<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="65001"%> Religion in a Christian Context

Religion IN A CHRISTIAN CONTEXT

By William R. Cunningham
Sunday February 5, 2006

Introduction

Christianity is considered a religion by many, especially those who are not Christians. However Christianity is more than a religion. By that, I mean that Christianity isn’t just another item on the religion menu. Christianity is a system of faith and effects a particular lifestyle and state. However, other religions are based on rules, regulations, rituals, and dogma.

We are going to discuss true religion from a Christian perspective or from a Christian context. We are going to see how the Christian concept of religion is far removed from the typical understanding of the word.

Religion

James 1:26-27 (NKJV) -- {26} If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. {27} Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

What is religion? What does the word “religion” mean? Consider the following.

Religion is a belief in and reverence for a deity
Religion is an organized system of doctrine or dogma with an approved protocol of behavior or practice
Religion is the service and worship of a god
Religion is an institutionalized system of religious beliefs and practices
Religion is an outward expression of belief as opposed to the content of that belief such as in Buddhism.

That last definition is quite interesting. In other religions the content of that religion is defined by the practices of that religion. For example, one is a Buddhist because he practices the Buddhist beliefs or abides by the Buddhists principles. However, one is not a Christian because one abides by the Christian principles. Consider the following scripture.

Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV) -- {6} But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

This verse is very interesting because it reveals what our righteous acts (righteousnesses) are really worth. They are nothing but filthy rags so to speak.

Religion is basically a system of works not of faith, though religion and faith are sometimes used interchangeably. Let’s take a look at James 1:26-27 for illustration, which I will quote again here for reference.

Someone may consider himself religious, but speaks destructively about others (See James 3:1-12). This is not religion from James perspective or at least not pure and undefiled religion. Someone who says he is religious ought to demonstrate that by his deeds, one of which is controlling his tongue (speech or talking about others).

James says that pure and undefiled religion (expression of faith, piety) is to minister to those in need. He lists the following.

Visit orphans and widows in their trouble
Keep oneself unspotted from the world

The word visit here (Greek episkeptomai) means to look upon or after someone in order to see how he is and how you might be able to help. To visit means that you look after someone or care for someone. We might say that it is to look in on someone and we do that so we might know what help is needed so that we might help in a specific and needed manner.

You should also note that the orphans and widows were the most vulnerable in ancient societies. This was because there would have been no one to care for them. We must realize that it was indeed a man’s world and anyone without a supportive man could end up destitute on the streets.

Religion: Expression of Faith

So we see from James perspective that pure and undefiled religion was an expression of one’s faith. This goes along with what James said about being doers of the word and not hearers only. Consider the following scripture.

James 1:22-25 (NKJV) -- {22} But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. {23} For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; {24} for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. {25} But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

James 2:14-18 (NKJV) -- {14} What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? {15} If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, {16} and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? {17} Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. {18} But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

These verses of scripture are very important in understanding the difference between the Christian faith and a religion. The Christian faith begins and is founded upon salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All else is a result of that faith. However, in religion all is founded on the works that one does to reach a certain state. One might say that if you meditate enough, do so many good deeds then you will reach a certain spiritual state for example. That is not Christianity.

However, religion in the context of Christianity is an expression of the faith or a result of that faith. We do righteous things because we have the righteousness of Christ and not because we want to obtain the state of righteousness. James said that he would show you his faith by his works. That is, the things that he did were the result of his faith in Jesus Christ and not a means to that faith.

Consider Matthew 25:31-46. Here we have two groups of people, namely the righteous and the unrighteous. The righteous ministered to others because of their faith. As a matter of fact, their faith was so within them and their activities so dependant on that faith that they didn’t even realize that they were ministering. They were merely living the Christian lifestyle, which was the result of the faith that they had in Christ.

Consider the following scripture.

Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV) -- {21} “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. {22} Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ {23} And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Here we see clearly people that were doing the good works. However, they were never a part of the family of God. Jesus said that he never knew them, which means that there was never a relationship between him and them. They did the works, but they did not have the faith. Therefore, their works were meaningless, i.e., as filthy rags. Their righteous acts were not an expression of the faith that they had. Their righteous acts were for things like prestige, selfishness, or pride.

The Comaprison

Religion attempts to define salvation or the like in terms of what we do. Christianity declares that we can do nothing to obtain salvation except to believe in the one that has already done all of the work, namely Jesus Christ. Religion defines our relationship with God in terms of our pious rituals and activities. Christianity defines a relationship with God in terms of Jesus Christ, intimacy, and personal fellowship. Religion attempts to convince us that we can save ourselves whereas Christianity is partly founded on the fact that we cannot save ourselves and that is why a savior needed to come, namely Jesus Christ.

Christianity is more than a set of rules and regulations to follow. Christianity is a faith that comes to us by no work of our own. This faith opens the door to a new life in Jesus Christ and from that we receive the Spirit of God. That Spirit of God in us empowers us to live a life of Christ and to exude that light so that God would get glory. We cannot do this by our own power or works. We can only live a life of Christ and the Godly Way (righteously) through Jesus Christ.

Application

What can we learn from this? First of all we should examine ourselves to see if we are of the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). Are you disqualified? If so then all you need to do is to put faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. It is only Jesus Christ that can save you because you cannot save yourself by many righteous acts. So the first thing to do is to determine whether you are saved or not, since Jesus Christ is the foundation of all else.

The next thing is to express the faith that you have by your everyday deeds. Consider what Jesus Christ said.

Matthew 5:16 (NKJV) -- {16} Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

There has to be a light in you in order for that light to shine (See John 1:4). Allow the Spirit of God in you to express himself in your lifestyle. Allow the Way of God to radiate from the things that you do.

And what should you do? I suppose a better question might be what are your responsibilities? Your responsibilities come from the responsibility that you have to God, which is to obey Him. If you are indeed a child of God and have the Spirit of God dwelling in you then all of that should show through you by what you do in regards to a lifestyle.

I typically make the following illustration. What would Martians conclude if they were to examine your life for a year? Would they see a person that merely does good things or would they correlate your professed faith in Jesus Christ with why you do what you do? Do you see the difference?

Religion is a system of organized doctrine and protocol. Religion is a set of rules and regulations for its adherents to abide by. Christianity is a faith in which those who are part of it exude its Way from their lives. This is why Christianity is so much more than a religion and this is why being mere religious is meaningless. Religion in a Christian context is ministry to others, care for others, and concern for others. Religion in a Christian context is the expression of the love of God in the things that we do.

So continue in the ways of God. Care for one another. Concern yourself with the welfare of others. Allow the light of Christ in you to shine and bring glory to God the Father. Amen.