Christianity is Life; not a religion!

Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is a way of life

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The law of Christ is love; love for others and love for God. Jesus tells us that love fulfills the whole law Matt We are called to love. By doing so, we fulfill all the intent and purpose of the rules of the law without needed to obey the letter. Jesus actually modeled this for us when He was on earth.

That is where the passage you asked about comes in. Look at the verse the immediately follows the one you quote, John You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us with this commandment to love. Thus it is actually His work, not ours. The Holy Spirit empowers us and helps us love overcoming our selfishness. He says that if you try to obey part of the law then you are obligated to keep the whole thing.

As we place our faith in God, he changes our hearts. The Holy Spirit helps us to genuinely love God and love others. This faith works itself out as love in our lives. Therefore, those who have faith will love, and thus, fulfill the law of Christ. Not sure i understand your post. These things themselves have no moral implications.

They are just things. How they are used and why they are used is what is relevant. It is always about the heart. Pradeepa, The short answer to your question is that it is because of sin. As I explained in the post above, sin separates us from God. It also separates us from each other. We see this every day. As a result of sin, marriages split up, friends part ways, relationships are strained, etc.

Relationships are always impacted when we sin usually our horizontal relationships with others, but always our vertical relationship with God.

We repeatedly see this example in the Bible. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, they became separated from God. We see this with the Nation of Israel. When King Solomon sins by worshiping idols, the result is that his kingdom is divided. It is split into two kingdoms Israel and Judah. The once unified Nation of Israel is torn in two as a result of this sin.

This is similar to what has happened to the Church. However, when Jesus left, Satan remained. His desire is to spread dissension and division Romans 6: The Church has a real enemy that is continually warring against it to try to create as much division as possible. Additionally, Christians still have sinful natures. We are far from perfect! Sin also has the effect of clouding our minds so that we cannot perceive things correctly. It tends to skew our interpretation of things. Thus, there were many disagreements of how to interpret various things in Scripture.

The result of this sin is that divisions came up. Sometimes they even fought over these disagreements. In most cases these disagreements and different interpretations of Scripture were not major, but were more minor. However, it is the proclivity of mankind to focus on our differences instead of the more important points we agree on. Some of these points of disagreement are listed in my post above what day of the week to meet on, forms of music to use, ritualistic prayers, dietary requirements, etc.

These things are minor points and should not cause fellow believers in Christ to divide. But, all too often, our sinfulness comes out and we fear those who do not agree with us. In addition to these minor points, theological differences caused division. Many of these differences are about concepts about God and how He works that are very difficult for us humans to understand such as the role of human free will in relationship to the sovereignty of God. Other theological points of disagreement centered on who should be baptized and how. Instead of bearing with one another and allowing each other to disagree on minor matters like this, churches split up over them.

They formed whole organizations of churches around their way of thinking. Groups who believed that the right way to baptize was by immersing the person in water instead of sprinkling water over them split off. Groups of churches that believed that infants should be baptized at birth joined together and separated themselves from churches that believed only believers in Christ should be baptized. The result was that the Church, as a whole, lost out. In most of these cases there are correct points on both sides as well as some errors and over reactions.

We cannot put God in a box, and the reality is that we need perspective of the whole Church to better understand Him. By surrounding ourselves with only the people who think like us, everyone loses. I look forward to the day when Jesus returns and there will no longer be any denominations, nations, or any other divisions; only followers of Jesus. God will correct all the wrong thinking in all of us, align us and help all of us to see and understand more of Him than we can now.

That is my short answer, I hope it helps some. Pradeepa the various different denominations to my understanding have come about much in the same way that cultural differences come about. When the disciples were sent out to all the ends of the earth to spread the Good News, they naturally came across people from very diverse backgrounds and cultures which resulted in slightly different traditions and practices within the one faith.

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I imagine a lot of this is reflected in the various different denominations that you come across today. Nina, Thanks for the response. However, that is not really historically accurate. The Church had already spread over the entire known world. At this point it split in two. It further divided when the Protestant Reformation occurred in the 16th century. The king of England also split the church in because he wanted to get a divorce.

For a good summary of the actual history you can see this link: Hi, I heard that when people die, instead of going directly to heaven or hell, they sleep until the day God would comes back and question us about our sins. I was just wondering if that was correct? It is false teaching. The bible never teaches that.

There are several clear bible passages that directly contradict it. Jesus claimed He would never die John 5: They are clearly alive and not asleep. The apostle John sees saints alive in Heaven when he is taken there by an angel in Revelation. Here is a web site that goes into more length refuting soul sleep: So Christians, why is your religion more valid, than say, Hinduism?

What is so veeeery believable about Christianity that you take it above all other religions? I pointed out a few in a previous blog, such as how Christianity is unique in the fact that is about God coming to man instead of man […]. Alex, This is a good question. I chose to write a blog post to answer it. This will allow me a little more space to more fully address your question.

See blog linked below:. Your entire essay here can easily be undone by the first sentence of your fabricated definition for religion. DS, thank you for the comment. In fact, it seems you have completely missed or intentionally avoided my entire point. Yes, Christianity is a system of beliefs that one adheres to.

That is not my point, though. I was very specific in how I defined religion.

I specifically laid out WHAT religion adheres to: Christianity is unique in that it is a belief without requiring anything more than believing. It is this last part that characterizes religion. Religion says you have to EARN it. In Christianity the work is already done by God.

Is Christianity a Religion

All that is necessary is to trust is His work. Jesus earned it for us on the cross. Everyone has a belief that they adhere to. Religion is not just believing something. Religion is a belief that requires you to to do something to earn favor from God. This is why Christianity is so different from the others.

Religion is the reason why they are killing us innocent Men Woman and Children.. The end result was complete failures. I believe God has chosen me to share Gospel among Hindus and will use some of the teaching shared here on this blog. I have goose bumps from reading all of this. To everyone who responded so kindly to the people who had questions and doubts, may God bless you. All I know is that my life has dramatically changed since I invited Jesus Christ our Lord into my life.

I am not religious, but instead have a wonderful relationship with Him. As I have learned over the years, trying is religion. If you let Jesus captured you heart you would not be trying anymore because you will be living it.

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Let Jesus capture your heart. Tubs, Thank you for your comment. I must disagree with you, however. That is not at all what I intend to say with this blog post. It totally depends on WHY you are trying. It should be clearly understood that the bible calls us to try to live how God wants us. We are to try to live like Jesus did. In 1 Cor 9: There are countless more I could list. The above verses among many others make it very easy to see that as Christians we are indeed called to strive, toil, work, obey, and labor. Not just trying but trying very hard!

When then, does it become religion? The answer to this question is what I was attempting to explain in this blog. It is all about why you are working. Why are you trying? Do you think you can make him love you more by doing good things? If so, THIS is religion. If you think it is like earning a reward, then you are working from religion.

However, that is not why Paul and the other New Testament authors worked hard. Paul understood that his good works were worthless. I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. Paul understood that he had to discard these attempts to earn favor from God and rely only on God to make up the gap and save him.

However, it was the understanding of how much grace and mercy God had shown him that made him want to work so hard. He worked hard out of love for God and a desire to show gratitude with his life. He also worked hard to gain an eternal reward in heaven. God promises that he will reward all the work that is genuinely done for His glory. So, it is not trying that is religious.

If so, then we should just do whatever we want. That is NOT biblical Christianity. We are still called to try and try as hard as we can. But, our reason for trying has changed. We now try out of love and gratitude and in expectation of an eternal reward that will never fade away. I also work as an Engineer at The Boeing Company. Glad I could help. I am doing a research paper on Christianity vs Religion how being a Christian is religious or a religion.

Driscoll How are you? I do believe in the Word of God. I do believe Christianity is not a religion of system of rules it is based on relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Their are so much cult religions out their in the world that is based on a system of rules by man. Since we have a relationship and believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The enemy wants to hurt us by killing us off because we believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and not a false God.. All of these prominent sources call Christianity a religion: I suppose everyone is free to make up their own definition of words, but you can hardly blame the rest of the world for not acknowledging your invented definition. Amanda, First off, thanks for the comment. I hope you understand that what I have written comes from a desire to help you and others. It is certainly perfectly fine if we disagree on this.

I appreciate your point that many dictionaries and other sources do not define religion as I have done here. I know and understand this.

The truth is that there is not great agreement on the actual definition. I surveyed several sources with widely differing definitions. There are also many that include my definition as one of the definitions for religion, so I am not out in left field by myself here. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. From the Dictionary of Word Origins: I could certainly site others.

Notice the use of practices, obligation, activity, devotion, and rituals above. The point here is that there is certainly a use and way in which the word religion can mean exactly what I am saying here. I think this gives me some room to point out that there is a major element contained in all of all the world religions that is absolutely missing in Christianity.

That just comes down to an argument over how you want to define religion. The point is that there is something vastly different about Christianity. This is the point you are missing here. There is something common to all religions that is absent in Christianity. But this is not true. Belief is NOT something you can chose to do. It is not an action. It is a state of being. It is like the color of your skin. No you could not. You could think about a pink elephant but you do not actually believe it is floating over your head.

This is because your will does not control your beliefs. You believe what you think is actually true based on the evidence you observe. Rules are about choices. Rules govern behavior, not mental states of being. Additionally, I agree that Christianity depends on belief. Belief is a requirement, but this is not an action you perform. If you possess it, it is something given to you by God.

This is made clear in the bible in Ephesians 2: Similarly, all other religions require belief. Even non-religions require belief. This is because it is a state of mind. You cannot be absent belief. Yes, Christianity requires belief, but so does anything else. So does Buddhism, Islam, Shintoism, or even atheism. But, there is a fundamental difference about Christianity from all the other world religions that you are refusing to acknowledge: Every other religion adds to this works, rituals, acts of service, essentially requiring you to earn it yourself.

This is the point I am trying to get across here. Jesus has already done all the work for you. He has earned your redemption and restoration. He has actually dealt with sin and evil and addressed it something no other religions does. Christianity is the only one to address the problem of evil and offer a solution. I am certainly not that smart. Is this not an accurate statement? Think about it for a moment. What other religion has God doing the work needed to make it right Himself? I sincerely wish you the best, Amanda. I pray that you will not see this response as argumentative.

Regardless of whether you and I agree on if Christianity is a religion or not, I hope that we can both agree on the vast, amazing way in which it is different and unique. I hope that you will spend some time considering how different Christianity is. I truly think that it is the only one that makes any sense. I do not understand how anyone could think that sinful, flawed humans can try to earn our own way to a perfect and holy God. How can I expect a perfectly just God to overlook the things I have already done?

I can never earn this. Then here is the offer of Christianity: God offers to pay it for me. This actually makes sense, since He is the only one qualified to pay it. This allows Him to remain just, punishing the evil but also to display His love by not giving me what I deserve. Maryjo, Thanks for the comment. I absolutely agree with you. God saved us not because of our works, but he also has called us to do works which he has appointed for us. This idea is made explicit. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. I talk some about this idea in some of my response to comments. I am so glad I found this page. Thank you so much for clearing things up for me. I have a question for you philipians. Could you please help me understand the tithe in the Church. There is so much controversy on this topic. I thought that was something that was done only in the old testament.

I would greatly appreciate your help in helping me understanding this topic. You ask a very good question about tithing. Hence the word tithe. Many Christians will mistakingly try to apply this to us today, but I never do so. Like many New Testament ideas it is much more ambiguous and fuzzy than the old Law. In some ways the law was easier because it was so cut and dry.

The New Covenant is all about relationship and listening the the guiding of the Holy Spirit. There are very few cut and dry rules. Because we each have the Holy Spirit we are given much more freedom to listen to His individual guidance for each of us. This does not mean it is easier now or that the call to holiness is less high. It just means we need to put out a little more work to determine what we should do. We should pray and ask the Spirit to help us know how much we should give. He asked the Rich Young Ruler Matt He says whoever loves this life will lose it but whoever gives up this life will gain life John It is all or nothing Romans The call in the New Testament is much higher.

It could mean that, but most likely not. He has given it to you so that you can use it for His glory.

Please Stop Saying “Christianity Isn’t a Religion, It’s a Relationship.”

Your money is like the talents given to the servants in Matthew God has entrusted it to you so that you can make wise use of His money. We should alwyas be looking for what will bring the greatest glory to God. Ultimately, we will all answer for what we did with it. You can bring glory to Him by loving and caring for your family. He calls us to do this. I have found that you cannot out give God. My personal experience is the more I give the greater He blesses me. Give sacrificially enough that it hurts and requires faith. Give regularly to your local church body.

God loves a cheerful giver 2 Cor 9: If you give out of compulsion you might as well not give at all. These three principles are good general guidelines to help you. Christianity or Churchianity is so institutionalized that it, in my opinion, is totally different from following Jesus. I try to follow Jesus and not the religion called Christianity. I do not agree with a lot of christian views. Edwin, Thanks for your comment. I think responded to yourself. It would seem that you actually agree with me.

That is actually what I mean above when I am talking about Christianity. I do it because I want to help support the church and pay the pastor who gives so much to me and because I want to help others and because I love God and it is an act of worship. You can give something freely without it being religion.

By your understanding no one could never do anything good, help anyone, or ever attend church or they would be religious. Most have it more right than wrong. Thanks for your reply. Indeed we do agree in a lot of things. The thing is that I have heard this statement christianity is not a religion too often. I really believe it is a statement by which people look down on others i. But how can we say that, when a Jew is keeping the Sabbath, he is religious? Perhaps he wants to do this because he believes it to be a good and healthy thing and not a rule that he has to observe or else… We must be honest to others and ourselves!

When a pastor and I have done this also… is teaching about tithing -a lot of times Malachi 3: My reaction above is perhaps somewhat raw. I have been a member of a G12 church that claimed to be non-religious. But we were forced to do a lot of things unwritten rules and regulations and I have seen this in a lot of other churches too.

As I am looking for help for the whole thought I had, I found in the right track. Honestly, I am so close to you that I am your contemporary. How can i view christianity other than following a set of rules? Maybe its to prove our love and faithfulness for God? But if thats the case then the rules are being put on a petistool. Because if u dont follow them then it shows that u have superficial faith. What if following the rules brings us closer to God? We put SO much emphasis on how: If u have faith in Jesus then ur saved and going to heaven which i believe.

God will always forgive u if u sin and repent which i believe ; so if those two things are true whats the point of rules? Why cant we give into temptation and then repent? Im just saying; either christians disregard the rules and do what they want which proves superficial faith, or christians follow the rules to grow closer to God which makes following rules the focus because its ur stepping stone to grow closer to God. I just have trouble wrapping my head around where rules should be at in my faith and how i should follow them and how much of my focus i should have on following the rules God tells us to follow.

That is engraved in my mind to believe that if you are not following rules then u do not have real faith. And by rules i mainly mean drunkenness and sex. Its annoying being in college and going to FCA every wednesday and bonding with people over conversations about Jesus, then seeing the same people get drunk and have sex on the weekends.

So if they are saved and going to heaven then why should i discipline myself not to fall into the same temptations as them? If we are all going to end up in heaven then why should i try so hard not to have pre marital sex or do whatever sinful thing im tempted to do? I feel like my view of christianity is what u consider religion. Or what true christianity is. Or what God truly wants from me.

Thank you for your comment. I think I understand your struggle. I will try to clarify what I meant and give my perspective on your questions. When I contrast religion and Christianity I am specifically talking about this factor of earning our righteousness. Other religions require us to earn it by works and good deeds. Christianity is different in that we are not required to earn it, it is a gift from God who earned it for us. This is not to say that as a result of this gift there are not rules that we are to follow.

Of course there are. The difference is the order of things. In religions you must do God works to appease God and earn his favor. We come empty, with nothing good to bring, in desperate need of God to fix it. God steps in and removes our guilt by placing it on Jesus at the cross and we are washed clean. When a person does this God changes them forever. I think this is what you fail to grasp completely.

It has nothing to do with our faithfulness to God thank goodness. Therefore when they notice they are a different person than they used to be it is God who gets the credit.

Bad Religion

It proves His faithfulness to them. When a person is saved, the Holy Spirit enters that person and begins a process of changing their heart. Furthermore, it is the one true religion. It is the religion of religions. I have absolutely no apprehension about the term. Certainly, we are related to Christ by way of our new birth and adoption Rom 8: Of course, there is also the danger of becoming irreligious. However, lately, there has been a movement away from such religious activities.

Why do I need to read my Bible? I understand what people are trying to say when they eschew the term religion. The goal is to assure skeptics that we are not offering dead ritual and empty tradition. The goal is to paint a picture of a vibrant life with our Lord, Jesus Christ. However, I do not believe that it is wise, or necessary to commit logical fallacies, and make trite, nonsensical arguments in order to do so. Arguing that Christianity is not a religion is like arguing that America is not a country.

We just need to make it clear. I praise God for the fact that we have a religion and a relationship. Is Christianity a Religion. Blog Is Christianity a Religion. We must evaluate this mantra and the syllogism by which it is frequently accompanied: The Encarta World English Dictionary defines religion as: At Odds With Common Sense In addition to being at odds with the English language, and the history of the Church, those who argue against referring to Christianity as a religion are at odds with common sense.

First-century Judaism was no exception. Over time the Jews had developed many traditions in addition to what God had commanded. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus rebuked them for this approach. It involves personal sacrifice Matthew People are often unwilling to give up doing things their own way. The apostle Paul anticipated this approach among those professing to have faith: In this world of religious diversity, there is no shortage of teachers, particularly in the area of religion.

The Way of God is not just another religion. It signifies a genuine relationship with the almighty God and His Son. It is a relationship that affects the way we live our lives every day. Skip to main content.

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