OUR RELIGIOUS LIFE
While every aspect of life is important, for many people, religious life is among those aspects that rank highest along with health, finances and relationships. Our religious life is the pride we cherish in our hearts because we are so accomplished in our obedience to religious laws and so knowledgeable about the religious doctrines upon which those laws are based.  This is the life that must die — not our physical life.

For super-religious people, in fact, religion might even surpass all other life aspects in importance. For the hyper religious, advancing and preserving their religious life is the most important thing. In fact, it is so important for some people that they are willing to sacrifice any or all others aspects of their life, including their natural life, to preserve and/or advance their religious life. Worse yet, they feel so strongly about their religious life that they are willing to impose it on others. All the more reason why it must die.

While God is interested in all aspects of our life, he is most concerned about our religious life because it is the obstacle to the ideal religious life he wants for everyone. This ideal life may be described as Pure Religion which exists in stark contrast to Defiled Religion.

Giving up religion in favor of the ideal spiritual life is difficult because religion has its rewards. The rewards of religion are pride which is experienced in the flesh, but the rewards of the ideal life are all spiritual.

STUDY TIP: See COVENANT COMPARISONS for comparisons of pure religion and defiled religion.

Also see HANGING ON FOR DEAR LIFE and PRIDE HAS IT REWARDS for more about our religious life.

This religious life is experienced in the flesh (i.e. physical body.) It exists in the relational life we construct and enjoy with other religionists. It is not the inner spiritual life that God wants for us in our relationship with him. The ideal life may be described as perfect intimacy which God wants for himself and his people. This intimacy is obstructed, however, when people listen to false prophets and not to God. When people listen to false prophets, God’s anger and jealousy is aroused. That is why people must stop listening to false prophets who teach people to be religious.