Brother Jim Shaw Ministries, October 8, 2026

Brother Jim Shaw Ministries

Ep203, Beware of Religions

No Rituals Needed: Brother Jim Shaw on the Simplicity of Christ and the Thief at the Cross

Brother Jim Shaw warns against a surge in religious ritual, contrasting the rules and trappings of organized religion with the simplicity of knowing Jesus Christ within, and closes by saying all he wants is what the thief at the cross received.

A Surge in Religion and Its Rituals

Brother Jim Shaw opens the fifteen-minute broadcast by noting a surge in religion he has seen reported, particularly reformed Catholicism, and asks listeners what is actually good about it. He compares organized religion to clubs like the Moose Club, the Elks, the American Legion, and the VFW, loaded with rules and belonging. Shaw lists rituals he sees as trappings rather than substance: feast days, traditions, candles, stained glass, kneeling, signs of the cross, crucifixes, rosary beads, holy days, physical baptisms in a small font, confirmations, memorized prayers, and first Holy Communion. He says he is not trying to ridicule anyone, but contrasts all of it with the simplicity of knowing in one's heart that Jesus Christ is Lord. Shaw tells listeners they are the temple, that Jesus lives and resides within them, and that Christ exposes himself in a believer all day long, especially in moments of temptation.

Rituals Cannot Overcome the Devil

Shaw challenges listeners to name one thing a ritual can do to overcome a devil, insisting it cannot, because devils love rituals and religion since there is no spiritual power in them. He admits people love teams anyway, joking about grown men at a Green Bay Packers game wearing cheese hats and screaming in freezing weather, because everyone wants to belong to a club. Shaw says it is a manifestation of grace when the Lord plucks a person out of the world, making them a living stone of a church built without hands. He warns listeners not to be deceived from the simplicity of Christ, just as Eve was deceived in the garden. He corrects himself over the exact wording, recalling that God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, noting that the good on that tree was just as deceptive as the evil.

Saved by Faith, Not by Joining

Shaw turns to Paul's teaching in Galatians that believers are saved by faith and live by faith, adding that works will follow faith but a person cannot simply join a club, sign a paper, or be born into generations of a religion and call tha