Relationship or Religion?

In John 17:3 Jesus prayed, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

In today’s culture, we refer to people of faith as religious people. Religion means a particular system of faith and worship or a thing that one is devoted to. Religion is simply the external expression of what we believe internally. Religion can be an accurate or inaccurate display of faith. Despite the tendency for modern day Christians to be judgmental and hypocritical (for this I deeply apologize), there is no doubt that throughout history Christianity has been a “religion” identified by its good deeds.

Christian religion should be easy to discern by others who observe the lifestyles of those who profess the name of Jesus. St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.” His statement was an admonition to all Christians that they should walk the talk. I concur. However, I have been recently wondering if he would have made the same assertion in today’s polytheistic culture?

For example, Mormonism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam all teach that good works are an important part of their religion. I believe this is the major reason some people think that all religions are basically the same. At times, through good deeds, the external expression of these different religions can look very similar.

I was reminded of this fact while listening to Mitt Romney’s speech on “Faith in America”. In case you do not know, Romney is a Mormon. The fact that we have a Mormon running for president has raised many questions from the media about Romney’s faith.

If you are wondering, let me state clearly that I do not think a person should be elected or rejected based upon their faith. The first amendment of the Constitution of the United States gives us the right to the freedom of religious expression. This also means the freedom to not believe in God. You might be thinking that my viewpoint contradicts my previous blog “Christians Bug Me”, but remember in that blog I was talking about endorsing (as an influential Christian leader) a president, not electing one.

For those who are not frequent readers of the Bible, you might find it interesting to note that Jesus never once mentioned the word religion. Does this surprise you? This is because Jesus’ goal was never to set up a system of good works or a system of religion. Jesus came to bring people into relationship with Him as the one true living God. Christianity is not a religion of good works; instead, it is a relationship with Jesus Christ. A Christian’s religious expression should flow from this relationship.

Apostle Paul reminds the church at Ephesus that good works can not gain us favor with God or save us. In Ephesians 2:10-11 he says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith (in Christ)—and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (10) For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” What makes Christian’s good deeds unique is that they give praise to our Father in heaven and lead people to faith in Jesus (Matthew 5:16).

Relationship or religion? Big difference!

Stay tuned for Part 2…you won’t want to miss it!