"Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship"? Part Two.

In Part One, I talked about the confusion between people who grew up in church and those who did not when hearing "Christian-ese," those catchy phrases churches like to use. Specifically, "Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship."

Before we can use this phrase with any efficacy, I think it's important to define the term "religion."

Like I said, when churches put this on their signs or their twitter bios or their what-have-you's, it probably doesn't convey the message they want it to (at least not to people that aren't Christians, which I generally assume to be their intended audience). Christians typically use this phrase as a paraphrase of "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." Like, "I love God, I don't just do a bunch of traditions in a designated building once a week." Which is good; please don't. 

But the truth is-- although Christ is the basis and the greater meaning behind all the former laws and prophecies-- Christianity is a set of teachings and it does have rituals and actions specific to it. Christianity isn't simply knowing Christ, it is the way in which we are told to follow Him in response to getting to know Him better. And that is the definition of "religion."

And that's why I think it's incorrect to say that Christianity is only relationship and no religion.

Well, maybe not incorrect, but incomplete.

It isn't legalistic to love the Law of the Lord. It isn't wrong for us to think about how to put the Word into action in our lives, even if it's a disciplined reaction and you aren't that excited about it at the time. That is where I get a little afraid of this phrase's implications.

As a response to the accusations of legalism from the world, who say we don't love them because, we tell them they will have to change after we tell them they can come as they are. We can't love God and keep on doing what He hates with reckless abandon.

We shouldn't try to sound like we are these free-loving, only-grace-no-judgement people who "just love Jesus," because that's misleading to people who currently define love as "someone who benefits me and thinks I'm awesome and doesn't try to change me." Do you see the difference? Do you see the problem? 

God made up the laws and rituals of obedience and repentance through sacrifice (religion). He doesn't hate them. I mean, heck, He was a sacrifice. These laws were given as a map to living a life that is pleasing to Him. But we're really timid to say that, to say that there are rules to follow. When Jesus says, "Go and sin no more," we see that there is more to following Christ than just thinking He is really great and believing He has the power to make us feel better.

I've been reading through the Gospels these past few weeks and what keeps catching my mind is the difference between being amazed by Jesus and being changed by Him. Since my earliest readings of the Bible, I've been confused about why Jesus told people not to tell everyone about the miracle He'd just done. My interpretations have ranged from an appearance of humility to "but ugh why??" scribbled in the margins.

My most recent thought is that He was trying to prevent people from coming to see Him for a show rather than for teaching. I say this because when we see those that have been healed still tell people (understandably), literally the entire town and a few surrounding ones are soon crowded around Jesus waiting to be healed or to see someone else healed.

They wanted a spectacle. They weren't looking to understand of Who He was/is. They'd follow Him around as long as He was looking powerful and beneficial, but miracles are not all He came to do. And I think that is why He told people not to tell anyone-- so that His teaching might be the central focus with miracles a whispered side note in confirmation of His authority.

And I think that is the danger of saying that Christianity is relationship only. We're like "Hey, just let me love Jesus, I don't need all that other stuff." But it super doesn't work that way.

Because, Christianity isn't only a religion or only a relationship. It is both. Christianity is a religion because it is the means by which we follow a personal God, and it's a relationship because He is an autonomous Being with His Own thoughts and feelings resulting in the specified way He desires to be followed (as He details throughout the Bible).

He is the Relationship (Jesus the connection) and the relationship is the religion, because it is done according to His commands. That's how we relate to Him, how we worship Him. Relationship and religion can't be separated when it comes to Christianity. The Person and the ways in which the Person wants to be related to are One.

We don't decide the terms of His covenant, He does. We don't get to decide what we do or don't want to believe about Jesus's teachings. It's all or nothing. 

Christianity is a religion, it just isn't an impersonal one.

"Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship"? Part One.

"Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship."

A lot of people fault the church for having their own vernacular that doesn't cater to those who are outside it. A lot of church members hear that complaint but don't know how to remedy it. In fact, we often try to redefine the world's conception of our terms without really asking what their original conception is.

I personally think this is one of those cases.

We want people to know that God is a personal God and that there is more to following Him than rules, so we try to pick on the word "religion" right along with them. But I feel like we end up looking like those people that try to jump in on other people's inside jokes, making everyone feel really uncomfortable.

Of course, not everyone has the same connotations. It depends a lot on who they've come in contact with and the people they admire or dislike.

But most people don't define religion the same way the church does. When people who haven't grown up in church say they hate religion, it typically isn't them saying they hate ritualistic actions that aren't backed up by a true spirit of reverence and love for God.

That's the "Christian-ese" definition.

And we should hate heartless rituals because God hates them, too (Isaiah 1:12-15, etc). We should strive to have true motivation in everything that we do, and that comes through personal growth and pursuit of understanding through the Word and prayer. And that is a relationship. 

But I think there's something we all need to accept:

Christianity is also a religion.

You can't have Jesus without His decrees. We can't separate the teachings of the Person from the Person teaching. And that's what we're doing. Or at least what it sounds like we're doing.

Hey, maybe that gives us an opportunity to get into a discussion with the unbeliever who is really confused about the Christian that says they hate religion. That's good, I hope that happens. But it's hard to see the benefit of the saying being plastered on billboards or twitter feeds with no further discussion.

Connotation is important. And their connotation is probably different than ours and maybe it's counterproductive sometimes.

(It's so funny, though, the satisfaction churchgoers seem to get out of confusing the outside world with semantics. Like the "Wait, what?" of an unbeliever echoes internally as a giddy little victory for us. "Look at us, stunning the world with what really goes on inside these doors. Silly misconceptions. I bet you wanna be a Christian now, right?")

It is good for the Church to define our terms when interacting with the world. What do we really mean when we say   insert churchy jargon here  ? I think it's equally important for us to understand what they really mean when they give their opinions on   insert anything here  . We can get so offended sometimes that we don't even realize the disagreement is mainly between what we hear them saying and what they actually mean to say, and vice versa. 

Not that our worldviews don't fundamentally disagree; I'm really just saying we can debate all day about how, for example, faith is either stupid or life-giving, and get nowhere because their definition of faith is "believing without evidence" and ours is "trust based on fulfilled prophecy, recorded eyewitness testimony, historical evidence of dependability, persistence of followers, and personal experience." So, from the outset, we're doomed to disagree.

Define your terms.

So, let's define this particular term: religion... in Part Two.

The Word of the Cross is Folly and Power.

The Lord has been teaching me about those who blatantly oppose Christianity, Who scoff at the very idea of God, calling Him a fairy tale for the ignorant.

Thankfully, He reminds me that I too once hated Him with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. That even now, after I've been given a new heart, I turn so often from Him, denying Him with my actions, words, and thoughts.

He reminds me that "no one can come to [Christ] unless the Father draws him" (John 6:44).

That latter reminder is twofold.

First, that I am saved by grace, through faith, not of myself so that I cannot boast (Ephesians 2).

Second, that they can be saved by grace, through faith, not of themselves and especially not through my words, so neither I nor they can boast.

I listen, wishing I knew a hundred things to say to prove 100% that God exists. That God saves. That He is coming again to judge the earth according to His commands. But I must remember, through all my studying, my "debating," that people are not saved by eloquent arguments.

I was so burdened yesterday and spent a most of my time at work pondering the best wording for various arguments. I'm sure someone out there has wonderful logic that can explain everything in extensive detail. I am thankful those people exist. I'm not that person. I lose my train of thought a few syllables in, and I can't think of the words I want to use, and my sentences are out of order.

I'm intimidated by the opposing arguments. They have all these catchy phrases and scientific facts and things that really do seem so convincing on the surface. But wit and eloquence don't make a person right; we cannot confuse these when trying to discern truth. A lie attractively spoken is still foolish.

I'm a sucker for arguments that show understanding of the topic and not just ad hominem. That's where a lot of Christians stand when it comes to "debates." They get this cynical, scoffing tone that comes across just as clearly over text as it does in person. At the same time, they don't make any real points and rarely address the topic at hand. Or they repeat the same sentence that they heard someone say once over and over again, showing no further thought about the subject.

They turn it to a personal attack. Why? So they can "win"? To what end?

Do we forget we are saved by grace through faith given to us by the Father? It is He Who awakens us and draws us to His Son. It was His Son Who lived perfectly and died for us and raised Himself to life, and He Who gave us the Holy Spirit to work in us to will and to act according to His good pleasure. 

It's frustrating that the loudest are not often the most understanding. I don't want to be there.  I want to answer for the hope that I have in Christ, with all gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). I want to be able to speak the evidences for God that exist, because He does exist. 

Anyway, after much discouragement over my lack of eloquence, I sat down to read the next chapter of my read-through-the-Bible plan, the chapter I was supposed to read the day before but didn't.

1 Corinthians 1-2.

Guys... sovereignty.

It's exactly the answer to my thoughts and prayers of that day.

"For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.'

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away."

Please, seek knowledge; study arguments for and against Christianity. Do it in a manner worthy of the Gospel.

But do not "worry about what to say or how to say it, for in that time it will not be you speaking but the Holy Spirit speaking through you" (Matthew 10:20). His are the words that need to be heard; Christ is the message that saves; His is the wisdom irrefutable (Acts 6:10).

“Suppose a number of persons were to take it into their heads that they had to defend a lion... Well, I should suggest to them, if they would not object, and feel that it was humbling to them, that they should kindly stand back, and open the door, and let the lion out! I believe that would be the best way of defending him, for he would take care of himself; and the best 'apology' for the gospel is to let the gospel out.” - Charles Spurgeon

Thinking you need eloquent arguments to convince people to follow Him "empties the cross of its power," and betrays your subconscious belief that the Gospel is not powerful enough on Its own to save.

But It is. 

The truth is enough on its own. What an honor it is to speak it.

Doing All This in Your Name

Yesterday one of the girls on the cheerleading team I coach closed her prayer with, "...doing all this in Your Name." As I thought back over the past hour, I was ashamed and terrified for us. Disrespecting, shouting, gossiping, anger, frustration, impatience, pride... all in His Name?

We hear it all the time-- doing all things for the glory of God, doing things in His Name-- but for some reason it really struck me yesterday.

All things.

As a follower of Christ, I am also an "ambassador for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20). In all that I do, I am a witness for or against Him. I draw people to or away from Him.

My actions are supposed to be a representation of Who God is, "as though God were making His appeal through us." The lives of those who have "been brought near" are to be the testimony of a God Who is Creator and Sustainer and Redeemer and Sanctifier (Ephesians 2:12-13).

Instead, so many times, our actions and words and thoughts tell a different story, and we excuse  it with our humanity and other people's actions. But God did not choose us, Jesus did not die for us, and the Holy Spirit did not regenerate and seal us, just so we could continue to live according to our flesh; we were doing a perfectly good job of that without the intervention of His atoning blood and sacrifice. We were not made new so we could continue to "conform to the pattern of this world", but to be like Christ (Romans 12:2)!

All things for His Name.

Everything we do is taken into account by the world, shaping their thoughts of God. Are we really living for the glory of the Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, Sanctifier God or are we living for our false gods? gods that don't save-- delusions that "turn [His] glory into shame" because we attach His Name to lives that bow to much different ideals (Psalm 4:2)?

If we instead "walk by the Spirit, [we] will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). Even further, "clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh" (Romans 13:14).

So often we live for ourselves, selfishly, pridefully blaming others for our sin. "For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?" (1 Corinthians 3:3). Do we really suppose that any person will be held more accountable for our actions than we are for our reactions? We must learn, "in whatever situation [we are], to be content"  and to "outdo one another in showing honor" (Philippians 4:11, Romans 12:10). To "make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification" (Romans 14:19).

All things for His glory, because He's the only One worthy of glory. He's the only One that has glory. And He has enough glory to fill the entire world as the waters cover the seas (Habakkuk 2:14, Isaiah 6:3, 40:5)!

God help me to praise Yoy and serve You with all I am, because all I am has been redeemed by and for You. Your Name be praised!

"Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" Revelation 7:12.