I've often heard the saying that goes "Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship." When I first heard that years ago I agreed wholeheartedly because I was having doubts about the denomination I was a part of and just denominations in general. I felt there was too much attention given to the traditions of a particular church and not enough genuine adoration and service to God Himself. But now I'm not so sure about that saying. Something about it does not sit well with me.
What is religion anyway? Religion according to my dictionary is belief in and worship of God or gods; a specific system of belief, worship, etc. often involving a code of ethics. Someone who is religious is devout, pious; of or concerned with religion; conscientiously exact; scrupulous. Is that not what Christianity is all about? Would you agree that it is a belief in God which includes a specific system of belief and worship as outlined by Him in His Word? And that a Christian should be devout (earnest, sincere) in how they approach their Lord and Savior?
It is true that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), but it should not end there. We are running a race (Hebrews 12:1) and striving for the prize at the end (Philippians 3:14) which is to hear Him say "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21) How can we get to that point of reward if we stand still at the starting line and never even begin to make any progress toward the finish line?
He gives us such clear instruction in His Word on how to renew our minds (Romans 12:2) and be fruitful (John 15:4-5). He shows us how to relate to other believers (Romans 12:4-21) and how to celebrate His good gifts with the feasts (Leviticus 23) . He tells us how to behave in our marriages (Ephesians 5:21-33) and as parents (Ephesians 6:4, many Proverbs), etc. etc.... It's all in there! It should be the goal of every believer to spend time with Him daily in His Word and in prayer and worship (relationship). Then it should be a priority for all in the Body to walk in obedience to the things He is telling them in a devout and conscientiously exact (religious) manner. When this is done the fruit will grow and the blessings will come. The Bride of Christ will become more and more beautiful and ready for her Bridegroom.
So is Christianity a religion or a relationship? I would argue that it is both. In order to have a fulfilling relationship with God one must be religious in their pursuance of Him. To have a meaningful religion one must know Him well as a friend in order to understand why we are to break the bread and drink the wine for example. Now I encourage you to go pursue Him and find the richness of the religion of Christianity as you get to know Him better.
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Interesting thoughts! I always took that saying to mean that just doing the external behaviors of what a Christian's life may look like is not Christianity. My coworker and I were just discussing this before I read your post. She attends a church where she senses a large segment of members are spiritually dead, though they behave perhaps "religiously". But you also make a good point that receiving grace with out working out our sanctification also does not glorify God.
I've found the older I get, the more I'm liking liturgy in the church. And not just "stand and sing a hymn" liturgy, but icons, gold, incense, robes, the whole nine yards. I'm getting more and more attracted to Eastern Christianity and the church of the East (which, by the way, have maintained a relative consistent view of head-covering for women). In it I find deeper relationship than I've known before, as if God Himself were swooping down and scooping all of us into heaven for a few hours every week. Amazing.
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