Religion and spirituality are
often mistakenly understood as synonymous terms. The former is human, the
latter is divine. The traditions and rituals could make people religious, but
not spiritual. Religiosity is taken up with the external, visible things.
Spirituality is primarily a matter of the heart. Before we explore the
difference between religion and spirituality, we must first define the two
terms. Religion can be defined as “belief in God or gods to be worshipped, usually
expressed in conduct and ritual” or “any specific system of belief, worship,
etc., often involving a code of ethics.” Spirituality can be defined as “the
quality or fact of being spiritual, Godly” or “predominantly spiritual
character as shown in thoughts, words, deeds, life, etc.; spiritual tendency or
tone.” To put it briefly, religion is a set of beliefs and rituals that claim
to get a person in a right relationship with God, and spirituality is a focus
on spiritual things. It actually lifts
man into the image of God.
Many people have confused one
against the other. Religiosity is an outward form of worship. It doesn’t affect
the inward at all, while spirituality starts from within. If you are more
interested in self gratification than self sacrifice you are religious, not
spiritual. If you are more interested in impressing people with your eloquent words
than reflecting godliness through daily life, you are religious, not spiritual.
If you are more interested in activities and accomplishment than in personal
walk with the Lord in Holiness, you are religious, not spiritual. Religious
people justify their actions but Spiritual people however, never seek to
justify themselves before men. Religious people are more interested in men's acceptance
than in God's.
Religion is man’s attempt to
discover God and find the solution to his own problem. Mankind has tried in so
many ways to relieve the fear, pain, and suffering that characterize so much of
human life on earth. One way is through religion. The danger of Religion is
that it tends to substitute the heartless observance of rituals and tradition for
a genuine relationship with God. At the same time, religion can be valuable in
the sense that it points to the fact that there is a God and that we are
somehow accountable to Him. The true value of religion is its ability to point
out that we have fallen short and are in need of a Savior.
Among the Religious people, for
example, a person is regarded as religious if he or she goes regularly visit worship
place, performs the rituals and ceremonies as per the norms, makes
contributions to the charity and religious activities, and gives alms to the poor.
But on the other hand that person may discriminate people, treats the poor and
weak people like slaves, cheats on his income tax and business deals, commit
secrets sin in thoughts and deeds etc. However in the sight of people he or she
is still considered a religious person and a respected member of his religion
but not in the sight of God. Religiosity deals with externals, not with
internals. It deals with the obvious and what can be seen, not with the unseen
or the invisible. Religiosity is what one shows to others, or how others see
what he does in connection with his beliefs and practices. It has nothing to do
with what he does in secret or with his unseen relationship with the divine. Religiosity
then consists of being a member of a group, of a religious community called a loyal
member, and doing what is expected of him by that religion. Being religious means following the beliefs,
doctrines, practices, traditions and rituals of a particular organized
religious institution that are external to the individual. Religion can exist
separate and apart from the individual, not so for spirituality.
Spirituality is an internal
process of seeking personal authenticity, genuineness, and wholeness as an
aspect of identity with the creator. The true value of spirituality is that it
points to the fact that there is something and someone beyond this physical world
to which we need to connect. Spirituality is the process of continuous
development of a greater connectedness to God -is the process of deriving
meaning, purpose, and direction in one's life; and-involves an increasing
openness to exploring a relationship with an intangible and pervasive power or
essence or center of value that exists beyond human existence and rational
human knowing. Spirituality begins and is perpetually an internal process,
though there is the moving outward from oneself through connectedness to self
and others, and relationship with that which lies beyond the known and knowable
world. It need not be traditional to the practices, beliefs and rituals of a
particular organized religion. To be spiritual is to have an intimacy with
God. It is very personal relationship.
Your actions need not be sanctioned or approved by people but God.
According to the Bible, True Christianity is not a religion; rather, it is having a right relationship with God by receiving Jesus Christ as the Savior and Lord, by grace through faith. Paul said “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,” (Galatians 4:19) Paul’s words to the people, “until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19), should penetrate the hearts of men and women as they examine their own lives to see if Christ is really formed in them. Is Christ, in actuality, reproduced in your life? Since Jesus is the Savior of the world, it is imperative for each individual to allow Christ to envelop the whole of his or her life. An understanding of the Christ event should cause every believer to yearn for Christ to be formed in one’s life. The positive side to Christ’s formation in the believer consists of the “fruit of the Spirit” “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”(Galatians 5:22-24)
The word “spiritual” occurs 30 times in
the New Testament, and all of those in the Book of Romans or later.
Every bible instance of the
word “spiritual” occurs after the NEW BIRTH. Romans
12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer
your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to
God — this is your SPIRITUAL act of worship.
DO NOT CONFORM any longer to the pattern of THIS
WORLD.
Three
characteristics of the spiritual man or woman:
(1) Lives life as a living sacrifice, not
self-centeredly
(2) Lives a holy life
(3) Live in such a way as to please God
Also, spiritual people
are LOVING people. Galatians 6:1 says Brothers, if someone is caught
in a SIN, you who are spiritual
should restore him gently. But WATCH
YOURSELF or you also may be TEMPTED. A mark of
biblical spirituality is taking a realistic and watchful approach to
our ever-present temptations. To be deemed “spiritual” by
God, “do NOT CONFORM ... to the pattern of this WORLD.” Christians grieve the Holy Spirit when they do not allow
Christ to be formed in their “newness of life.” “For the kingdom of God is not
a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the
Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) “For to set the mind on the flesh is death,
but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”(Romans 8:6)
Again, Paul said in Ephesians: “Get rid of all
bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of
malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each
other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32). Paul desires
that the inner life of every believer come to life in the Lord Jesus. In other
words, Christ has been given to believers in order that a transformation may
come about in their lives. This new life in Christ is not intended to be just
internal, but rather it is to be external. Christ, in His Sermon on the Mount,
addresses the “outer” manners: Christianity does have “ordinance” to observe
(e.g., baptism and communion). Yes, Christianity does have “rules” to follow
(e.g., do not murder, love your enemies, etc.). However, these rituals and
rules are not the essence of Christianity. The rituals and rules of
Christianity are the result of salvation. When we receive salvation through
Jesus Christ, we are baptized as a proclamation of that faith. We observe communion
in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice. We follow a list of do’s and don’ts out
of love for God and gratitude for what He has done.
The most common misconception about spirituality is that there are many forms of spirituality, and all are equally valid. Meditating in unusual physical positions, communing with nature, seeking conversation with the spirit world, etc., may seem to be “spiritual,” but they are in fact false spirituality. True spirituality is empowerment of the Holy Spirit as a result of receiving salvation through Jesus Christ. True spirituality is the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in a person’s life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Spirituality is all about becoming more like God, who is spirit (John 4:24) and having our character conformed to His image (Romans 12:1-2).
The most common misconception about spirituality is that there are many forms of spirituality, and all are equally valid. Meditating in unusual physical positions, communing with nature, seeking conversation with the spirit world, etc., may seem to be “spiritual,” but they are in fact false spirituality. True spirituality is empowerment of the Holy Spirit as a result of receiving salvation through Jesus Christ. True spirituality is the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in a person’s life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Spirituality is all about becoming more like God, who is spirit (John 4:24) and having our character conformed to His image (Romans 12:1-2).
This is why God did not send us a religious council.
Instead, He sent us His Son Jesus Christ, who was herald of His spiritual
kingdom as well as its gateway. Christ did not come to Earth to start a
religion. Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God where people can experience
his very presence under his Lordship. Jesus’ overarching mission on earth was
to reintroduce the spiritual Kingdom of God on Earth to mankind. When we say
that Jesus came to reintroduce the spiritual Kingdom of God on Earth, this
implies that at one time it was here before. Christ did not bring a new Kingdom
to Earth, but an old, original Kingdom that had been lost. At one time, Adam
and Eve were in perfect relationship and intimacy with God on Earth, ruling
from the Garden of Eden. In other words they were spiritual. When they rebelled
against God and fell into sin, the very presence of God departed and
consequently they become religious.
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of both religion and spirituality. Jesus is the One to whom we are accountable and to whom true religion points. Jesus is the One to whom we need to connect and the One to whom true spirituality points. Are you interested in discovering true religion and true spirituality? The only way to true spirituality is by offering oneself to God daily. Every other way is a counterfeit.
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of both religion and spirituality. Jesus is the One to whom we are accountable and to whom true religion points. Jesus is the One to whom we need to connect and the One to whom true spirituality points. Are you interested in discovering true religion and true spirituality? The only way to true spirituality is by offering oneself to God daily. Every other way is a counterfeit.
Spirituality is a relationship in Jesus Christ in which the
individual is being transformed into an ever-expanding likeness of Christ
Himself. A holy person is not seeking
after holiness, but after Jesus Christ, because there is no other source of
Holiness. Holy living demands
determination (Rom. 12:1). We are responsible for our inner life and outward
walk. All areas of our life should be in the process of being conformed to the
likeness of Jesus Christ. Sin is abnormal and unnatural for the believer. We
does not experience the absence of sinless life perfectly on this earth (1 John
1:8, 10), however we do overcome sin through the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal.
5:16-21).Holiness or sanctification can be perfected, i.e., completed or
matured (Phi. 3:8-16). A maturing, or growing holiness, is an increased
Christ-likeness (2 Cor. 3:18). It is a progressive sanctification, not
glorification. We will receive glorification when we see Jesus in heaven. Until
then, we are to grow in His likeness (1 John 3:3).
Our responsibility is to yield
ourselves to the inner working of the Holy Spirit and keep on growing in His
likeness (James 4:8).Righteousness is what happens in our body, soul, and
spirit when we begin to experience holiness. Righteousness is the work of
Holiness. Righteousness is the joy of obedience to God’s ways that results from
the inner work of holiness. When a person understands the truth about spirituality,
it becomes the most desirable possibility in all of human experiences. There is nothing so beautiful, so satisfying
and so natural in all of human life than manifesting the holiness and glory of
God through our daily life. The very
reason for your creation, the purpose for which God made you and the most
complete life, is found in Biblical spirituality. It is not just a standard someone is trying
to live. It certainly is not legalism or
narrow-mindedness. Spirituality is the
work of the Holy Spirit by the Word and by the sacrificial death and
resurrection of Jesus. It actually lifts
man into the image of God. In spirituality,
we become God-like and God-filled.