“I don’t have a religion, I have a relationship.”

Many people make this claim, but why do so many run from the label of religion?

To define religious and religion is not an easy task, because there isn’t really a consensus on what precisely, a religion is.


Why is there something rather than nothing? Because something transcends us.

A practical understanding of when one is called “religious,” is that it means that this person is devoted to their beliefs about that which transcends them.[1] So also, a religion is a system of practices that reflect belief and understanding of one’s worldview; specifically, this system focuses on the relationship between the human element and the spiritual element.

It seems that the word religion is being understood as an insult in today’s language. This probably comes from newer generations coming up through the works and seeing the problems that religions of the world create and do not want to have any association with something that places their relationship with Jesus in the same brackets as religions that demand killing of Christians, for instance. But there is a serious issue with this. In the Bible, Jesus teaches that “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs” (Matthew 5:10). What is it that makes a person righteous? Righteousness cannot come from a single person. If that were the case, then whose righteousness would be the correct righteousness? The standard of righteousness is God. This standard of righteousness must transcend humanity, otherwise we make righteousness be what we want it to be, which would make this susceptible to change. For instance, is it more righteous to be a blonde haired, white person, as opposed to being a brunette, Jewish person? The Germans thought this was the case in the first half of the 20^th century. The point is, they were clearly wrong. If we place the standard of righteousness on humanity, it will quickly crumble.

It is this Standard that makes a person come to know what righteousness looks like. And through knowing what this looks like, through access to the standard[2], one can apply this righteousness to his or her own life and be partakers of the divine nature.[3] So because of our relationship with the Standard, we can also be righteous, and only through that. This would ultimately be because of our devotion to what we believe.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness…” Does a religion make you righteous? If the religion is the one true religion, then through such, someone will come to know what true righteousness is. A religion does not make one righteous, but it definitely plays some part. Human beings would not know what righteousness is without religion. The religion of Christianity is not something to be ashamed of, but in fact, much the opposite.

Persecution is something people avoid in today’s world. The insult of being called religious is not out of the realm of persecution. It seems that Jesus teaches that persecution in regards to certain things is good. Tertullian, an early church father, said “The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.”[4] What this means is that when a Christian is persecuted to the point of shed blood, news of this persecution travels faster and more thoroughly than news that is not about persecution. If someone were being murdered off in your town because they are Christian, wouldn’t you hear about it eventually? Definitely! So would the next several cities and towns. And today through media and the Internet, the whole world has the potential to be informed. Do not avoid the word religious or religion. Embrace the insults that come with it. Take all the persecution you can get, so to speak. If it is true that persecution causes news to travels faster and more thoroughly, the idea is that someone may learn about Jesus who did not know about Him before. They might think, “I have to find out why Christians are being persecuted.” After seeing the headline, “Christians are being persecuted,” Someone might wonder what Christianity teaches and then will learn about the gospel. If you are persecuted because of Christianity, count it all joy. Be public about your religion.

Matthew 5:11— “You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me.”

You may have a relationship with Christ, but you also have a religion… Don’t run from it, but explain it.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." —James 1:27[5]

Written by Nace Howell through the grace of the Lord Jesus

[1] Author’s definition.

[2] The Bible.

[3] See 2 Peter 1:3-4.

[4] Tertullian. “The Apology.” Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian. Ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Trans. S. Thelwall. Vol. 3. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885. 55. Print. The Ante-Nicene Fathers.

[5] Thank you for the reminder, Rick!

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