Today, in principle, we are in the same situation. Christianity today is almost a religion. Don't think that since Christianity has the Bible, everything is well. Don't think that since Christianity today preaches Christ, everything is fine. In the ancient times the elders of Judaism had the Bible, and they also taught something about Christ. But Christ Himself was there, and they did not care for Him. It is exactly the same in principle today.

Dr. A. W. Tozer of recent years wrote an article shortly before his death in which the main point was this: Christianity today has its conferences in which they discuss Christian service, missionary endeavor, etc. But suppose Christ Himself should enter their conference room. They would ask Him, "Who are you?" So wrote the famous minister of the Christian Missionary Alliance, A. W. Tozer. This is today's Christianity. And this is not my word, but his.

We must be aware; we must be on the alert. Never think that just because someone has the Bible and preaches Christ, he is all right. We must all be so living with the living Christ, not with anything religious, not with anything of Christianity, not with anything of tradition, organization, regulation, forms, mere teachings, and dead doctrines. Christ is only Christ Himself, and Christ cares only for Himself; He does not care for a Christ in doctrine, a Christ in history, or the Christ in your mind. He only cares for Himself, the living Christ in your spirit. This is the day of the Lord's recovery, and this recovery is of the living Christ in our spirit. It has nothing to do with any forms, regulations, teachings or doctrines in dead letters. Oh, let us give ourselves to be one with this living Christ!

We have seen from the record of the Gospels how the Lord Jesus began to be opposed to religion in the matter of fasting. From fasting, He began to break through all the religious things. We have seen how He broke the keeping of the sabbath and put it aside. Then, in Acts 10, He broke the law of eating unclean things, and in so doing broke the law of separation from the Gentile world. Following this, the Lord broke the law of circumcision (Acts 15), and eventually He broke through the whole religion. He sent the Roman Army in 70 A.D. under Titus, the Prince of the Roman Empire, to utterly wipe out Judaism. May the Lord be merciful to bring us completely out of religion and to bring religion completely out of us.