power, especially a personal God or gods." In that respect,
Christianity can be classified as a religion. However, practically
speaking, Christianity has a key difference that separates it from
other belief systems that are considered religions. That difference is
relationship.
Most religion, theistic or otherwise, is man-centered. Any
relationship with God is based on man's works. A theistic religion,
such as Judaism or Islam, holds to the belief in a supreme God or
gods; while non-theistic religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism,
focus on metaphysical thought patterns and spiritual "energies." But
most religions are similar in that they are built upon the concept
that man can reach a higher power or state of being through his own
efforts. In most religions, man is the aggressor and the deity is the
beneficiary of man's efforts, sacrifices, or good deeds. Paradise,
nirvana, or some higher state of being is man's reward for his strict
adherence to whatever tenets that religion prescribes.
In that regard, Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship
that God has established with His children. In Christianity, God is
the aggressor and man is the beneficiary (Romans 8:3). The Bible
states clearly that there is nothing man can do to make himself right
with God (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6; Romans 3:23; 6:23). According to
Christianity, God did for us what we cannot do for ourselves
(Colossians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Our sin separates us from His
presence, and sin must be punished (Romans 6:23; Matthew 10:28;
23:33). But, because God loves us, He took our punishment upon
Himself. All we must do is accept God's gift of salvation through
faith (Ephesians 2:8–9; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Grace is God's blessing
on the undeserving.
The grace-based relationship between God and man is the foundation of
Christianity and the antithesis of religion. Established religion was
one of the staunchest opponents of Jesus during His earthly ministry.
When God gave His Law to the Israelites, His desire was that they
"love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). "Love"
speaks of relationship. Obedience to all the other commands had to
stem from a love for God. We are able to love Him "because He first
loved us" (1 John 4:19). However, by Jesus' time, the Jewish leaders
had made a religion out of God's desire to live in a love relationship
with them (1 Timothy 1:8; Romans 7:12). Over the years, they had
perverted God's Law into a works-based religion that alienated people
from Him (Matthew 23:13–15; Luke 11:42). Then they added many of their
own rules to make it even more cumbersome (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew
15:9). They prided themselves on their ability to keep the Law—at
least outwardly—and lorded their authority over the common people who
could never keep such strenuous rules. The Pharisees, as adept as they
were at rule-keeping, failed to recognize God Himself when He was
standing right in front of them (John 8:19). They had chosen religion
over relationship.
Just as the Jewish leaders made a religion out of a relationship with
God, many people do the same with Christianity. Entire denominations
have followed the way of the Pharisees in creating rules not found in
Scripture. Some who profess to follow Christ are actually following
man-made religion in the name of Jesus. While claiming to believe
Scripture, they are often plagued with fear and doubt that they may
not be good enough to earn salvation or that God will not accept them
if they don't perform to a certain standard. This is religion
masquerading as Christianity, and it is one of Satan's favorite
tricks. Jesus addressed this in Matthew 23:1–7 when He rebuked the
Pharisees. Instead of pointing people to heaven, these religious
leaders were keeping people out of the kingdom of God.
Holiness and obedience to Scripture are important, but they are
evidences of a transformed heart, not a means to attain it. God
desires that we be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). He wants us to
grow in grace and knowledge of Him (2 Peter 3:18). But we do these
things because we are His children and want to be like Him, not in
order to earn His love.
Christianity is not about signing up for a religion. Christianity is
about being born into the family of God (John 3:3). It is a
relationship. Just as an adopted child has no power to create an
adoption, we have no power to join the family of God by our own
efforts. We can only accept His invitation to know Him as Father
through adoption (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:15). When we join His family
through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit
comes to live inside our hearts (1 Corinthians 6:19; Luke 11:13; 2
Corinthians 1:21–22). He then empowers us to live like children of the
King. He does not ask us to try to attain holiness by our own
strength, as religion does. He asks that our old self be crucified
with Him so that His power can live through us (Galatians 2:20; Romans
6:6). God wants us to know Him, to draw near to Him, to pray to Him,
and love Him above everything. That is not religion; that is a
relationship.
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