For illusion occurs in religion as easily as in the physical world. Even though I have learnt that the sun is the centre around which my earth moves, and I with it; I will tend to live and think as if the sun moved around my earth and me. Similarly in religion, although I readily admit that God must be the centre of existence, I do not as readily perceive or accept all that this implies; and it is the most natural thing for me still to live and think as if I myself were the centre around which all else, even including God, moved. I find it exceedingly difficult to rid myself of this illusion and allow God really to be the centre, that is, really to be God. (Let God Be God! An Interpretation of the Theology of Martin Luther)
This is a vitally important statement that reflects how it is that so many people can be deceived about a nation, the state of a church, and then of their own souls. America has developed the illusion that it is a Christian nation because it has a lot of religious activity. Many churches think that they are centered upon God because they talk about God and they use His name a lot. Perhaps they pray in His name and ask for things that they think will honor Him. A lot of talk regarding church growth uses the name of God and of the things of God as well. Many people do what they do while using the name of God and say they are doing things to the glory of God, but this is not new in history and it is found in the Bible as well. Paul spoke of not having anyone to send to the Philippians because he did not have a man that would have the true welfare of the people and the interests of Christ at heart. Instead, they were more concerned with the interests of self (Phil 2:19-21).
In the Old Testament on multiple occasions God became wearied with the external performances of the Israelites even though they were externally carrying out what He had commanded.
“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. 12 When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? 13 Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies– I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, they have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood 16 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil” (Isaiah 1:11-16).
Clearly the Israelites were doing what God had commanded, but their hearts were not doing them out of love for God. They were going on in their proud hearts living on in their sin and yet thinking that what they were doing fulfilled what God had commanded. In the pride of their hearts and in their self-centered world that they lived in they thought that God would be pleased because they were doing the outward things. The Pharisees continued this proud tradition as well. They did all of the outward things and thought quite highly of themselves. But they were the ones that God was most angry with as Jesus reserved His hardest words for them. But surely, we think, we are not like those Israelites and those Pharisees. We think that the Pharisees fought the teachings of Jesus and we do all in the name of Jesus, so we think we have escaped what the Pharisees were guilty of. Jesus also said that many will say “Lord, Lord” to Him on that day and yet He will turn them away because He never knew them.
If our hearts have not been turned from their self-centeredness and pride, we are using the name of Jesus to do things for self rather than doing them out of love for His great name’s sake. We can use the name of Jesus more as a magic potion of some sort seeking things for self when our pride has hidden our self-centeredness from us and we are going on in our idolatrous ways in much the same way as the Pharisees and Israelites. We pray in the name of Jesus, but we are not seeking the will of God but seeking the will of self. We may say we want God, but what we want is to have God on our side. We pray in the name of Jesus in order to manipulate God to do what we want rather than to seek the will of God in the name of Jesus. We pray for self and the things of self with the trappings of religion rather than seek the Lord and His will in order to pray according to His will. Oh how deceitful a proud heart is and how a proud heart ruins all the spiritual or religious things it touches. Our pride makes us unclean and all we touch is unclean as well. That includes our religious activities no matter how much we use God’s name.
God Loves... Himself 
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