Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day. Religion is a practice of rituals and ceremonials which can easily stifle the move of the spirit. Religion does not normally invite the Spirit of God but rather religion seeks its own. Religion practices the doctrine and commandments of men, laying aside the commandments of God. In rejecting God's commandments they make the Word of God of none effect.
Religion is formalism.
I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. Religion wants to be seen by others. The reason that they deny the power of God is because they have not tasted it. Only through the Spirit of God can one partake of the power of God. Never having experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit these are people who feel that through works alone they can achieve a eternal reward.