What does the Bible say about religious works being acceptable to God?
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The Bible teaches that all righteous works, when done apart from faith in Christ, are abominable to God.
According to Isaiah 66:3-4, the sacrifices and religious works performed by those who do not come to God through Christ are likened to abominable acts, such as killing a man or sacrificing a dog's neck. This indicates that rituals, even if rooted in previous covenants, are unacceptable when the heart is not oriented towards belief in Christ. God is not pleased by mere religious acts; rather, He desires faith in His Son, who fulfilled the law and established genuine righteousness for His people. The natural man, blind to these truths, may be zealous in their religious practices, yet in God's sight, their efforts are seen as empty unless they are grounded in the redemptive work of Jesus.
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