---

Are you a religious person? Are you a spiritual person? A person can be religious without being spiritual. Witness: The Pharisees. (Matthew 23) The carnal-minded Corinthians. (1 Corinthians 3) Because of hypocrites and carnal-minded church-goers, the general opinion is that ALL religious people are non-spiritual. And we know that Jesus calls us to be spiritual. Jesus speaks about three actions of spirituality in the Sermon on the Mount: (Matthew 6:1-18) •  Charitable deeds (our interaction with others and willingness to help) •  Prayer (our communication with God and trust in Him) •  Fasting (our control over ourselves and our desires) It is true that a person can be spiritual without being religious (that is, doing those three activities, but not going to church or even belonging to a church). And non-church-going people love to justify their lifestyle! So, general opinion is that being spiritual is enough, especially if “all religious people are non-spiritual, and therefore stand condemned.” But Jesus calls us to be both spiritual AND religious. The three actions mentioned above which demonstrate a person's spirituality could be called “private religion” (or, “secret religion,” or, “closet religion,” the idea in Matthew 6:6). Then there is “public religion,” the actions visible to others that are dictated by one's spirituality. Jesus asks us to make a public confession that He is the Christ, the Son of God, (Romans 10:9-10; Matthew 10:32; Acts 8:37; etc.) and be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins. (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-4; etc.) He prescribes all the acts of obedience and faithfulness that have to do with Christian life (going to church, Hebrews 10:24 -25; helping others, Galatians 6:1-10; etc.). Jesus, Himself, was both spiritual and religious. He fasted severely and prayed often. (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 6:12; etc.) Concerning His “public religion,” notice Jesus' example of worshipping publicly (Luke 4:16; Hebrews 2:10 -13), and His long record of public preaching and good deeds, as summed up in Acts 10:36 -38. So, are you spiritual? Are you religious? God wants you to be both!

---

Written by Ink Man