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  RELIGIOUS OR CHRISTIAN?
  by Major Ian Thomas
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Summary: Being a Christian is not just about living a life that is
morally good, but about living in the power of who Jesus is, with God's
life in us.

Topics: "The Holy Spirit", "Christian Living"
Scripture References: John 10:10, John 15:5, Acts 1:8, Romans 8:11, 1 Corinthians 2:12, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 3:20, Philippians 4:13, Colossians 1:27

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DESCRIPTION
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Major Ian Thomas emphasizes the stark contrast between being merely
religious and truly being a Christian, arguing that many people confuse
rituals and traditions for a genuine relationship with Christ. He
illustrates that without the Holy Spirit, individuals are like empty
vessels, unable to experience the fullness of life that God intended.
Thomas points out that Christ's sacrifice was not just for our salvation
but to enable us to live in His power and presence. He urges believers
to move beyond gratitude for what Christ did to actively living in the
reality of who He is. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a deeper
understanding of the Christian life as one filled with the dynamic
presence of God.

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CONTENT
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There are few things quite so boring as being religious, but there is
nothing quite so exciting as being a Christian!

Most folks have never discovered the difference between the one and the
other, so that there are those who sincerely try to live a life they do
not have, substituting religion for

God, Christianity for Christ, and their own noble endeavors for the
energy, joy, and power of the Holy Spirit. In the absence of reality,
they can only grasp at rituals, stubbornly defending the latter in the
absence of the former, lest they be found with neither!

They are lamps without oil, cars without gas, and pens without ink,
baffled at their own impotence in the absence of all that alone can make
man functional; for man was so engineered by God that the presence of
the Creator within the creature is indispensable to His humanity. Christ
gave Himself for us to give Himself to us! His presence puts God back
into the man! He came that we might have life - God's life!

There are those who have a life they never live. They have come to
Christ and thanked Him only for what He did, but do not live in the
power of who He is. Between the Jesus who "was" and the Jesus who "will
be" they live in a spiritual vacuum, trying with no little zeal to live
for Christ a life that only He can live in and through them, perpetually
begging for what in Him they already have!

From the foreword of Classic Christianity by Bob George, Eugene: Harvest
House Publishers. ©1989.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/major-ian-thomas/religious-or-christian/
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