{"id":3605,"date":"2026-07-20T01:02:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T01:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmi2.kr\/?page_id=3605"},"modified":"2026-07-21T02:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T02:34:16","slug":"relationship-vs-religion","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kmi2.kr\/?page_id=3605","title":{"rendered":"Religion Ensnares"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Religion Ensnares<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Religion seeks to ensnare people into legalism and repetition and rituals to keep them out of relationship with Christ. Religion can be described as manmade rules and regulations prescribed to keep adherents of religion busy until their natural lives on earth expire and they end up in hell. Religion is an invention of Satan for this reason because it distracts and entangles people with useless religious activity – which has no bearing upon eternal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illustration of Manmade Religion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Image Credit: Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The tower of Babel is an illustration of the vanity of manmade religion – which seeks to obtain their own salvation through human self-effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis 11:3\u20134 (NASB95)<\/strong>
3 They said to one another, \u201cCome, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.\u201d And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.
4 They said, \u201cCome, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tower of Babel was made from hundreds of millions of manmade bricks. The purpose of this tower was to reach into heaven. This illustrates how humans seek to earn their own salvation by their own human self-effort. These hundreds of millions of manmade bricks represent the millions of false religions invented by humans on earth (with new false religions being invented every day). These false religions all falsely claim to have the only way to heaven. But none of them can offer eternal life to anyone because salvation cannot be obtained by human good works or by keeping rules or by practicing religious rituals. All of this religious activity practiced by various manmade false religions is part of the sin of self-sufficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans 10:3 (NASB95)<\/strong>
3 For not knowing about God\u2019s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever humans set about to establish their own self-righteousness (by keeping manmade rules and rituals) then this is evidence of the sin of human self-sufficiency. They are not submitted to the righteousness of God that comes by faith but rather they seek to earn their own salvation by human good works. This is what sends those in bondage to religion to hell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See the link “Sin of Self-Sufficiency<\/a>” for more details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earning Their Own Salvation by Works of Human Self-Effort<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whenever humans seek to earn salvation by their own human self-effort then this is a sin. Such people have not submitted to the righteousness of God which provides salvation as a free gift (which cannot be earned by human self-effort). In fact is is a great piece of arrogance for them to say that they do not need God’s free gift of eternal life. Such people prefer to continue to work for their own salvation by vainly attempting to keep religious rituals and human good works trying to earn their own salvation by self-effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See the link “Atonement Series<\/a>” and the section called [Righteousness by the Law] for more details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The link given above shows that the law of God was never given to be kept (because no human could keep the law)- except Jesus. The law as only a tutor to expose to humans how sinful they are so that they would see their need for salvation. Once they realized they could not keep the law then they could come to the point where they would accept the free gift of eternal life – found only in Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galatians 3:24\u201325 (NASB95)<\/strong>
24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The law exposed to humans that they are sinners and that they are in need of a Savior. Once they could see their own sinfulness before God then they were placed in a position where they become open to stopping the human self-effort of trying to earn salvation. Then they can simply come to Christ by faith to receive salvation as a free gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again see the link “Atonement Series<\/a>” for more details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans 11:6 (NASB95)<\/strong>
6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grace means that it is given for free and it is not something that can be earned by human self-effort or purchased by money. Salvation is a free gift to whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord. But if someone tries to work for it (by keeping religious rituals) then at the moment they start working for salvation, that is the time they lose salvation. True salvation comes by grace as a free gift and the moment they try working for it – then grace vanishes. Grace is no longer grace if people try to work for salvation. This is why false religion cancels out grace and cancels salvation because they move from grace and fall back into the vain works of earning their salvation by human self-effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satan is the initiator of all false religion because it is through false religion that Satan can pull people out of grace and push them into works of human self-effort. Once they have been ensnared by religious works then that is when they lose salvation and will end up in hell. Satan does not stop trying to send people to hell because even if they get saved, Satan will shift is strategy to one of enticing them to leave grace and become entangled in the works of human self-effort to earn their own salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can be illustrated by how even something good (like the Jewish Torah) can be perverted by those who turn everything into religious nonsense and by trying to keep meaningless rules and follow vain regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew 23:1\u20134 (NASB95)<\/strong>
1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,
2 saying: \u201cThe scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;
3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.
4 \u201cThey tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men\u2019s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus spoke of how the religious leaders would tie up heavy burdens and lay them on the shoulders of men to burden them down. This is not speaking of actual physical heavy loads but rather this speaks of religious rituals and regulations. These religious leaders ensnared people into religion by loading them down will all kinds of rules that drown them within humans self-effort to earn their own salvation by keeping requirements set forth by these religious leaders. Thus people ensnared by dead religion will occupy their time on earth trying to vainly earn their own salvation by human self-effort. If they do not recover from this religious bondage they will come to the end of their lives on earth and experience eternal damnation. This damnation will come upon them because they did not submit to the righteousness that is found only in Christ by faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans 10:3 (NASB95)<\/strong>
3 For not knowing about God\u2019s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those ensnared by religion will not submit to the righteousness of God (found only in Christ). Instead they will seek to establish their own righteousness by human self-effort in keeping religious regulations and and religious rituals. Thus they are not submitted to the righteousness of God found only in Christ but instead continue in seeking to earn their own righteousness by human self-effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galatians 2:4 (NASB95)<\/strong>
4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after the people were saved by grace and by faith in Jesus Christ, there came religious men who attempted to enter the newly established churches in order to seek to ensnare those saved by grace back into religious bondage again. These deceivers sought to tell the converts of Apostle Paul that they must keep the law in order to be saved. But this is a great heresy because the moment the new believers forsake salvation by grace and then return to trying to keep the regulations of the law then they cancel their salvation. There is no salvation outside of grace (a free gift) but as soon as they attempt to earn their salvation by works of human self-effort then they have fallen from grace. Since there is no salvation outside of grace this heresy will damn them to hell if they do not repent and recover from this fallacy. Satan works hard to get those who are saved to fall back into human self-effort. No one can take them out of God’s hand but Satan is a great deceiver so he uses deception to get believers to abandon grace and become ensnared in the works of human self-effort. Those who fall for such a deception are in danger of eternal damnation because Satan seeks to deceive them to leave grace and engage in works instead. This is how religion sends people to hell by ensnaring them into the vanity of trying to earn their own salvation by human self-effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People Deceived to Earn Salvation by Self-Effort<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Galatians 3:1\u20133 (NIV84)<\/strong>
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The believers at Galatia where the converts of Apostle Paul and they were saved by faith in Jesus Christ. However later these same people were deceived to fall back into human self-effort to earn their own salvation. Thus they left salvation by faith and entered into religious bondage of trying to earn their salvation by works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acts 15:1\u20132 (NASB95)<\/strong>
1 Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, \u201cUnless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.\u201d
2 And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After people were saved by faith in Jesus Christ, they were later infiltrated by religious people who sought to bring them into bondage of legalism. These proselytizers falsely told the new converts that unless they were circumcised according to the custom of Moses then they could not be saved. Paul and Barnabas had a great dissension and debate with them because the eternal salvation of their new converts was at stake. If the new converts believed these religious lies then they would try to earn their salvation by works and thus cancel out grace. This would send them to hell because they were saved by grace not by works and they could not return to works again once they were saved or it would result in cancelling their salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is Satan’s greatest deception to pull people out of grace and get them ensnared within false religion and works of human self-effort. Even people who were genuinely saved (like the converts of Apostle Paul) were in danger of being deceived by this satanic doctrine. Satan is an evil genius and knows that if he can trick people into trying to earn their salvation by self-effort he can actually send them to hell. This is why this doctrine was so dangerous and Paul and Barnabas fought these religious deceivers vehemently in order to save their own converts from this false deception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Religion Ensnares Religion seeks to ensnare people into legalism and repetition and rituals to keep them out of relationship with Christ. Religion can be described as manmade rules and regulations prescribed to keep adherents of religion busy until their natural lives on earth expire and they end up in hell. Religion is an invention of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3605","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmi2.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmi2.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmi2.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmi2.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmi2.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3605"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/kmi2.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3642,"href":"https:\/\/kmi2.kr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3605\/revisions\/3642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmi2.kr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}