Being religious is not the same as being godly. It is surprising that people cannot tell the difference between the two these days. A religion is a belief system practiced by a group of people who subscribe to its teachings and set of rules. The Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ time on earth are a good example of religious people. Although they followed all the laws of Moses, they were blind to the presence of the Messiah living amongst them, even though Moses spoke of Him. In spite of all the great works He did before their very eyes, which should have convinced them beyond any reasonable doubt of His identity, they questioned everything He did and refused to accept Him. You see, the Pharisees obeyed the laws of Moses to the letter but refused to acknowledge the power of salvation through Christ. They also didn’t believe in His message of love and mercy; rather, they believed that no sinner must go unpunished (John 8:1-5). The Pharisees paid a lot of attention to looking holy rather than actually living a holy life.
In contrast to being religious, godliness is synonymous to being Christ-like and living a life of holiness. A fellow is godly when he or she has the nature of God. Godliness is much more than looking holy or acting holy; it is a lifestyle. It is unfortunate that in the church today, there are more religious people than godly people. Religious people find it easy to castigate others, whereas they do worse things in secret. They can quote many scriptures by heart and know the right Bible passage that fits every situation. While this is good, religious people don’t live according to the scriptures they know and recite, because their hearts are far from God (Matthew 15:. Such people know all the rules and doctrines of the denomination they belong to but deny the power behind such doctrines. Their major problem is that there is a separation between their outer and inner man. In other words, they have mastered the art of pretence. The personality they show to the world is different from who they really are.

2 Timothy 3:5 admonishes us to move far away from religious people. They are quick to call for the head of any fellow in Christ who falls into sin, rather than disciplining and correcting such a person in love. If you find it difficult to show love to people, and yet you preach the gospel, you are practicing religion and not godliness. Godliness, as opposed to religion, will bring you great gain in this world and in the world to come. 1st Timothy 4:8b says:
“…but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”
Apart from getting your heart’s desires on earth through Christ, godliness will also ensure that you partake of life in heaven.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

I am logical!