When you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God… how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? …I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.
— Galatians 4:8-11 —
Mykola Leliovskyi: Grace Bible Seminary | Ukraine
Over 85 percent of Ukrainians identify with Eastern Orthodoxy. Only around one percent are Evangelical. So in our context, Paul’s warning about dead religion seems to jump right off the page. He identifies three dangers that everyone should beware of. First, dead religion is slavery to idolatry. Just as the early Gentiles worshiped the gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon, many in the Eastern Orthodox Church are caught up in the unbiblical veneration of saints and images, including even at times divination and ancestral worship. Lacking true fellowship with God, followers of man-made religion content themselves with outward observances. The second danger of dead religion is that it is weak and worth-less. It neither saves nor sanctifies. Man-made religion may have the appearance of wisdom, but it is of no value in fighting the flesh (Col. 2:23). It nullifies the power of the gospel and the grace of Jesus Christ. Those who turn to the self-reliant religions of this world are left with nothing but their own meager efforts and merits. The last danger is that dead religion demands a preoccupation with rituals. When there is no inner life, all that is left are the external trappings. Rituals provide a sense of routine and religious accomplishment but offer nothing in terms of a relationship enabled by the work of Christ alone. Lacking true fellowship with God, followers of man-made religion content themselves with outward observances. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul defends throughout Galatians, can save and liberate a soul from dead religion. Rejoice that God has not left it up to us to save ourselves! He sent His Son to accomplish everything on our behalf so that we who believe might live through Him!
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