In today’s teaching, Bro Eli shared an edifying message on the essence of religion in the church. In his sermon, the true definition of religion was derived from the Latin and Greek words. First, in the Greek word, religion means threskeia which means worshipping; while the Latin word for religion means Religare – “re” means “again”, and “ligare” means “to bind.”
From the Greek meaning, religion is synonymous with the word "worshipping," it is a way to worship God and serve Him.
Here is a thoughtful question during the sermon: do we need religion inorder to be saved? Bro Eli presumes that we definitely need it. Why? This is because a person who wants to worship God will need to be saved. It is by worshipping God that we will be found worthy of salvation.
If we say that we do not need religion, we mean that we do not need to worship God because the Greek meaning of religion is "worshipping" God. – Bro. Eli
There are other thoughts in the word religion, just like the Latin meaning tells us that religion is "to tie again"; that is to bind again to God. We need religion because we had gone astray, the Bible says in Malachi 3:7
Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?source
We have gone away from God, we were driven away by satan because of sin. So, it is through religion we reconnect to God; we tend to bind together to God through religion.
It is Jesus who taught us the true religion; He died to reconnect us to God. We have to worship God (which is a definition of religion).
Still in the sermon, Bro Eli asked, - Why did Jesus Christ teach religion if we do not need religion?
On the other hand, we see that charity and self-sanctification are the major components of true religion - James 1:27
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.source
We must not entangle in worldly things—that is self-sanctification.