Rituals are an integral part of religion. Every religion has its own lists of them. Among Christian communities the lists vary depending on the denomination they belong to.
Lenten season is special for Christians, whether religious or not. Going without favourite food and entertainment, fasts, penitential prayers, doing good deeds, and so on will be on the daily routine. Some go even to the extent of punishing themselves. All of these are done with the motive of cleansing themselves from their sins and wrong doings of the past.
It is repeated religiously, year after year, with the hope that it will bring them the desired effect.
It is interesting to note that though the denominations demand certain rituals as mandatory, the Word of God does not put forward any. The New Testament instructs the believers to observe two things, baptism (Mt.28:18) and communion (1Cor.11:23-26). These are two ordinances given to Jesus’s followers with specific meaning and purpose. Baptism is a testimony and affirmation to the newness of life that has been experienced by the believer, while communion is a proclamation of the sacrificial death of the Saviour which brought us forgiveness and redemption. There is no specific instruction on how to practice these ordinances, though.
Christian denominations keep their folk bound by their rituals and practices where as Biblical Christianity is one that is free from these rotes and rites. Religion is based on rituals but Christianity is based on relationship. One trying to appease the divine to escape his/her anger while the other is humbly accepting the offer of love and forgiveness. Obviously man cannot satisfy the just demand of a righteous God and live because His justice demands the death of a sinner. You may go without food throughout the Lenten season, you may give up your addictions during this period, you may do a lot of good deeds, you may pray many times a day, you may carry a cross and walk around in public, or drink bitter juice, allow yourself to be beaten and even crucified, but none of these can pay the penalty for your sins. If you die while doing these you will still be lost eternally. The Bible says,
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23 NLT)
The Bible also says,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NLT)
It is not by our faithful religious observances that we receive forgiveness, but it is just because of God’s love and mercy offered to us freely through the sacrifice of His only Son. In other words, we cannot purchase forgiveness with our own efforts. We can only accept it with humility and gratitude from a loving God who paid it on our behalf. Jesus paid it fully on the cross when He suffered and died. You and I need to just believe it and accept it in our hearts and turn from our sinful ways to love and obey our Saviour.
Have you experienced the forgiveness of your sins? Or are you still trying to get it through rituals and observances? You can trust Jesus to save you even right now. Accept Him as your only Saviour and Lord and experience it now!
“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12 NLT)
“There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (Acts. 4:12 NLT)
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8 NLT)
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9 NLT)
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT)
“And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:11-13 NLT)
