“Understanding the Kingdom of God” Lesson 56 – Religious is not Synonymous with Holy

It is a misnomer to refer to someone as religious simply because they go to church and profess to love God. I go to church and love God, but I am not a religious man. I am a Kingdom man, and there is a vast difference.

The religious Jews in Luke 18 that surrounded Jesus that day thought they were holy. They were religious but they were not holy. Perhaps some of them were of the same mindset as the Pharisee who once prayed out of religious pride.

In the parable, the Pharisee justified himself through his religious works. He felt as though his works made him righteous. In contrast, the publican acknowledged his faults as he appealed unto God (the King) for mercy. The results were vastly different. The Pharisee was not justified. The publican was justified.

Even casual observance validates that many Christians today justify themselves by their religious works. The Church is full of self-righteous people, and they are easily spotted. The trouble is that our self-justification, or even the justification of our religious peer group, means zilch. What matters is whether God justifies us. If the King doesn’t justify you, you simply aren’t justified.

Most churches today are religious institutions. They think like religious people think. Religious people do not get Kingdom results. Occasionally someone in a religious Church violates religious practice and properly applies a Kingdom principle and obtains a Kingdom response. These are called miracles, healings, signs, and wonders. These, however, should be daily fare for citizens in God’s Kingdom and not rare exceptions.

The Kingdom is a concept of God. Religion is a concept of man. God’s Kingdom concept is correct. Man’s religious concept is incorrect or flawed at best.

God is not religious. He hates religion. When man gets religious, he forfeits his relationship to God and His Kingdom.

The Church of today needs to be converted from religious thinking to the Kingdom of God. It must return to the Kingdom concept that was espoused and taught everywhere by the early Church of the New Testament.

Some of the vilest, cruelest, and most judgmental people are religious people. Some will even shred their church to have things go their way.

May God help each of us transform from a religious mindset to one of Kingdom understanding. Each of us must seek the mind of Christ, that we might become like Him in our thoughts and actions.