(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Luke chapter number two, let's look at verse 25 again. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. So number one tonight, Simeon was saved. Number two, Simeon was devout. Now the dictionary definition of devout is devoted to divine worship or service, pious or religious. So the dictionary tells us that a synonym of this word devout is religious. So Simeon was not only saved, but he was also devoted. He was also someone who was religious. Now this word religion sadly has become kind of a bad word among so-called Christians today. And I don't notice it so much down here in Texas as I did when I lived in the northwest, but all the time up in the northwest, people tell you, oh, I believe in Jesus, I love Jesus, but I hate religion. Or, you know, religion's man-made. Or they'll just say religion's horrible, religious is a man-made structure to brainwash people, but I love Jesus. And that's the type of things that they'll say. But let me just explain to you that Simeon was not just saved, but he was also devoted, which means that he was religious. And this is not a bad thing. Being religious is not a bad thing. We need to take this word back and remove this negative connotation on the word religion. Because you know what's bad? False religion. That's what's bad. There's nothing wrong with real religion. There's nothing wrong with pure religion. Now there's this very famous YouTube video, this video went viral about ten years ago or so, and it's called Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus. Has anyone ever seen this before? Okay, a few people. Has thirty-four point nine million views. It's by this guy named Jeff Bethke, and he's basically doing like this spoken word poem type style, you guys know what I'm talking about, where he's talking about why he hates religion but loves Jesus. And you know, I think that this video has probably done a lot of damage to Christianity. I mean, he has thirty-five million views, and why is it that I hear all the time this stupid mantra being repeated to me that religion is bad? It's because idiots like this. And so I want to read to you his stupid poem and explain to you why it is so wrong. So he starts off in the beginning of his poem, and this is the first line. He says, what if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion? What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion? I'd call you an idiot is what I would call you, because that's not at all what Jesus came to do. You telling me Jesus came to abolish being devoted? Is that what you're telling me? Because that's what religious means. It means being devoted. Simon was a devout man. Are you telling me that Jesus came to abolish people from being devout? Is that what you're telling me? Obviously, that's not what he means, but let me just, you know, interrupt your stupid little poem with the word of God. In James chapter number one, go ahead and turn there to James chapter number one, the Bible will define for us what religion actually is. James chapter one verse twenty-seven, the Bible says, pure religion, see, not false religion, I agree, I hate false religion, but love Jesus, but pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Are you going to tell me that Jesus came to abolish visiting the fatherless and the widows in their affliction? Is that what you're going to tell me? Are you going to tell me that Jesus came to abolish being unspotted from the world? You see, that really is the end goal of these NIV rock and roll, new evangelical style churches, is they have a problem with that last part. They have a problem with keeping themselves unspotted from the world, and so that's really what he's talking about when he says he hates religion. What he's saying is, I hate the law of God, is what he's saying. He's saying, I hate the do's and the don'ts, the thou shalt's and the thou shalt not. That's what he's talking about. But pure religion is visiting the fatherless, visiting the widows, and keeping yourself unspotted from the world. By the way, that's what we do when we go soul winning, because every single person that is unsaved is fatherless, because God is not their father yet. They're not a child of God yet. And so we're visiting them, and we're visiting them in their affliction, and we're trying to get them saved. Are you going to tell me Jesus Christ came to abolish giving the gospel? What kind of wicked devil says something like that? And that's just the first line of his poem. I mean, if religion is so great, why has it started so many wars? Why does it build huge churches, but fails to feed the poor? He says, why does it build huge churches, but fails to feed the poor? Again, we just have to ruin this cute little poem with the Bible, because the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3, 10, for even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. The Bible does not teach that it's the church's job to go and feed all these homeless bums, or as what Americans would consider poor. They're not even really poor. You know, one time, the Plant brothers were here playing ping pong at like 1 a.m. or something like that, like they always do. No, it wasn't that late. And they called me, and they said that some crazy homeless guy was here. And I showed up, and I just started talking to him, asked him where he's from, does he have a job? No, he doesn't have a job. And I started preaching him the gospel, and suddenly, after he realized that we weren't going to give him money, he was too busy to hear the gospel. Is he telling me that us as a church, we need to feed people like that? Just hanging out at churches at 1 a.m., just harassing people, won't even listen to the gospel? No, the Bible says if you don't work, you should starve to death. Let's continue with this poem. So why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor? Tells single moms that God doesn't love them if they've ever had a divorce. Tell single moms God doesn't love them if they've ever had a divorce, but in the Old Testament, God actually calls religious people whores. Who has ever said that? Here's my question. What preacher of any denomination, any church, show me the clip where anyone has said that God doesn't love women because they've been divorced. I mean, just a complete, just railing accusation, just so that he can just make it look like he's right by using this extreme example, you know, like Paul said, as we be slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say, you know, should we not hate women that have been divorced? He's like, what? What are you talking about? No one has ever said that. He says, religion might preach grace, but another thing they practice, tend to ridicule God's people, they did it to John the Baptist. I guess it rhymes. Use it, I guess. What a joke. See, the problem with religion is it never gets to the core. It's just behavior modification like a long list of chores. Like let's dress up the outside, make it look nice and neat, but it's funny, that's what they used to do to mummies while the corpse rots underneath. Now I ain't judging, I'm just saying, quit putting on a fake look because there's a problem if people only know that you're a Christian by your Facebook. Now I ain't judging, I'm just saying, quit putting on a fake look. Yes, you are. You are literally judging. You're sitting here telling us religion started all this wars, it hates women that have been divorced. It's just like, he's just like, just lambasting religion with all of these, you know, big flowery words. And he's like, I'm not judging. It's like, yeah, you are and you're a liar for saying that you're not judging. You're just lying openly in the middle of your stupid poem, so ridiculous people buy into this. He says, because there's a problem if people only know you're a Christian by your Facebook. But it's like, wait a second, you just kind of preached against behavior modification. So like you don't want us to change our ways. You don't want us to like clean up our life, but you say it's a problem if people only know you, that you're a Christian by your Facebook. Well, if you aren't living the Christian life, that's, you know, you're not modifying your behavior, then the only way you'd be able to tell if you're a Christian is by your Facebook at that point. So it's like, he's not even following his own logic. See, because when I was God's enemy and certainly not a fan, he looked down and said, I want that man. See, because when I was God's enemy and certainly not a fan, he's saying that he was God's enemy. He looked down and said, I want that man. I'll read for you James 4.4 says, ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God, whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Hey, you weren't, you know, the enemy of God in the past. You are the enemy of God right now because you're the friend, you're a friend of the world is what you are just boasting in sin, acting like, you know, we should just get rid of religion that Jesus came to abolish religion. You are an enemy of God is what you are. And he absorbed all your sin and he buried it in the tomb, which is why I'm kneeling at the cross saying, come on, there's room. So for religion, no, I hate it. In fact, I literally resent it because when Jesus said it is finished, I believe he meant it. Because when Jesus said it is finished, I believe he meant it. So this guy's like, you know, Manly Perry and Pastor Major just like saying that it is finished just means whatever you want it to mean. So for this guy, it is finished is just all religion, anything that's about devotion, anything about that's being committed. This guy hates it. This guy literally resents it because when Jesus said it is finished, he believes that he meant it. Wow. Unbelievable. You know, this is what is called turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. This, you know, people say that we use grace as a license to sin, yet you come to churches like ours and we preach the freest salvation and the hardest against sin, whereas this guy is just making the grace of God into lasciviousness. But this little poem, you know, if the devil can't send you to hell, he at least wants to make sure you're not going to be religious. He at least wants to make sure, okay, if this person's going to heaven, let's at least make sure he's not going to be devoted like Simeon.