Religion and spirituality are easily confused with one another. People often wonder, “Are spirituality and religion the same?” “Can I be spiritual and Christian?” and “What is the difference between spirituality and religion?” In this blog, we’ll discover the meaning of religion and spirituality and help you on your journey to take your next step towards Jesus. So, let’s dive in!
Religion in Christianity
If you’re a Christian, you’ve probably been called religious before. In our modern world, people often think that religion and spirituality are the same. Because Christianity is recognized as a world religion, it’s easy to assume that Christians are simply religious and nothing more.
However, as you study the Bible, you’ll find that the religious in the New Testament are actually the religious leaders and the hypocrites. In Matthew 23, Jesus rebukes the scribes and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy.
“What sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law, and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.' - Matthew 23:23
Even though Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for being religious and strict, spiritual disciplines in Christianity are important to God. It's helpful to remember that devotion to God is good. Reading your Bible every day is essential. Prayer is the lifeline and connection point for Christians. But experiencing guilt, shame, and condemnation if you miss a day of spiritual disciplines is what religion can feel like. Telling others to live a certain way when you do not live it yourself is another reason why people experience Christians as religious and hypocritical. Following Jesus means practicing the way he showed us: loving our neighbor as ourselves, taking care of the poor, and tending to widows and orphans. As the Bible teaches:
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. - James 1:27
If you’re ever wondering, “Are religion and spirituality the same?”, look no further than James 1:27. This intense Bible verse tells the Christian what “religion” looks like. Religion in this Bible verse instructs Christians to take care of widows and orphans in their affliction. On top of this, James teaches us to keep ourselves unstained from worldly things like pride, selfishness, greed, lust, and idolatry.
Learn more about self-control and how to keep yourself unstained from the world in our blog: What Does the Bible Actually Say About Self-Control?
Spirituality in Christianity
Now that you’ve uncovered more about the difference between religion and spirituality, you may be wondering what place spirituality has in Christianity. The good news? Spirituality is incredibly present in Christianity! However, the Bible and the Holy Spirit give Christians boundary lines so that they never get into troubled spiritual waters. As Jesus told us in the Gospel of John:
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. - John 3:5-6
One element of spirituality in Christianity is Jesus’ command in John 3 to be born of water (by water baptism) and the Holy Spirit (by being born again or by experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit). The Holy Spirit is an integral part of Christianity, and He is the 3rd person of the Trinity. It’s a divine, spiritual mystery that God is 3 in 1: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Related Post: What Does the Bible Say About Revival?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. - Galatians 5:22-23
The differences between worldly versions of religion and spirituality and Christian versions of religion and spirituality couldn’t be more opposite in the Bible. Another aspect of spirituality in Christianity is the fruits of the Spirit. Rather than a set of rules, Christianity portrays religion as service to God and others. And instead of chasing spiritualism or spiritual experiences, Christianity offers true spirituality by having a living relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Learn more about the true spirituality that comes with living in the Holy Spirit in our blog: What Are the Fruits of the Spirit?
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. - Ephesians 4:15
Another aspect of Christian spirituality is maturing in love, which simply means doing all that you can to become more like Jesus. Speaking the truth in love helps us to be more like Jesus with our words and helps us to become more like Jesus through our actions. Maturing in love is one of the key differences between Christian religion and spirituality and worldly religion and spirituality, which tends to emphasize self over surrender.
Have you received Jesus into your heart yet? If not, today is your day! Learn how to surrender your life to Jesus and receive the hope that He offers in our blog: This is For You!
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:18
One of the main differences between spirituality and religion is that in Christianity, to be spiritual means to fix your eyes on Jesus and remain aware of the spiritual realm. Angels and demons are real spiritual beings, and the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light are constantly at war with one another. True Christian spirituality involves praying often and bringing Heaven to earth through our actions.
Related Post: 3 Reasons Why Christians Need to Be Alert
Difference Between Religion & Spirituality
As you can see, religion and spirituality are generally at odds with one another. Religion is not the answer to our problems, and spirituality can't fix the world either. But rather, Christians start with belief, embrace their mission, commit to obedience, and pursue community as followers of Jesus who strive to tell others about their faith and bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth!
As the book of James tells us, faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). And in the same way, with a Christian lens, religion without spirituality is dead. The law of the Old Testament is simply a set of rules unless the Holy Spirit empowers us with righteousness to live out our freedom. And on the flip side, blind spirituality that focuses on spiritual experiences over the Bible as the anchor of truth is also an unstable and shaky foundation that always crumbles in the end.
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” - Matthew 7:13-14
As Christians, we need the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth and keep us on the narrow way that Jesus invites us to. You can think of Christianity as the perfect middle ground between religion and spirituality.
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears." - John 16:13
The Role of the Bible in Christianity & Spirituality
The Bible is the Word of God, and it is living, active, and able to pierce our hearts with its words (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, and it teaches Christians the fear of the Lord (Psalm 119:105). And in our hyper-spiritual age, the Bible teaches us that we need to discern spirits so that we don’t fall into deception or spiritual danger (1 John 4:1-2). The Bible teaches us that any spirit (or type of spirituality or spiritualism) that doesn’t confess that Jesus is Lord is not from God. The Bible also teaches us that within the Godhead, there are different spirits (or attributes from God) that we can ask for as we pray.
And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. - Isaiah 11:2
In addition to this, the Bible isn’t just a book to be read. The Bible is to be lived. When we read Jesus’ words about healing the sick, taking care of the poor, and praying for our enemies, we are supposed to read those words and then live those words out with our lives (Matthew 10:8, Matthew 25:35-40, Matthew 5:44).
Learn more about how to live out the Bible in your life and share your faith every day in our FREE E-book: 4 Steps to Live Out Your Everyday Faith
Conclusion
Though the difference between religion and spirituality couldn’t be clearer, the narrow way that Jesus offers His followers is right in the middle of the two. As you study the Word and Jesus’ teaching, you will find that there is a ditch in religion and there is another ditch in spirituality. As Christians, we are to walk as Jesus walked, talk like Jesus talked, serve as Jesus served, and love as Jesus loved. Jesus’ life offended the religious and invited sinners into repentance. As you go through your week, remember this Bible verse about the difference between religion and spirituality from Micah:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8
