Being Religious verses Being in Christ

Being ReligiousIn Galatians 6:3 says "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." And in James 1:26 says, "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."

BEING IN CHRIST
Becoming a disciple, following Jesus Christ requires personal cost, giving up your selfish "me" and become like Christ. In God's grace through Jesus Christ, I am free from bondage of sin. The Book of Hebrews explains that Jesus is the mediator, the executor, of The New Covenant (The New Testament). The word mediator comes from the verb "to mediate" which means a mediator is one who stands between two parties or two factions needing to be reconciled eternally. Christ through His death and resurrection, every legal hindrance has been met and satisfied. The only way to get in is to believe Him with my heart which is sealed by the Holy Spirit. Because of Christ, I am a Christian. My life as a Christian takes work and requires the commitment of my heart, mind and body. Christ is not outside of me but He is inside me. Since Christ is within me, I must listen to His Word and walk in His steps (2 Corinthians 4:10). God looks in my heart and I must express my whole heart otherwise, God is not impressed with my outward works—my acts of worship, my spiritual works and my spiritual giving. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10 that I am "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do." The Holy Spirit (through Jesus Christ) is the final authority. When Jesus said that the Comforter is coming, He was saying: "The Comforter will not come to stand on His own, to speak on His own authority. He will guide you into all truth-He will speak and act on the authority of the divine Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is spirit and faith is required to know Christ and then, the Holy Spirit will reveal who God really is. The Holy Spirit manifests Christ into our human spirit, not to our physical eyes. The Holy Spirit gave me assurance of my faith and doctrines I follow. No Church, No Denomination, No pastors or anyone can do this for me. Holy Spirit is the ONLY person who can do this through the Word of God.