Are You Religious Or Are You Spiritual?

Do you consider yourself religious, or do you consider
yourself spiritual? Is there a difference? I think there
is a big difference.

I was talking to a repairman at our home and the subject of
the end of the world came up. As our discussion proceeded,
he asked me if I was religious and spiritual. Now that's
quite a question.

I had been talking to him about how I believed that Christ
will return. I told that when he does return, those who
are born again will be gathered together to meet him in the
air. That's what the Bible says.

Now some when they hear statements like that might
immediately think, "Oh, he's a pretty religious person."
Others might think, "Well, someone who believes that sort
of thing must be a spiritual person." Well, which is it?

I couldn't give the repairman a simple, "yes," or "no"
answer. The biggest problem in answering a question like
that is simply terminology. Being religious means
different things to different people, just as being
spiritual means different things to different people.

Personally, I do not believe that Christianity is a
religion, although I think there is a lot of religion in
what people refer to as "Christianity." Religion is man
made and it is usually full of rules and regulations on how
to be right in God's eyes.

Contrary to that, I believe that true Christianity is the
way of the Father with His children. I believe true
Christianity involves a real, personal relationship between
a person and God Almighty. I believe true Christianity is
what the Bible teaches, not what some people think that the
Bible teaches.

Anyone who has read the Gospels knows that the greatest
opposition that Jesus Christ faced while here on earth was
from the "religious" leaders of that time. They were so
caught up in all of their rules, regulations, and
traditions that they failed to even recognize that the
Messiah had finally arrived.

They saw Jesus as interfering with their system. They were
jealous of the numbers of people that were following him.
They were absolutely afraid of losing their power and
control.

They were afraid that if his popularity continued to
escalate then they might soon be out of a job. So they
opposed him at every turn. It was the religious leaders
who instigated his arrest and his execution.

After the death of Jesus, it was again religious leaders
who persecuted the early Church. The followers of Jesus
were labeled a cult by the same religious leaders. These
religious people endeavored to silence those who preached
about Christ, especially those who preached his
resurrection from the dead.

Throughout history, time and time again, terrible things
have been done by religious people. People convinced that
they were right, believing that they were doing God a
favor, have done many cruel things. Who will ever know how
many people have lost their lives at the hands of religious
people?

Meanwhile, true Christianity is not about rules and
regulations or sacrifices and penance required for heaven.
True Christianity is all about what God made available to
people through the accomplished work of His Son, Jesus
Christ. True Christianity is all about the Father and His
family.

When it comes to being spiritual, that term has different
meanings to a lot of different people too. There is indeed
a natural realm and there is a spiritual realm. But being
a "spiritual" personal does not necessarily mean that
someone is involved with the one true God.

The Scriptures declare that when someone is born again,
they receive God's gift of holy spirit. Looking at it that
way, you could say that such a person is indeed a spiritual
person. That would be accurate because the person has
God's spirit residing in them.

The Bible states that God is Spirit, and that holy men of
God wrote the Bible, being directed by the Holy Spirit. It
would then seem to be very profitable to gain information
and understanding about spiritual matters from the
Scriptures. And, in a manner of speaking, someone who
regards the Scriptures as God's communication to mankind
could indeed be called a spiritual person.

Regardless of your definition of what constitutes
religious, or what makes someone spiritual, The Bible
cannot take a back seat in these matters. And, after
reading this article, perhaps it will be easier for you to
answer the question: Are you religious, or, are you
spiritual?

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Michael A. Verdicchio offers a FREE eBook, "9 Keys to
Answered Prayer!" for signing up for his FREE weekly news
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http://www.ConfidenceAndJoy.com Michael is a husband,
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