Is Christianity About Religion Or Relationship? The Truth About Christianity
Christianity is commonly viewed as a set of customs, traditions, and rules. It is also often associated with religions that differ in their doctrinal stands. But what is Christianity about, is it religion or relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ? The reality is it is more than religion. It is all about relationships.
God Sent Christ to Restore a Relationship
When Christ came into our world, His primary goal was to restore a broken relationship. The moment Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, there was a gap between God and men. Humanity has been expelled from the garden and forbidden to access the Tree of Life. The nature of men became corrupt, and their days became numbered because of death.
We, too, experienced the effect of sin in our lives. The Scripture tells us in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This means no one has not committed a violation against God—all of us failed in His standard of holiness. And like Adam and Eve, who were expelled from the garden, we were exiled from eternity with God to experience eternal judgment—the second death.
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” - Romans 5:12 NASB95
The Father knows there is no other way to fix that relationship but through Jesus. For us to be reconciled with God, His Only Begotten Son has to pay the price for our sins and disobedience. For this reason, Jesus left heaven and took on the form of humanity (but remained God). In His life, Jesus fully obeyed the Father and lived in perfect holiness. What we failed to do, the Son of God accomplished fully.
“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” — 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NASB95
As the righteous One of God, Jesus is the only One qualified to pay for our sins. When He died on the cross, He paid it in full. Thus, we have a hope of reconciliation with God, and through the righteousness of Christ, we can be righteous in His sight. From enemies, we can become not just His “friends” (John 15:15) but also His “children” (John 1:12).
The truth is that God sent Christ to restore a broken relationship between Him and humanity. This is what Jesus’s mission is all about. Later, those who follow Christ became known as Christians, meaning “follower of Christ or “belonging to Christ.” More than just a religion, the movement is about building relationships with God and men. It is about the love of Christ and letting others experience His love.
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” — James 1:27 NASB95
We Can Have a Relationship with God
But how can we have a relationship with God? Scripture says it is “through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). When we believe in Jesus as the Son of God and that salvation is through Him alone, we enter a relationship with God. It is permanent and will last through eternity. It is eternal life in God’s favor, and we receive it when we become His sons and daughters.
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” — John 17:3 NASB95
Only through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross may we have hope of eternity with God. On the Calvary, the Lord received the wrath of God’s justice. Jesus did not sin, but He received the punishment for our sins. If we put our faith in Him, believing that it is through Him alone we can be saved, His righteousness is accounted to us. We become righteous in His sight—not of our own works but the work of Christ.
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” —2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB95
Eternal life begins the moment we put our faith in Christ alone. It is the grace we did not earn and certainly cannot lose. It is an eternal relationship between the Father and the believer.
God’s desire is for us to find joy in our eternal life through an intimate fellowship with Him. He wants us to make the most of our relationship with Him! When we dwell in His presence through prayer and His Word, we enjoy our fellowship with Him more. But, when we forget our quiet time with Him, our fellowship with Him suffers. The relationship remains the same, but the fellowship suffers.
Another way to have a closer intimate relationship with God is through obedience. He has set forth His commandments in the Scriptures, and we can show our love for Him by keeping them. (1 John 5:3) We might say this is easier said than done, but John tells us that they “are not burdensome.” Obeying God is something we, followers of Christ, can accomplish to prove our love toward Him.
What about during times when we fail? We must acknowledge that we may fail at times because of sin. However, since our sin is forgiven in full, we can always ask for forgiveness from God and be sure He will forgive us for our sin. We can be confident that He will restore us and the joy in our Christian life. We should be honest about our mistakes, humble before God, and ask for His help and guidance.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” —1 John 1:9 NASB95
Once we ask for God’s forgiveness, we must cooperate with Him in correcting our mistakes and ensure we don’t repeat them. This is key to having a proper fellowship with God. We must abide in Him (John 15:4)! Remember that a proper fellowship with God is vital to a joyous Christian life. It is making the most of our relationship with our Maker!
Our Great Commission Involves Building Relationships
When Jesus commanded us to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), He was not thinking of establishing different religions. Instead, He wants us to extend His love to the world so they may have a relationship with Him. Doing so may also build relationships with fellow believers in Christ. That’s what discipleship is all about.
Discipleship is building relationships with others. It is not a one-time event or a set of programs but a life-long commitment to love others. When we share the Gospel to the world, our goal should be building relationships grounded in the love of Christ. Tell others about His love. Make them experience it through our relationship with them.
“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? [15] How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO bring GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!" —Romans 10:14-15 NASB95
We start by telling others about the beautiful story of God’s saving act toward humanity. It is not our story that matters but the story of the Lord Jesus Christ—how He sacrificed Himself for fallen humanity. More than anything else, those around us should hear of the Gospel. They should understand it and be astounded by the love of God. Only by putting their faith in Christ can they experience salvation and belong in the family of God.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. [17] For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." —Romans 1:16-17 NASB95
Build Lasting Relationships
Building relationships matters in Christianity. We have seen how God made a way for us to have a relationship with Him through Christ. Also, we have learned that this relationship must extend to the people around us as we share the Gospel. So, it must be one of our goals as Christians to shift our focus from being a religious group to people who value relationships.
Start building relationships today by extending the love of Christ to others!
