There are many religious people in the church.  From clergy to lay men there are so many who live by the Law, by rules and regulations, by will power and self motivation.  These people do not have life.  They may know scripture, they may give sermons, they may have positions of power and authority, yet for all of that, they may not have life, they may not have the Son.  They may still be dead in their transgressions and sin.  Unless they have the Son they do not have life.  To have life is to have love, to have a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.  Unless you are born of the Spirit, unless Jesus lives in your heart, unless you have experienced true freedom from sin, you do not possess life.  People who enter the church seeking a religious vocation, looking for a life long career, getting a religious education to get a job might have information but do not possess the truth.  Ritual alone is not enough.  Without the action of God, without actually receiving the Spirit, without knowing what true freedom is these people have a form of godliness but deny the power.  There is no real reverence of God, no true fear of eternal punishment only a religious persona which may fool the masses but does not impress God.

            He that hath the Son has life.  Does Jesus live in your heart?  Is your body the temple of the Holy Spirit?  Have your sins been washed away?  Can you say that you truly love your brother?  Are you born again?  It is not a question of following the Law.  It is not a question of going to church.  It is not a question of paying your tithes.  It is a question of life.  Do you have life?  To be spiritual is to have life.  To be religious is to live with judgment.  To be religious is to live by Law.  To be spiritual is to live by love.  Are you free?  The truth will make you free.  No burden, no condemnation, no guilt, no shame, no control.  They that are moved by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  Are you led of the Spirit?  Do you live by faith?  Without faith it is impossible to please God.  What that means is that works won’t save you, going to church won’t save you, being a law abiding person won’t save you.  Unless you have the Son you do not have life.  Unless you have experienced the power of the cross, the power of the blood of Christ you are still dead in your transgressions and sin. 

            The religious church is far from the kingdom of God.  It produces conformity without spirituality, compliance without spontaneity, sympathy without true love, ritual without real worship, the letter of the law and not the spirit.  It is doomed to fall into grave error even to the point of denying the Lord to gain public approval.  The religious church is a carnal church and the carnal mind is death.  The spiritual mind is life and peace.