Religious But Not Spiritual

Happy Sunday. Last week we talked about the phrase "spiritual but not religious." It is a sad yet common condition in our society. Today we're going to look at another sad condition that I think is even worse: religious but not spiritual. This condition of being religious but not spiritual is not a new phenomenon; it's as old as time.

Let me read to you from Second Timothy chapter 3, verses 1 to 5. Here Paula's warning young Timothy about this group. He says, "You should know this, Timothy, but in the last days there will be very difficult times, for people beloved only themselves and their money. They'll be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They'll consider nothing sacred. They'll be unloving and unforgiving. They'll slander others and have no self-control. They'll be cruel and hate what is good. They'll betray their friends, be Reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God."

Sounds like today, doesn't it? I continue in the scripture: "They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them Godly. Stay away from people like that." Here is warning Timothy to stay away from the religious but not spiritual. They're perfectly defined there in verse 5, where it says, "They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them Godly." And again, "Stay away from people like that."

I've always found this verse interesting. Here we are told clearly to stay away, and that's fascinating to me, because all throughout scripture we're told to go and tell, to seek people out, to feed the hungry, to visit the lonely and the prisoners, to find the laws, to go the extra mile. But here we're plainly told to stay away, to stay away from the religious but not spiritual. Why is that? It's because they are so very dangerous.

This world suffers because of these people, and sometimes these people can be very charismatic and have a big following. When Jesus walked the Earth, he ran into a group like this often. This is what he said in Matthew 20 15 23 15: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites." These were very religious people, but not spiritual at all. Again: "What would you described in Pharisees, Hypocrites, for you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves."

In that same chapter we find these words in verses 27 and 28, where Jesus says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they're full of the bones of the dead and all kinds of Filth. So you also on the outside look religious to others, but inside you're full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." That is true today. The religious but not spiritual care about looks, but the inside is rotten.

People now go around calling themselves Reverend or father, and we can get confused by their act. They want a title; they want a platform. They may look good, but watch out if they are not of God. In Matthew 7 Jesus said, "Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit," that is, by the way they act over time.

I've seen too many of these examples. How can you spot them? They're not loving, they're not forgiving, they're not patient, they're not kind. They lack the Fruit of the Spirit. One indicator of the religious but not spiritual is a look-at-me attitude.

They want to be the center of attention. They're all about self, and their minds, they're always right. They're better than others, they think. They like to toot their own horn. They won't know more than we do, and they can also be very, very proud.

Speaking of religion, I suppose it would be a good time for me to Define religion. This is my favorite definition. It's found in James chapter 1, verse 27. It says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the father is this: to care for Orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." So we should be unstained by this world, and we should also care for widows and orphans, one of the Prime purposes of religion.

The reason that this is such a great definition is that orphans and widows cannot repay you. In the days these words were written, these two groups were at the bottom of society. This was a test. If you were religious but not spiritual, you'd never help these people; there'd be nothing for you to gain personally.

Over the years I've seen pastors and deacons and Sunday school teachers and all sorts of church people act religious while rejecting the power that could make them Godly. On the other hand, over the years I have seen pastors and deacons and Sunday school teachers and all sorts of church people become more and more like Christ. Those types of people change the world. Go and do likewise. And if you know anybody that you think is religious but not spiritual, pray for them.

Let's pray together. Father, thank you for the ones that are Godly, the ones that bear fruit, the ones that change our lives and minister to us. We pray that we're in the habit of lifting those people up. We pray that you would give us your spirit to guide us into truth and into knowledge, and to protect us from those out there that can do harm.

Father, that means that we need to be people of prayer. That means we need to be in your word. That means that we need to know what we believe. Help us in that Journey this day and every day. In Jesus name, amen.

God bless. Thank you for being with me today.