My *Controversial* Opinion on Relationship Vs Religion

Lord, I ask you to cast out any spirit of offense in the reader’s heart and replace it with your wisdom, truth, humility, and love.

More often I hear people say, “Relationship not religion” or “Jesus hated religion.”

I even saw a post that said something along the lines of “If you are trying to perform for God, you have religion not relationship.” I believe this is what Lauren Daigle believed when she wrote her song “Losing My Religion."

But I disagree with this notion. In fact, I believe it borders blasphemy. If you are trying to perform for God, you have legalism not TRUE religion.

Religion is NOT inherently bad. Jesus did not hate religion, he hated FALSE religion. There is a big difference. The most common etymology of the word “religion” comes from the Latin “re-ligare” which means to “re-bind” or “re-connect.”

Jesus’ mission as the one mediator between God and man was to “re-connect” or "re-bind" us to God after the fall. Jesus absolutely established the Christian religion in ORDER to establish relationship.

And what’s the point of the Christian religion? John 3:16 sums it up: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Therefore, the point of the Christian religion is to establish relationship with Jesus so that our hearts are called to repentance…so that we can enjoy eternal life WITH Jesus. If you want a real heart of repentance, you need a real relationship with Jesus. Yet, God calls us into relationship through HIS religion!

But there’s more. We are also called to CONNECT to our brothers and sisters in two ways.

1.     To evangelize the lost and bring them into relationship with Christ.

2.     To support and guide our brothers and sisters already in relationship with Christ.

BOTH are done within the Christian religion.

If you are being led to relationship with Christ, and you are leading others to Christ, then I hate to break it to you…but you ARE part of the Christian religion!

Relationship with God and others defines the Christian religion. They are not separate entities. In fact, Christ made visible the invisible. We see this most clearly in his incarnation, death, and resurrection. These were physical (visible) signs of spiritual (invisible) grace. Christ's religion is the physical (visible) sign of spiritual (invisible) relationship!

YES you are called to a personal relationship with Jesus, but many of us would not have that relationship had it not been for God's religion.

MANY of us have been converted to Christianity because of other Christians operating in our lives. God CAN establish relationship with you by himself, but he usually CHOOSES to work through others. Meaning, he chooses to work through the religion he established in order to bring us into relationship with him. You, me, and all our brothers and sisters in Christ make up the Christian religion, whether you like it or not.

Why do you think Jesus had apostles if he didn’t intend on working THROUGH them within the religion HE established?

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.”  – Matthew 16:18

If you are part of this Church, then you are, in fact, part of the one true CHRISTIAN religion.

It is almost blasphemous to say that we should have relationship but NOT religion.

It's leading to a decline in church attendance and a “do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody” sort of faith. It’s leading to a “faith” that’s fun, easy, and entertaining rather than a faith of surrender and sacrifice. We are called to crucify our flesh, die to self, and live for Christ! We do this THROUGH the religion Jesus established and WITH the relationship he wants us to have!

This aversion to religion is leading to a generation of Christians who carelessly say, “That’s between you and God.”

Except this is not how God has commanded us to live. The Bible implores us to seek wise counsel and to help others in their faith journey. This COMMUNITY of Christians IS our Christian religion! Without it, too many brothers and sisters are being deceived by the enemy while we sit back and say, “It’s none of my business. That’s between you and God.”

“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” - Galatians 6:2

This aversion to religion creates a generation of Christians who deliberately CHOOSE sin without repentance because, “God knows my heart.”

Except Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” - John 20:23

He says, “If he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” - Matthew 18:17

Clearly we are in need of a church FAMILY. My brothers and sisters, this church family rooted in relationship with Christ IS religion! We are made for community. We are made to share our lives with others. We are made to abandon ourselves to serve.

The devil loves secrecy and he hates community.

He WANTS to isolate you from your church community in order to more easily manipulate you. YES, you have the armor of God, but God has made it abundantly clear that although he meets you where you are, he still CHOOSES to operate through others in your life.

God could have healed all those people in Acts without the Apostles, but he chose to work THROUGH the Apostles. God could have saved the Israelites without Moses, but he chose to work THROUGH Moses! The Bible is FULL of people God chooses to work THROUGH! And these people are part of God’s religion!

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” - Proverbs 12:15

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” - Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” – Hebrews 3:12-13

The Bible is our story of the one true religion which leads us into relationship with the one true God!

Do not confuse all religion with legalism, hatred, and condemnation. Do not confuse all religion with a belief system that points you to anything else but Jesus. Both are FALSE religions.

Christ himself said he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill the law. The “law” is TRUE religion rooted in love that LEADS to relationship. And relationship LEADS to obeying the law, or repenting when you don’t. True religion leads to true relationship, and true relationship leads to true religion, that is, the CHRISTIAN religion.

Not because of performance, but because of LOVE and FAITH!

If you obey the law because of performance rather than love, you don’t have religion. You simply have FALSE religion.

We are also a people that NEED God's order, structure, law, tradition, and community. Otherwise, we are too easily deceived by the devil. Just look at the Israelites after they were freed from slavery. This should be proof enough. And if not, just look around you at our world full of chaos, immoral behavior, and lukewarmness.

Saying all religion is bad is like saying all tradition is bad. Man-made religion is what we are to stay away from…NOT God’s religion. Man-made traditions are what we are to stay away from…NOT God’s traditions.

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.” - 2 Thessalonians 2:15

In fact, there was no “New Testament” with all the canonized 27 books until late into the 4th century. Sure, there were hundreds of letters and books circulating among churches, but there was no established Canon of Scripture. So, what did Christians do for nearly 400 years after Christ’s resurrection? They held fast to God’s traditions established through his RELIGION! It’s why Paul said, “Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us.” - 2 Thessalonians 3:6

However, just because you “know” about the Christian religion, does NOT mean you have relationship with Christ. Of course, knowing about Jesus is not the same as having a relationship with him. However, I can say with certainty that it was TRUE Christian religion which has brought me into relationship with Jesus. It’s BOTH/AND not EITHER/OR. When you operate in relationship with Christ, when you die to self to serve God, when you partner with the Holy Spirit in obedience, you ARE acting within the Christian religion!

And praise God for it!

True you can have false religion without relationship. But let us not condemn ALL religion, lest you blaspheme God’s religion!

True religion is rooted in God’s law and God’s tradition (and thus, his Word). True religion is rooted in God’s adopted children who seek relationship with Christ, and therefore, obey God’s Word, law, and traditions from LOVE and FAITH rather than performance and condemnation.

Now do any of us do it perfectly? No. This is why we need our savior.

Have evil people abused religion to assert their corrupt agendas? Yes. This is why we need our savior.

Do either of these truths automatically make ALL religion bad? No. It simply illustrates our sinful nature and our need for a savior.

I hear Christians say, “Religion causes sin. Relationship doesn’t.” Religion does not inherently cause sin. If it does, then it is a false religion. However, corrupt people WITHIN God’s religion still sin. Just like people in relationship with Jesus still sin.

You cannot equate immoral behavior to religion as a whole. Atheists like to point to Christian sinners and say, “See! If there is a god he must be evil because look at all the evil done in the name of religion!” To which Christians will respond, “But that’s religion, not relationship!”

It’s a convenient argument, but not a good argument. It’s not Christian religion OR relationship that leads to evil. It’s sin! Plain and simple. If you think religion leads to sin because there are sinners in religion, then you might as well think relationship leads to sin because there are sinners in relationship with Jesus.

And to be honest, I don’t think non-Christians are buying it. In the same way atheists point to sin to attack Christianity, Christians are pointing to sin to attack their own religion, yet somehow feel as though they are defending their faith.

There is no such thing as “no religion.” There is true religion, and then there is false religion. Even atheists have their own sort of “religion.” Like it or not, you WILL belong to a religion. But is it the religion of God, or of another false idol?

A religion that leads you away from Christ is a false religion. A religion that leads you TO Christ, is by definition, GOD’S religion!

Finally, this aversion to religion is why more Christians are involved in the occult.

If all that matters is spirituality rather than God’s established religion with structure, tradition, community, and laws (again NOT man-made but God-made), then what separates us from any other “religion?” The aversion to religion isn’t leading people to Christ, it’s leading people away. The enemy is convincing Christians and non-Christians that God’s Word – his traditions, laws, structure, community, and religion – don’t matter. All that matters is how you feel. All that matters is the spirituality that is convenient for you.

In fact, I believe the attack on TRUE religion is leading to FALSE relationship!

In a time where Christian religion is under attack, where more people turn to false religion and spiritually, we Christians – the Body of Christ - must come together and strengthen ourselves under GOD’S religion!

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” - Ephesians 4:4-6

This one Body is the Christian a religion which I stand firm in! It is this religion which has brought me, and countless others into relationship with Jesus. Do not condemn religion, lest you condemn all God’s people within his religion. The only thing we are to condemn is sin itself. Satan loves to create new names for sin in order to condemn what is holy and praise what is unholy. Do not fall for his games.

When you struggle with legalism, sin, condemnation, performance, perfectionism, etc. don’t call it religion. Call it exactly by its name. Do not give God’s religion a bad name simply because it’s trending, or because it attracts non-believers, or because it’s a convenient excuse for explaining immoral PEOPLE within God’s Holy religion.

I prefer the phrase, “If you’ve been hurt by someone within the Church, that’s people, not God.” It’s sinful people at fault, NOT God or his religion which he established. Let us not lead others to relationship with Christ through deception, lest you lead them to a false relationship. Let us lead them there through truth, ROOTED in God’s own religion.

So how do you know if you are in a false religion? It’s quite simple actually. Is your religion leading you away from relationship with Jesus, or toward relationship with Jesus?