There is a difference between "religion" and a "born-again believer."
Religion is a set of rules based often on human ideas of right and wrong. Some "religions" are based in Christianity but negate the Bible more than they adhere to it while adding human rules and ideas to fit their own impression of spirituality. A relationships with Jesus Christ is an intimacy with Him that can only happen through being changed into a new creation by Him.
With a born-again believer we have a relationship with Christ in which He lives in us guiding and teaching us to walk in His ways. It is more than knowing about Christ, it is actually being possessed with His Holy Spirit becoming a completely changed person. If there is no change in the way a person thinks after deciding to be a Christian there has been a mental assent but no born-again experience.
In "religion" there is no indwelling Holy Spirit, only human effort to attain goodness without the help of Jesus Christ.
Those who are involved in "religion" are not born again, they only think they are safe and praise themselves for doing good deeds. These people have little interest in the Bible or speaking about Christ. Since they came to a religion in their own mind they were never changed, they remain walking dead men.
John 14:26
"26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you."
Romans 8:14
"14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God."
Romans 8:26
Our Victory in Christ
"26 Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;"
Those of us who are born again regard human wisdom only in so far as it alines with God's Word. Much human wisdom is not based on the scripture but man's idea of what good looks like. It rarely aligns with God's word.
"Religion" is based more on feelings and cultural trends than it is on anything substantive. Feelings and works are the basis for dead human religion.
Our relationship with Christ as He dwells in us is based entirely on His written word. Jesus Christ is the Word, He is the very essence of His Word. To deny His Word is to deny Him. We do work not to earn anything but because we have been changed to be like Christ by Him.
Philippians 2:12-13 "12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose. "
Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
John 1:1 "1, In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Psalm 33:6
"6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host."
There is no power in one who only thinks they are a Christian who does not have the Holy Spirit. There is great power in the Holy Spirit Who lives in every born again believer.
Those who say they are Christians but believe they can sin all they want are not born again. They misunderstand "grace" because they do not have it. They do not understand the working of Christ because they do not have Him.
We who have Christ have the power to understand things those who do not have Him cannot understand. We have the power to love and obey His Word while the unsaved unregenerate person who lacks the Holy Spirit does not have the power to do good God's way.
Since the unregenerate man is completely all about self, even their good deeds are done to glorify self. For the born-again believer, we have the desire to glorify Christ. We do not live for ourselves, we live for Christ. We want to be hid behind the Holy Spirit as we walk through this life.
The unregenerate unsaved person wants only to fit into the world and elevate self to feel superior and valued. This is what we are seeing much of in the modern church. Most are not born again while attempting to appear spiritual in their fleshly desire to be elevated in the eyes of men.
Galatians 1:10 "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet sought to please men, I should not be the servant of Christ."
The born-again believer has no need to be accepted by the world around them, they love Christ, they delight in and gain joy from pleasing Him. Even if no one loves or blesses us we still have great joy because of Christ's love for us.
1 Corinthians s16:20 "13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power."
Romans 12:2
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Acts 5:29
"But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men."
Over the past 250 years there has been more cultural Christianity than authentic followers of Christ. We based our beliefs on what people said and did rather than on the fruit of the Spirit that we could discern.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
The fruit of the Spirit is the character qualities of Christ that can only be discerned by the Spirit of God in us. They are not works, nor are they words, they are character traits of Christ Himself.
False Christianity is about religion and good works for self-glorification not about Christ.
The born-again believer is all about Christ!
