Christianity IS a Religion AND a Relationship!

You've probably heard the following Phrase before:

"Christianity isn't a religion! It's a Relationship with God!"
Or
"Religion is man made
Or
"Religion says do! Christ says done!"

And the list goes on.

I've heard these kinds of saying SO MANY times while I was in the Charismatic/ Evangelical and even some Baptist churches. That Christianity had nothing to do with Religion.

I used to say it, in fact, quiet often.

There's even a video of me from one of my old Youtube Channels kind of Babbling on about it.
You can see it by clicking HERE. (Though I have to warn you before you click that link. My audio was awful and created a robot voice in the middle of the video. Plus, I wasn't that great of a Vlogger because I tend to babble on, so it is a bit long. Again, just fair warning).

Yep, I was that kind of Christian.

Now before I continue, I just want to say, if you are that kind of Christian, I'm not dogging you. I'm just looking back at my own personal experiences. However, IF you are that type of Christian, please continue to read this entry with an open heart and mind and see where I'm coming from.

For YEARS I refused to even acknowledge the word "Religion" unless I was bashing it.

When I started the process of becoming an Anglican, however, that began to change.

So what caused the change?

Well, It started when we invited our Priest over to our Apartment for dinner and a house blessing.

Along with dinner and prayers, we also talked for a LONG time. We asked him many Questions about the Anglican Catholic church. We wanted to know what we would be getting ourselves into before we officially joined.

There was a term he kept using quiet frequently. "Our Religion" seemed to come out of his mouth quiet a bit. With my church background it made me slightly uncomfortable, but I didn't speak up or try to correct him by saying "It's not a religion!".

If I were to call this man my father for now on, I knew I had to show him the honor and respect which he is deserving of.

But it kept rattling in my brain. So I did some research.

I first looked up the definition of religion:

"the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods."

I thought to myself "Okay. I believe in and worship God. This makes sense" then I went on youtube to see what others had believed what Religion is.

If you've been on social media for the past few years, you probably remember the Spoken Word Youtube video called Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus. To this date it has almost 30 Million views and shares. I used to be a big fan of this Spoken Word. I shared it when it first came out and would say "This is the Truth!". But during my transitioning to Anglo-Catholisim, I found a response video from a Roman Catholic priest.

It was called Why I love Religion, and love Jesus.

There was a particular verse from the Spoken Word response that really stood out to me.

He said "When Jesus said it was done, that's absolutely true, but he also gave us a mission with many things to do".

The reason why that line in particular stuck out to me. I've heard youth Ministers say "Religion says Do, Jesus says done!" and that moment it clicked that saying is not exactly true.

You see, when Christ said "It is Finished" on the cross, I believe that he meant that the act was finish. from then on forward there was no need to follow the ceremonial law. There was no need to sacrifice animals for our sins because he was the ultimate sacrifice.

But that time on the cross was not the only time Christ spoke in the new testament.

He told us to Love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.

He told us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
(Matthew 22:37–40).

He said To go and Baptize all nations in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

(Matthew 28:19)

He told us to be Servants.
(Matthew 20:26–28).

He told us to Repent.
(Matthew 4:17)

He told us to Follow him.
(Matthew 4:19).

These are just a few examples. There are so many more. You can view them all by clicking HERE.

So once we except the Grace of God, we have a list of many things to do and yes. Even many things we are not to do and to avoid at all possible cost.

If you're wondering where the relationship comes in, well it comes in Christ's Religion and commandments.

In order for me to obey God, I have to love God and Trust God with my whole being. How can I love and trust someone if I don't know them?

How am I supposed to be willing that if the time ever came for it, to die for my God if I don't know my God or Trust my God?

You can't have Christ without his church. You can't fully love God if you don't keep his commandments in your heart.


Does this mean I keep every commandment he has given me every second of the day? No. But that's the beauty of my Religion. Is that even though I am a sinner, Christ suffered and died for me so I would not have to suffer. 

He broke his body and spilled his blood for us and made the ultimate sacrifice, so I would not have to do it myself.

But in return, he has some regulations, rules, and commands for me to obey. And I do so willingly.

I don't try my best to obey his laws for fear of hell. I keep the commands in my heart because he knows what's best for me and that I may live a full life.

My religion give me life to the fullest.

Because in my religion, I have a relationship with my God.

The Lord be with you.