A superstition is the belief that a specific act will bring supernatural consequences... breaking a mirror brings 7 years bad luck... walking under a ladder...throwing a penny in a fountain...crossing your fingers. Some superstitions are harmless while others can have dramatic impact upon our lives. The danger is that we can come to put our trust in something which will produce many unintended consequences in our life. An easy illustration of this can be seen when I was a teen. A group of guys I hung out with honestly believed that if we did some good things from time to time God would protect us from harm when we did stupid stuff. We were gambling with the false belief that God would protect us from our own stupid behavior.
Religion is quiet often filled with superstitious beliefs. We believe that if we do a religious 'act' we have in essence purchased a comprehensive protection policy or at the very least a fire insurance policy. I grew up with some Catholic friends who believed if they went to Friday night mass they could absolutely do whatever they wanted to do the rest of the week. But before I seem too smug I should point out that I grew up in a religious tradition that in essence taught the same thing about baptism- as long as you are baptized by being fully immersed in water and saying the correct words and verbally acknowledging acceptance of the correct belief about Jesus Christ God has to let you into heaven. It did not really matter if I treated people with respect or allowed God to use me because I had done what I needed to get into heaven.
The Verge Missional Network has a great clip about 'praying Jesus into your heart' describing how that the Bible does not ever tell us we become a Christian by performing a ritual.
Verge Clip
The problem with believing that we have become O.K. with God by performing an external ritual is that it completely misses the point of the Bible. The point of the Bible, both Old and New Testament, is that God desires to have our heart, not just our actions. Why? If God has control of our heart then our actions will follow suit. But even more powerful than that is that God desires to fill us with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the affirmation of our salvation from sins and the Spirit is God's power within us. If we have allowed the Spirit of God to dwell within us then our actions are powered not by our own selfish desires but by the Spirit of God.
When we believe that we are O.K. with God because of some act we have done there is no need for God's Spirit to dwell within us because through our own power we have accomplished salvation, WE have done what is needed to be saved. There is no need for Jesus Christ to do anything. These external religious acts that save us consequently become nothing more than a superstitious belief.
In the absence of the indwelling power of the Spirit within our life we are left with nothing except external ritual to provide us salvation (which is a false salvation) forcing us to become focused upon the quality of our external ritual. We have to make sure that everyone performs the external ritual to perfection and we have to point out why that people in other religious groups who have focused upon alternate external rituals are inferior to our religious group because of their choice of external ritual. This type of religion is hollow and a waste of time.
However this is not what the Bible describes. The Bible does not describe religion to us- it describes relationship with the God of the universe. It describes a God who creates an entire universe but who is focused upon the beings created in His image. It describes how these beings became separated from their creator by sin. It describes God's long process to remove sin so that once again the loving father can walk side by side with his children created in His image. It describes how that God the Son lived and died to pay the price of sin so that all who accept His gift of grace may be redeemed. It describes how that indwelt with the power of the Holy Spirit we survive in a world damaged by sin until God brings this age to a close. It describes God's plan to redeem and restore this world so that freed from sin we can be resurrected to a new life in a new physical body in the new realm where God and His people will dwell together.
It is an insult to cheapen Christianity to the point that is nothing more than a set of rules and actions to perform; a prayer to be said, a baptism to be done, a worship assembly to attend, a communion to eat...
Christianity is a radical transformation because we have been redeemed by a radical God who desires to fill us with a transforming Spirit. How can you tell if you are allowing God to fill you? The message of the author of life will overfill your life and splash onto those around you.
