Are we religious?

I heard this in one of Brother Zac's sermon in recently concluded Bangalore conference which was a great blessing to me.
If not reading the Bible for a day hurt us more than a harsh word coming out of our mouth (or other sins considered minor by us) then we are still religious people who do not live by spirit but by law.

This greatly challenged me about my seriousness and sensitivity to sin. I have always been so particular about few sins and not that much about other. But Sin is always a sin, and I need to show the same sensitivity to all sins equally no matter how small or big it is.

I am quite sick of much of what
the world calls "religion."
It does not honor HIS NAME,
it does not exalt HIS Word;
It does not manifest HIS grace,
love, mercy, and truth;
it does not bear the fruit that
brings glory to GOD!!

The the dilemma in religion is even those who hate religion yet abide in God's Word are still considered religious because we resemble those who go to church. Even if you were to be different from the world to the point that people do take notice you will still be considered religious. This is because society has to have label for everything. Whether negative or positive. We can dodge the term all we want to and tell people we aren't 'religious' but the moniker will still follow us.

Is it really enough for us to say we can't stand religion or even what the world calls religion? In our minds it is enough but in the world's eyes it becomes all the same thing. So, we just take this to our prayer closet and prayer God change me from within that the world may see You in Me and not even think about religion.

I have often had this debate in my mind. Are Christians religious? I know the pat answer is no. But is Christianity a religion? We all understand what it means to answer, "No, it is a relationship or it is a person."

But even the Bible uses words and words have meaning. If we consult any standard dictionary, religion means a belief in God and some sort of rules or guidelines of that belief, which in the Christians' case would be the Holy Books we commonly call the Bible. I understand we don't want to be seen or understood as "just be religious" or "having a religion" but there is a basic sense where this word is accurately applied to Christians. I don't think it is wrong, when properly explained, to say that Christianity is a religion. However, if the word "religion" is simply taken to mean a set of rites or practices that any person can adopt, that is where we differ from the rest. Christianity offers power from within, the indwelling Holy One himself, which no other religion can supply. That would be the difference.