by Louis Fedele
(Reposted by permission)
I have been finding many good and interesting writers recently, especially on Substack. One of those is Louis Fedele. Following are a couple excerpts from articles I found interesting and thought I would share them here.
1:
One thing I’ve always wrestled with is how divided the Church feels. But if we all claim to follow Jesus, why are we so divided? The more I sat with that question, the more I realized: a lot of our division comes from relying on human understanding. Different interpretations of Scripture, different traditions, and even personal preferences have shaped entire denominations.
Over time, we started to lean more on systems, customs, and doctrines than on the Spirit who leads us into all truth. Somewhere along the way, we stopped listening for His voice and started defending our versions of the truth. But grace doesn’t work that way. Grace isn’t about our interpretation or performance. It’s not about how we “do” church or which theology we think gets it right. Grace is about what Jesus has already done. It takes the spotlight off of us—our works, our rules, our traditions—and puts it fully on Christ and His finished work on the cross.
But religion often does the opposite. It puts the weight back on us—on our behaviors, our understanding, our ability to measure up. And when we start trusting in our own insight, pride creeps in. We begin to create boxes around God, thinking He can only move in the ways we’re used to seeing Him move. When we lean on human logic, we divide. We create “us vs. them” cultures. We cherry-pick verses, blend old and new covenants, and confuse the body with double talk. The only message that truly unites us is grace.
~ Excerpt from Grace: The Great Equalizer by Louis Fedele
2:
Today, I see a Church that reveres pastors so much that we’ve made them the spiritual authority over people instead of trusting the Holy Spirit within people. We say it’s all about Jesus, but the system says otherwise. It puts the spotlight on the pulpit and trains people to rely on a human instead of hearing God for themselves. The truth is, once you’ve placed your faith in Christ, you have the same Holy Spirit as any pastor, leader, or biblical figure. God doesn’t give partial anointings or levels of worth. We are not meant to live as passive members of a system—we’re called to walk boldly as sons and daughters, each carrying the presence of God.
We tend to put the people of the Bible on pedestals. We try to emulate them, imitate their methods, follow their steps like a blueprint for holiness. But they were never the standard. Jesus is. The apostles, the prophets, the early church—they were all led by the same Spirit who lives in us now. And He is still creative, still personal, and still doing new things. We weren’t meant to become carbon copies of Paul or Peter or John. We were meant to become the unique expressions of Christ that He chose us to be.
Let’s not trade our personal relationship with God for a system, a tradition, or even a biblical personality. They had their journey. We have ours. And the Spirit will guide us uniquely, just as He did for them.
Because in the end, God’s not looking for better versions of Peter or Paul. He’s looking for you—wholehearted, surrendered, Spirit-filled you. And that’s more than enough
~ Excerpt from Let the Spirit Lead – Not the System by Louis Fedele
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Done with Religion 