Christianity IS A Religion!

G.K. Chesterton rightly observed that "A heresy is always a half-truth turned into a whole falsehood" (America, November 9, 1935).  Or elsewhere he wrote that "every heresy is a truth taught out of proportion" (Daily News, June 26, 1909).  I wrote the article below in 2012.  I keep hearing this fallacy from dear Christians over and over again.  They say, "Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship." This half-truth is leading the Church to disastrous results.   Here's my former article.  See my conclusions at the end. 

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I have heard (and probably said) on many occasions that Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship.  Unfortunately that's only a half-truth.  We better stop bashing religion because we will soon learn that the wound is self-inflicted.  Jefferson Bethke has a blog post and one of his YouTube videos went wild as he bashed religion. The huge problem for us if we decide to run down this road is that Jesus was very religious.   As Kevin DeYoung intuitively writes: 

Jesus was a Jew. He went to services at the synagogue. He observed Jewish holy days. He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17). He founded the church (Matt. 16:18). He established church discipline (Matt. 18:15-20). He instituted a ritual meal (Matt. 26:26-28). He told his disciples to baptize people and to teach others to obey everything he commanded (Matt. 28:19-20). He insisted that people believe in him and believe certain things about him (John 3:16-18; 8:24). If religion is characterized by doctrine, commands, rituals, and structure, then Jesus is not your go-to guy for hating religion.

Not only was our Lord, Teacher and Savior very religious, His Word commands us to be "religious":  

"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." (James 1:26-27, ESV).

The adjective in this quote from James (religious) is the Greek word θρῆσκος [threskos]. It actually has ideas of fearing and trembling before God in worship.  The Scripture is replete with those ideas.  James is pretty clear: a managed tongue; a care for the needy in mercy and compassion; and a pursuit of holiness is God's idea of religion.

So, before we bash religion, let's define our terms.  Yes, Jesus did say hard things to the religious leaders of Judaism; and Paul did condemn self-made, man-made religion.   But Jesus was religious and His Word commands us to be religious.  We better define what we mean when we bash religion.! Religion bashing is not the kind of sport we should engage in readily.  I'm tired of hearing it.  It's simply not intellectually coherent to suggest that a Christian has a relationship with Jesus but no religion. 

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We live in a world where Christians are highly individualistic and are driven by consumerism.  WHY?  One of the causes is due to this incredibly erroneous statement that Christianity is simply a relationship with Jesus.  The popular chorus goes like this, "Me and Jesus got a good thing going."   Indeed, you come to Christ on your own.  You repent and you believe.  And yes, when you are saved your new identity is to be in union with Christ. But guess what: you share that union with every other believer. And together you express your newfound relationship through the Church -- the local church.   A scant reading of the New Testament reveals the "corporateness" of the Christian faith.  We don't even pray the Lord's Prayer without saying, "Our Father . . .."  

A Christian will shrivel and die without a connection to the means of grace, the disciplines of the Spirit, all experienced through the local Church.  If it's just "Me and Jesus" you will shipwreck your faith because your Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible.  Those that are in union with Jesus will soon find that they have an interdependent, accountable, caring relationship with others who are in union with Jesus. And all these relationships are fostered, nourished and built-up in the local church, using the ordinary means of grace. 

By definition a religion is a system of worship and faith.  Christian if you're not religious, you're in trouble.

Don't You Dare Say That Word!

If you wonder about the statement: "That's the pot calling the kettle black" then your question will be answered when you read about me discussing the matter of controlling your tongue.  It's a good thing I'm typing this, because otherwise the ink in my pen would bleed "hypocrite".  Having said that, it still doesn't dismiss the truth that our tongue is an amazing weapon of mass destruction.   Listen to James 3:5–6 (ESV)  

⁵ So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 

Remember the delightful radio show:  Kid's Say the Darndest Things?  Well I thought of that title as I read James 3:5-6.   I would say it this way, "We as people say the "damnest" things."  Now I'm not supposed to say, "Damn!"  My parents taught me that much.  But what if we don't say damn, but damn people in what we say?  Is that anymore right?  "Evil speech (including blasphemy, gossip, slander, lying, false vows, and the like) has the power to spoil, stain, and corrupt the entire moral character of a person." [1].

Now James has already said that if we can tame the tongue we have achieved perfection.  There's a target I probably won't get to until the ashes are sprinkled on my coffin.  But it is a goal -- a tough one. I am challenged by the quote from  Cesare Payese (an Italian poet and novelist): "Give me the ready hand rather than the ready tongue."




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1.  Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). Reformation study Bible, the : Bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture : New King James Version (Jas 3:6). Nashville: T. Nelson.