ARE ALL RELIGIOUS PEOPLE

CHRISTIANS?

Mike Johnson

 Many people today are religious.  They may belong to a particular denomination and attend services regularly.  Others, while not belonging to any specific religious group, may believe in God, read their Bibles, and pray from time to time.  These are all “religious,” but does the fact that they are, make them Christians?  Are all religious people Christians?

In Acts 17, we learn that Paul preached to idol worshipers at Athens, He said to them in verse 22, “. . . Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious.” These were religious people; however, not only were they not Christians, but they did not even have the proper concept of God.

Another critical passage to consider is in Romans 10.  Paul said (vs. 1-2), “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.”  These people were religious because they had a belief in God and a zeal for God.  However, they had never obeyed the plan of salvation (accepting Christ); they had never become Christians.  Paul made it clear they were lost and prayed they would obtain salvation.

Consider further the example of Cornelius.  Acts 10 describes him as devout, one who feared God, gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.  He was religious, but was he saved?  The answer is NO.  Later, when Peter was defending himself for having gone to the Gentiles to preach, he quoted the words of an angel to Cornelius. The angel said that Cornelius was to send for Peter “who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved” (Acts 11:14). Thus, before Cornelius heard the words of Peter, although religious, he was not saved.

I once saw a book at a flea market called, How to Be a Christian Without Being Religious. Whereas the opposite of this title is a possibility (i.e., one can be religious and yet not be a Christian), the title itself denotes an impossibility.  All Christians are indeed religious people, but all religious people are not Christians.  A Christian must be religious, but just being religious does not make one a Christian.

We must never be satisfied only to be religious.  We need to do what God’s Word says so that we can become a child of God and be saved eternally (note Romans 10:17, Heb. 11:6, Acts 17:30-31, Rom. 10:10, Acts 2:38).