Lazarus to death (as well as Jesus). It was because of Lazarus that many of the Jews were going away from the religious system in Jerusalem and believing on Jesus instead. Once religious leaders have no one following them anymore then they become worthless. They lose their lucrative business of living off the labor of others and they no longer have control over the lives of anyone else. In fact, this is the effective way to deal with a false religious leader by simply refusing to follow them or obey them or support them with financial income. These false religious leaders made a business of the things of God and they are tares sown in the wheat, which will be gathered up and burned on the judgment day.

Matthew 13:24–30 (NASB95)
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.
26 “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
27 “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
28 “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’
29 “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Jesus again used a parable to describe false religious leaders as being poisonous and toxic weeds planted by the devil. A real man of God will feed the people spiritually but a fake tare-leader will only look like a minister but has no power to feed them spiritually. These tare-leaders only invent religious rules and regulations to follow and run a dead social club group that has no power to help anyone obtain true salvation.

See the link “Religious Vultures” for more details.

John The Baptist Separated Himself from Dead Religion

Luke 3:1–4 (NASB95)
1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;
4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.

John was the son of a priest named Zacharias so John could have obtained a position as priest within the religious system in Jerusalem just as his father had done. But John rejected the organized man-controlled religious system that was created for financial gain and created for assuming control over the people. Instead, John went out into the wilderness and lived in separation from dead religion. He called people to leave the religious system (taken over by evil and greedy men) and repent and come back to God.

As long as people belong to any type of man-made religion, then they will not be able to enter the kingdom of God because they are seeking to please and obey humans rather than seeking to please God. Organized religion is a product of Satan to ensnare millions of humans into hell. People involved in dead religion falsely suppose that their membership in a religious organization will guarantee their salvation. But nothing can be farther from the truth!

Again, returning to the parables of Jesus which were spoken against religious leaders, Jesus said that no one (of those belonging to man-made religion) after drinking old wine desires the new. They say that the old is good and that is exactly what happens when people are ensnared in old dead religion. If someone tries to get them to accept Jesus for salvation, then those involved in dead religion will protest and say that they are a member of such and such religious organization. They falsely suppose that such membership saves them, when in fact it does not. Religion pollutes them and hardens them to the gospel. So in essence, religion will send them to hell because they reject the only avenue for true salvation which is provided for only in Jesus Christ.

I have written a poem that describes someone who has been defiled by membership within a dead religious organization. See the link “Raped by Religion” for more details.

Acts 2:38 (NASB95)
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter said that the people should repent of their sins and have an inward transformation (represented by baptism) and once they were born-again, then they could qualify for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. If someone is not saved, then they are like a old dry wineskin. They are not compatible with the gift of the Holy Spirit (which is compared to new wine). They must first be reborn spiritually and become a new person in Christ (transformed into a new wineskin). Only after they are saved can they qualify to receive the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those how are only engaged in mental assent are not born-again and are not qualified to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 5:37 (NASB95)
37 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.

This scripture can also be applied to putting new wine (of the Holy Spirit) into new wine skins (those who are made new and reborn by salvation through faith in Jesus Christ). This is something that goes beyond dead religion. Each person can go directly to God and receive their salvation by faith without having to join any religious organization or having keep any man-made rules or regulations or traditions of old dead religion.

Application

We are currently making plans to build a new civilization in the remote regions of Siberia. This new civilization will be based upon a restore “Patriarchal-society” according to biblical standards. Under our system we do not create religious rules and regulations to follow but instead we base all that we do upon biblical precedent.