1. Until He Returns UNTIL HE RETURNS HAVE THE REAL THING!

2. Until He Returns I. EXTERNAL RELIGION

3. Until He Returns External religion can do many good things, but it cannot take the place of Jesus Christ as Savior of the world!

4. Until He Returns 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful,

5. Until He Returns unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--

6. Until He Returns having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

7. Until He Returns Now understand that Paul is talking about people IN the church!

8. Until He Returns Matthew 15:8-9: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”

9. Until He Returns Looking at the mistakes of the Pharisees can help us not make them: 1. They settled for looking good instead of being good.

10. Until He Returns 2. They made too much of the little good things they could do by themselves and ignored what Jesus wanted to do for them- make them a totally new creation.

11. Until He Returns 3.They loved the approval of others more than the approval of God! 4. They covered up their sin instead of confessing them!

12. Until He Returns 5. They deceived themselves rather than listen to the truth Jesus spoke to them. 6. They wrote their own scriptures instead of living by God’s Word for them.

13. Until He Returns II. INTERNAL RELATIONSHIP

14. Until He Returns “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

15. Until He Returns The heart is where religion must BEGIN! “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified.” (Romans 10:10)

16. Until He Returns 2 Corinthians 5:17- “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

17. Until He Returns Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'

18. Until He Returns Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'”

19. Until He Returns Jesus has always upset the apple cart for the externally religious by changing the focus from the outer to the inner.

20. Until He Returns Does a painting of a fire warm you? Does a painting of a beautiful meal spread on a table feed you?

21. Until He Returns In the same way an outer religion can NEVER change your soul and bring salvation!