I’m sure you’ve all seen it:
It’s become another catchy, cutesy slogan adorning t-shirts, bumper stickers, and your morning coffee mugs. But is there truth behind it? Is Christianity just a relationship, or is it religion?
In short, the answer is it’s both!
First, we can say, yes, Christianity is a relationship.
Now, I couldn’t find the word “relationship” in reference to mankind and Jesus/God in the ESV translation of Scripture (actually, in many translations). I did note that what some translate as “relationship” are the words “reconciliation” and “fellowship.”
Reconciliation is katallagē in Greek, meaning “recovered favor of God…atonement…proptitation…’reconciliation’ of men to God by His grace and love in Christ” (Blue Letter Bible).
Fellowship is koinonia, meaning “intercourse, fellowship, intimacy…used of the intimate bond of fellowship which unites Christians…of the fellowship of Christians with God and Christ…Christians are partakers in common of the same mind as God and Christ…sharing in the resurrection life possessed in Christ, and so of fellowship with the Father and the Son” (Blue Letter Bible).
Scripture confirms that mankind is separated from God by sin and condemned to eternal death (Genesis 3/ Romans 3:23/ Romans 6:23). This is a broken relationship with God because of our sinful nature. That said, although we are His image-bearers (created in His image) at physical creation, we are not His children at physical birth. However, when we surrender to Christ and are spiritually reborn at baptism, genuinely saved, that relationship is restored, and we are reconciled and adopted into God’s family as His sons/daughters, and we are co-heirs with Jesus (Romans 5:11/ Romans 8:12-17/ John 1:12).
Therefore, there is reconciled fellowship—relationship—to God through Jesus Christ.
LIkewise, we can say, yes, Christianity is religion.
Christianity is referred to as religion in James 1:26-27
“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Religion is thrēskeia in Greek, meaning “religious worship; external (worship), that which consists in ceremonies… the writer purposely uses the word to set in contrast that which is unreal and deceptive, and the ‘pure religion’ which consists in visiting ‘the fatherless and widows in their affliction,’ and in keeping oneself ‘unspotted from the world.’ He is ‘not herein affirming… these offices to be the sum total, nor yet the great essentials, of true religion, but declares them to be the body, the threskeia, of which godliness, or the love of God, is the informing soul’” (Blue Letter Bible).
Thrēskeia is derived from thrēskos, meaning “fearing or worshipping God… pious (devout)” (Blue Letter Bible).
In reference to James 1, ESV Study Notes comment, “This section on obedience concludes with three characteristics of the one whose religion is pure and undefiled, that is, one who ‘does’ the word…James uses the sacrificial language of ‘the lamb without blemish’ to describe the pure religious person.” To sum it up in complete context, ESV Study Notes comment, “The central theme of this section is practical Christianity mandated by the ‘word of truth,’ which is the gospel, and characterized by both truly ‘hearing’ and then resolutely ‘doing’ the truth. Obedience is the hallmark of the true child of God.”
When it is understood appropriately, being “religious” isn’t a bad identifier as a Christian, as some would have one believe in today’s age.
Even looking at the basic definition of religion,
Religion: “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices… a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith… commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance… the service and worship of God or the supernatural” (Merriam Webster)
we see that Christianity aligns with most of what’s defined. Christians affirm attitudes and beliefs that coincide with Christ. Christians uphold principles and beliefs with ardor and faith. Christians possess commitment and devotion to the faith they have in God through Jesus Christ indwelled by the Holy Spirit. And Christians devote themselves to service for and worship of God.
The Christian religion, as seen in the passage of James 1, is an external worship of one who is a ‘doer’ and not just a ‘hearer’ of the Word. One whose visible fruit is pure and undefiled (James 3:17/ Matthew 5:8); one who controls the tongue (James 3:1-12/ Colossians 4:6); one who shows mercy and love to the afflicted (Matthew 25:31-46); one who remains set apart (holy/sanctified) and untainted from the world and its habits, behaviors, and practices (James 4:4/ Romans 12:2/ John 17:14/ 1 Peter 2:9/ 2 Timothy 2:21/ Ephesians 2:10/ 1 John 2:15).
So, accurately, we could say that we enter into a reconciled relationship or fellowship (to be more precise) with God through Christ, and our religion—the Christian life, external worship, fruit we bear—is what follows from that restored relationship.
The key thing is not to neglect there are many religions (think back to that basic definition: worship of a false god).
Although there are many, there is only one true religion that leads to salvation, to reconciliation between sinful, condemned mankind and a perfect, holy God, and to offering the gift of eternal life and victory over death with citizenship in Heaven: that of submitting to Jesus Christ via belief, repentance, baptism, and living a sanctified life of obedience in continuous growth and maturity—dying to self, being resurrected to new life (Colossians 2:12-15)—reborn (John 3:1-15)—as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and surrendering fully to Him as Lord of your life (2 Corinthians 4:5). Even though this is the one true religion, it doesn’t negate the fact there are false religions, and we need not to ignore them but educate ourselves about them in order to give an answer—1 Peter 3:15.
Another crucial thing to keep in mind, Christianity explained as religion in the previous manner through external worship and being a doer, doesn’t mean it is legalistic, moralistic, or works-based. When Scripture states that Christianity is being a doer of the word and that works are from faith (James 2:20), it simply defines these as the result of salvation—true conversion, not the reason for salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9/ Romans 3:28/ 2 Timothy 1:9/ Titus 3:5).
I pray this will clarify the misconception that Christianity isn’t religion but relationship. Christianity is very much both.
References
“Religion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion. Accessed 28 Mar. 2022.
Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved March 30, 2022, from Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages
All Scripture (unless otherwise noted): English Standard Version Bible. 2022. BibleHub.com and
English Standard Version Bible. 2016. Crossway
T-Shirt Photo: “Jesus Its Not Religion Its A Relationship Shirt.” Retrieved March 30, 2022, from Jesus Its Not Religion Its A Relationship Shirt (grinchtee.com)