Spiritual But Not Religious?

It has become popular with some to say that they are “spiritual” but not “religious.” It generally means that they have some degree of faith in God, but that they have chosen not to associate themselves with any specific religion or religious group. More specifically, they usually mean that they aren’t part of a church. They don’t assemble with a congregation to worship or engage in Bible study. Let’s think about this from a Biblical perspective.

Perspective. The Biblical perspective is the only approach for people who are believers. It is how we “Test all things” (1 Th 5:21). When considering this question, checking what God says in is Word is especially important because many people who are abandoning “organized religion” are doing so because of what they learn to be false and hypocritical leaders, organizations, and members. God’s people are admittedly flawed (Ph 3:12), but God’s Word is not!

Religious. Last week we noted that being “religious” actually means showing reverence for who or what is divine. It doesn’t mean a certain church or denomination. However, rather than arguing over word meaning, we need to show that God intends for spirituality to be expressed both individually and in the church Jesus built (Mt 16:18) and Heads (Co 1:18). These are not mutually exclusive – faith is personal, but Jesus designed His people to edify each other, worship together, and work together as His church in local groups. For this reason, a large portion of the New Testament is addressed to local congregations, instructing them in how to work, worship, evangelize, etc.

Needs. Some who say they are “spiritual but not religious” don’t feel the need to be with other Christians, they don’t think there is a benefit. Jesus thinks otherwise. Hebrews 10:23 urges us to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,” but then goes on to tell us that we’ve not on our own in doing this: “And lest us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another…” (10:24-25). There are many “one another” verses in the New Testament that are signaling that Jesus wants us to benefit from one another, that we WILL benefit from one another – and that’s why He built His church.

Not every church will help you keep the faith. Not every church is Christ’s church. Instead of abandoning the church and rejecting “religion,” find Christ’s true church where you can be both truly spiritual and truly religious. dd