The difference between being "Religious" and being "Christian" is that "Christians" are supposed to be letting "Christ" live inside of them and work through them. Christ wasn't all about keeping a bunch of rules, but about LOVE. Loving our neighbor, loving God. So, if you're following a bunch of rules and you don't have love, then you're religious. But if your focus is on the greatest commandments, LOVE your God and LOVE your neighbor, then you're a Christian.
candice
i see the point you are making because i used to believe similarly. i don't anymore see a difference between being a christian and being religious. if religion is just about rules. being a chrisitian is about rules, even if it is a rule about being against rules such as antonomianism. Christ himself gives us rules, in the form of a commandment; the epistles are nothing but a pile of rules and guidelines. these rules define what it is to have faith, by telling us how to love.
(Jhn 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.)
now the point i am getting at is that someone can still follow the rules for the rules sake or for their own self-righteous sake and not be religious, but in all practicality we need to stop trying to take the religion/relation out of being a christian. It's only function is to create division by implying that this group of christians doesn't really believe or that group is trying to earn and completely ignores another rule about trying to remove tares from among the wheat. it really is not our job to judge.
mike
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