But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. –Titus 2:1
We hear them all the time. Something about these oft-repeated claims just does not seem right, we think. Here are a few that have occurred to me. You’ll know others….
One. “Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship.”
Sounds right, but it’s wrong. Ask yourself one question: As a follower of Jesus–by which I mean in a relationship with Him–would it be all right if I joined a religion and became a Buddhist or Taoist or a Jew or a Muslim? After all, as a Christian I’m not in a religion as such (according to this thinking) and there would be no reason not to. Of course, those religions are incompatible with the way of Jesus Christ and that’s why we counsel believers to avoid them.
“The way of Jesus Christ”? We call that The Christian Religion.
Friend, if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, well….
A religion may be defined as a systemized practice of worship involving a God, a place or places of worship, a system of beliefs, and in most cases exclusivity (that is, it claims to hold The Truth).
Sure sounds like the Christian faith to me.