Reflections on True Religion

Twenty-fourteen was my year of Jubilee. A time of deliverance from my sins and a time of my soul's awakening to God's holy presence. It was under this eclipse of God's immense love that the false lights of this world were extinguished that I came to understand the meaning of true religion. True religion is not the nuances of organized religion in which worshipers dutifully say their prayers and amens and then sit down to an exposition of God's word (not that I'm against such practices) but that true religion "consists in deep humility, brokenness of heart, and an abasing sense of barrenness and want of grace and holiness, than most who are called Christians imagine."[1]

David Brainerd, a missionary of the Native Americans and a man with a keen awareness of the weaknesses of his own fallen nature, often chronicled his experiences with true religion. In his diary, Brainerd writes, "At this time, God gave me some affecting sense of my own vileness and the exceeding sinfulness of my heart; that there seemed to be nothing but sin and corruption within me. 'Innumerable evils compassed me about: my want of spirituality and holy living, my neglect of God, and living to myself."[2] Later, Brainerd remarks, "Towards noon I saw, that the grace of God in Christ is indefinitely free towards sinners, and such as I was . . . and I began to long to die, that I might be with him, in a state of freedom from all my sin. Oh, how a small glimpse of his excellency refreshed my soul!"[3] David Brainerd is one of the few souls whose relationship with God reveals an intimacy that most believers can only dream about.

As for myself, I found solace in his diary. He expressed in words what I felt and what I believe a great many others feel as well. In those early days, I often languished with the frailty of my Christian soul, and with the passing years, I became increasingly aware of my sinfulness and my constant rebellion towards my Savior. It's only then, when I saw the hopelessness of my situation, that I cried out, "God have mercy on me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13).

In waiting for the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, he has inevitably left us in a precarious position in which we are physically in this world, and yet we are not of this world. We live in a spectrum of grey, in which we have been freed from the power of sin, but our sinful flesh remains alive for the time being--kicking and screaming--as it fights with the new Spirit within us.

So, it is here in this present world, that believers experience the tides of what we call a spiritual life. Somedays, we rise high, and we end low, or we start low, and we end high. However, in the current state of Western Christianity, such sentiments are lacking. In fact, it is rare if you meet a Christian who feels a deep sense of remorse over their sins. I believe the problem with Western Christianity is that we don't see the real danger that we're in. We feel at ease with our world and with ourselves. We don't really believe that God will throw us in hell for our sins.

It's only by God's Holy Spirit, that we are awakened to our depravity and seek out the only one who can save us, Jesus Christ.

Reflecting on Brainerd's words, he sheds light on the daily battles that believers wrestle with in the privacy of their minds. The apostle Paul writes, "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:15). He continues "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed it cannot" (Romans 8:7). Naturally, our fallen nature recoils at its sins being exposed and it seeks to protect itself from the all-seeing eyes of God. It's only in the Father's presence that he shatters all our mirrors of deception, in that we believe we are good and we are not as bad as God says we are. In the mind, it is here where a daily struggle to live by the flesh or by the Spirit is waged.

For the saints who have devoted time to the practice of prayer and fellowship with God, it is they who can confidently say with Paul's words. "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh (Romans 7:18)." It is only through Christ in us that the flesh is disarmed, and we are no longer slaves to its power.

May you, the reader, reflect upon your own religion and question in your heart if you are grieved that your sins killed your Savior. Only then can you ask for forgiveness and begin anew in Christ Jesus. True religion is not organized religion but a heart that mourns over its sins and desires holiness in its life.

---

Footnotes:

[1] Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 2 (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003), 377.

[2] Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, 377.

[3] Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, 377.

---

References:

Edwards, Jonathan. The Works of Jonathan Edwards. Vol. 2. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003.

---

Bao Vang is a wife and mom of two amazing daughters. When Bao's not serving her local church, she likes to write and spend time with her family. Bao received her MA in Theological Studies from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and she is currently working on a PhD in Bible Exposition at John W. Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University. Bao is also a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature.