July 15 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

All human beings are religious. And "religion" is a human activity—not to be confused with the way of faith in the gospel.

Only God knows how many people take up religion as a way of salvation. But it will never work. True religion is a fruit of salvation. Human religion cannot save a soul.

There are bad religions: astrology is cold, Baha'i is like a tossed salad. All the self-development religions are pipe dreams—popular, expensive, and futile. But good religions don't work either: social work does not save, and memorizing Bible texts does not do the job.

North Americans devote about as many hours to religion as to keeping pets, and they invest almost as much money in dog food as in missionaries. But Romans 7 has taught us once and for all that religion does not save.

Why not? Because even the good that God has given to human beings is wasted on them. Even his holy law cannot bend us into a different kind of life. In fact, the more we learn about God's perfect will for our life, the more we experience our own wretchedness.

That's a frightful picture. But it's true. And we know it's true—not only because the Bible says so but because we have experienced it. Countless people get involved in religion for their temporal and eternal salvation. They may be more admirable than those who turn to liquor, but their pain and guilt are worse.

Only God can save a person. God is our salvation. God comes to us through Jesus Christ, and God brings us the power of the Holy Spirit. That's a new beginning none of us invented.

God—and God alone—can save. The most heroic efforts of the noblest people can only will what is right. They can never accomplish it.

Every religious pilgrim has to discover this anew.

REFLECTIONS

Reflect on how you learned or are learning that only God can save, that nothing you could do would make a difference. Then give thanks for what God has done for you in Christ.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.