Although I consider myself a committed Christian, I absolutely believe that religion per se is the great counterfeit to God’s (Christ’s) Kingdom.
For example, religion would try to promote God and His Christ (1 Chronicles 17:11-14) as central but in reality they are used as a smoke screen.
Religion in general, is focussed on man’s decrees and regulations, man’s customs and norms and is primarily characterised by a heart of stone. It satisfies the flesh and lulls the spirit of man to sleep.
Christ Himself openly and repeatedly condemned it for what it was and always will be; a counterfeit, dangerous when wielded as a weapon of mass control! (Mark 7:8)
I see it all around me; people who seem very pious – yet their hearts are tight, they lack genuine generosity, their way of life is set in concrete.
May Christ and His Holy Spirit guard us against this evil self-deception!