“The chief danger of the 20th century will be religion without the Holy Spirit, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration…and heaven without hell.” (General William Booth)

That’s a powerful statement worthy of dissection.

Religion without the Holy Spirit: Religion does not save.  Religion creates whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear righteous to men, but within are full of all uncleanness and hypocrisy. Without the Holy Spirit, the best we can offer up are dead works of the flesh which have no spiritual life or fruit. Religion has a form of godliness but denies its true power from above, leaving us depending on man-made and man-powered structures.  This leaves many sincere people cheated by empty traditions of men that God takes no pleasure in. Religion without the Holy Spirit is wearisome, but there’s a rest the Lord wants to bring His children into by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We must examine ourselves:  Could you be a sincere person kept in religious darkness, walking in the spirit of religion instead of the Spirit of holiness?

Christianity without Christ: We have abandoned true doctrine and heaped up for ourselves teachers who tickle our ears according to our own desires. The true biblical Christ would offend most who claim Christianity today. Both His image and His message have been altered to be easily accepted, tailored to attract a crowd, and careful not to divide. Christ is the only way back to the Father, so once we’ve deviated from Him, what are we left with?

We must examine ourselves:  Is the Christ you serve the Christ of the Bible, or are you offended by Him and seek to mold a different version? 

Forgiveness without repentance: Repentance has been reduced down to asking for the removal of consequences, with little understanding of our essential part in forsaking sin. Salvation requires repentance and the remission of sins. Repentance is to change one’s mind and turn from sin towards God. This vital central message is taught throughout Scripture and preached by John the Baptist, Jesus, the disciples, the apostles, and Paul; however, it is left out of most preaching today. Many sit in church unchanged, with blind eyes and a seared conscience.

We must examine ourselves:  Are you bound in iniquity and cycling sin? Don’t ask forgiveness; ask for the ability to truly repent.

Salvation without regeneration: Churches lead entire congregations to falsely believe they are eternally secure because they were baptized as an infant, have repeated a believer’s prayer, hold some mental assent of belief, or had a past emotional experience; all the while there’s been no new birth. Many sit in their continual willful sin, unchanged from their former selves, looking no different than the world. This is not salvation. We are called and empowered to walk freed from the bondage of sin, but we must walk out of the tomb of sin and death in order to live.

We must examine ourselves:  Have you died to the old so that you can be brought up alive in the new?

Heaven without hell: Anytime Scripture gives us a glimpse of heaven’s throne, God’s main characteristic that is being praised by the angels is His holiness. However, we have ignored God’s holiness and overemphasized His love. Because of this, we don’t see the need to be prepared for Judgment Day. The promise of heaven without hell causes many to sit comfortably in habitual sin, unchanged by the gospel of Christ. It is by the fear of God that one finds wisdom and departs from evil.

We must examine ourselves:  Jesus is coming back for a pure bride. Desiring to have no hindrance between yourself and God, have you placed yourself in His presence and asked Him to sift you?