THE RELIGIOUS ROAD TO HELL

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: GALATIANS 3:1-16



INTRODUCTION:


  1. A pastor friend of mine called up an unsaved talk-show host and got into a debate with him. I will not get into all of the details because they really are not that important but I will share one thing the radio man said. He was chiding my friend for his "rigid views" and told him that in his opinion all religions were good.
  2. Now this is a very popular opinion today. All religions are supposed to be good and worthwhile, and if anyone, particularly a fundamental Christian, suggests that his religion is the right one, or that all of the other religions are wrong, he is severely rebuked as an intolerant bigot, a fanatic, etc.
  3. Worldly people are always talking about tolerance but you will notice that they themselves are not very tolerant when it comes to true Christianity.
  4. Which brings me to my point. What exactly is true Christianity? And if there is such a thing as true Christianity, does that not imply that there must also be a false Christianity also? Yes, it does.
  5. The Bible teaches that there is a false Christianity, and there are certainly many so-called Christians who are confused by it. They are spiritually blind, deluded, lost sinners and they are on the religious road to hell.
  6. Yes, that’s right – the religious road to hell. It almost seems like a paradox but it is not (cf. Matt.7:13,14, 21-23).
  1. THOSE ON THE RELIGIOUS ROAD TO HELL ARE FOOLISH
    1. Our Lord said those who hear His words, and "doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man" (Matt.7:26). Those on the religious road have heard the Word of God, but have rejected its authority, and our Lord calls them fools.
    2. The apostle Paul twice uses the word "foolish" to describe these Galatians "bewitched" by a false gospel (3:1,3).
    3. They got off the True Gospel Road and got onto the False Gospel Road, which is the religious road to hell. They would "not obey the truth" (3:1). Beloved, there are many people, inside our churches, who simply will not obey the truth. They are lost and on the religious road to hell.
    4. Dr. R.A. Torrey, the great evangelist of a previous generation, said: "The greatest field of evangelism I have ever seen is in the membership of the average church."
    5. Keep in mind that "the average church" back in Dr. Torrey’s day, whether it be Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or whatever, was pretty conservative and most of these churches preached the Gospel. And yet the pews were filled with lost people. As we observe the religious scene today, we would say that things are far worse.
    6. Let us look at the situation in Galatia. Paul had preached to them the true Gospel of God’s grace – "before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you" (3:1). They heard the true Gospel of the crucified and risen Saviour.
    7. They heard of Christ’s finished work on the cross. They had heard that they could do nothing to save themselves, that only Christ could save them. And despite all this they decided to get on the religious road to hell. This is very foolish indeed.
    8. We all recognize the atheistic fool. The Psalmist writes, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Ps.14:1). These sort of fools are easy to detect. Bro. Jose and I ran into one of these foolish scoffers some months back. But the self-righteous, religious fool is a different bird altogether. He talks about Jesus, and he goes to church, and he prays, and he reads the Bible. But all along, he is on the religious road to hell.
    9. Beloved, if you are saved this morning then you have the Holy Spirit. But you did not receive the Holy Spirit by keeping the law. You received the Holy Spirit "by the hearing of faith" (Gal.3:2).
    10. Paul draws a contrast between "the works of the law" (i.e., trying to get to heaven by good works) and "the hearing of faith" (3:2), those that have heard the Gospel and have believed the Gospel, and are saved. Which road are you on? It is vitally important that you understand the difference between genuine salvation and the religious road to hell.
  1. THOSE ON THE RELIGIOUS ROAD TO HELL ARE CURSED
    1. Paul says this back in Gal.1:6-9, and he repeats it here again (3:10). "For as many as are of the works of the law (i.e., trying to get saved by good works, keeping the law, those on the religious road to hell) are under the curse" (3:10).
    2. Most people on the religious road to hell misread this Scripture. To them it means, "For as many as have not kept the law are under the curse…" But is that what it says? No. It says just the opposite.
    3. What this Scripture is saying is that all who seek to obtain favor with God on the basis of keeping the law are under the curse of God. They are condemned to eternal torment in hell.
    4. This is exactly the opposite of what the world teaches. You have probably noticed that any time a man dies, no matter how wicked, the world says, "He is in heaven...He is resting in peace…How wonderful to join him in heaven," etc.
    5. How can anyone assume that wicked, unregenerate, Christ-rejecting sinners are in heaven? It is very simple. The world says, "If your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, you will make it to heaven."
    6. Of course, this is not taught in the Bible (cf. John 3:18,36; 14:6). Those who have never trusted Christ, no matter how sincere they may be, no matter how devout they may be, no matter how devoted they are to their religion, if they have never been born again they are on the religious road to hell.
    7. In Gal.3:10, Paul is quoting Deut.27:26. It is not enough to keep the law for one day or one year or even 50 years. Note the word "continueth."
    8. I was in traffic court for double-parking outside the bank. Most of the people there were fellow double-parkers. No one said to the judge, "Your honor, I have lived in NY for 50 years and have never double-parked before. Therefore, I deserve a break."
    9. One lady said she only double-parked for a minute and the judge said, "One minute is too long to break the law. Pay the fine."
    10. The judge might as well have said, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Gal.3:10).
    11. Harry Ironside used this illustration: a man fell off a cliff and as he was going over he grabbed onto a chain that was fastened to a tree stump. The chain had ten links. Ironside asked this question: "How many links would have to break before the man would fall into the abyss below?" The obvious answer is one.
    12. The law is like that chain. Unsaved friend: It only takes one sin to make you a sinner. You have broken God’s law, and God says, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek.18:20), and "For the wages of sin is death" (Rom.6:23).
    13. Unsaved friend, you have broken God’s law and are like that man grasping onto a broken chain, plunging down, faster and faster, head first into the raging fires of hell.
    14. Can’t you see that you are on the religious road to hell. Granted, there are very few potholes on the religious road to hell. The road seems pretty safe. It is a pretty scenic route. There are few drunk drivers, hot-rodders, car thieves, and some of the other lunatics that are racing up down the irreligious road to hell. In many ways it seems far better and more pleasant than the irreligious road to hell.
    15. But that is why it is so very dangerous. A man on the irreligious road to hell will skid into a ditch and say, "That did it! I’m getting off this road. I’m going to get right with God! I’m getting on the right road to heaven."
    16. But the man on the religious road to hell cruises along admiring the scenery. All the religious hypocrites drive by and wave and give him a little "toot" with the horn. He passes by Mr. Self-Righteous, and Mr. Good Works, and Mr. Unsaved Churchmember, and he thinks to himself: "I must be on the right road! Look at all the good drivers on this road!"

III. HOW TO GET ON TO THE RIGHT ROAD TO HEAVEN

    1. Perhaps there are some that are here wondering, "I think I realize now that I am on the wrong road. But how do I get on to the right road, the road that leads to eternal life?"
    2. Let us turn now to Gal.3:13. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us…" Now we see the road to heaven. This road is for those of us who have failed to keep the ten commandments. The law has condemned us. The law has shown us how utterly depraved and sinful we really are.
    3. Therefore, we have repented of our sin and trusted Christ and He has saved us by His grace.
    4. Do you see how different these two roads are? Man has been brainwashed by religion. Unregenerate man thinks the road to hell is full of murderers and rapists and horrible fiends whose crimes are too vile to mention in public. He thinks the road to heaven is for good religious people, who are "doing the best they can."
    5. He has been confused by religion because most churches scramble the two roads together. That is why the average church member in America does not even know which road he is on.
    6. The average church member says, "I’m following the teachings of my church. My pastor (or priest or rabbi, etc.) says everything will turn out OK." Or, "I have been baptized."
    7. The average church member has been misled and is so confused by religion that he does not even understand the Gospel. I heard about a wife who was trying to nurse her sick husband late one night, and she realized that his fever had gotten worse. She placed the glass thermometer in his mouth, and he bit into it, and chewed it up, swallowed it, and died. The thermometer did not do him any good.
    8. God’s law is like that thermometer. It tells us: "You’re sick. You’re a sinner. You’re going to die." God’s law shows us we’re in trouble and points us to Christ. It can only get us on the right road to heaven when we recognize that only Christ can save us.
    9. We have already seen that the curse of the law is death. The penalty for breaking the law is death. Since all men are hopeless, helpless law-breakers, our prospects are not very good.
    10. Thank God, the Lord Jesus Christ has delivered us from the curse of the law. "Christ hath redeemed us…" (Gal.3:13). To redeem means to buy back, or to deliver by paying the price. He paid the penalty of death demanded by the law (3:13).
    11. He paid this awful penalty by dying in our place as our Substitute. He redeemed us by shedding His precious blood and dying for our sins.
    12. The dreadful curse of God literally fell upon Him (Gal.3:13; cf. II Cor.5:21; Isa.53:4-12).

CONCLUSION:

  1. Beloved, when I normally leave here after the service, I proceed south on Elmont Road. About a mile from here, Elmont Road ends and I have a choice. I can either take Hook Creek Boulevard or I can take Brookville Boulevard. But I cannot take both.
  2. I suppose I could get onto Hook Creek, go a few blocks, then shoot over to Brookville, then head back over to Hook Creek, and so on. But surely my wife and children would think I had lost my mind (not to mention the other drivers).
  3. But what about the double-minded man who tries to get on both roads to heaven? He says he believes in Jesus Christ but just to make sure he is trusting in his own good works. Will he make it that way? He most certainly will not.
  4. The man who tries to travel down Hook Creek and Brookville at the same time will eventually wind up in a wreck and so will the man on the religious road to hell.

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