Ch. 2 Christianity Is Not a Religion

What is Christianity? Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship. There are at least two things about Christianity I know of which are counter-intuitive: 1) God taking on human flesh in order to make human beings acceptable to Him and 2) Most people will say seeing is believing when they are confronted with a hard to believe proposition; but, in the case of Christianity, believing is seeing.

A Christian is not defined as being someone who does not smoke, drink alcohol, or go with women who do those things. If that were the definition of a Christian then my dog is a Christian because he doesn’t smoke, drink alcohol, or go with women who do those things.

A religion is something which is works-based. Meaning, if you follow a set of laws or rules then you will make yourself acceptable to God. A religion says your works can make you acceptable to God.

Christianity is not works-based. Christianity says God made people acceptable to Him through the death of God the Son on the cross and through the resurrection of Jesus, God the Son; He gives eternal life to all who trust in the work of Jesus instead of their own works.

Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, and not in your own works, then God gives you eternal life.

One of the reasons I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is true is because it is exactly what man would not have invented himself. People like being given a list of things to do to show others they are faithful, to give an outward appearance of being faithful, and to help comfort themselves that God accepts them if they follow those laws or rules. But Christianity clearly teaches it is not a result of your works:

Ephesians 2:8–9   8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

The Sin of Adam and Eve

The sin of Adam and Eve was a lack of faith; they lacked faith in God and what He said to them. The sin was when Adam and Eve chose, by their free will, not to believe what God warned them about; they chose to do exactly what He said they should not do. In that day they did die; they died spiritually, not physically. God withdrew His Spirit from within them. From that point, when they had children, their children were born in the image of Adam, spiritually dead, as mentioned in Genesis 5:3–5 (see also the other verses below):

Genesis 1:26–27   26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 2:16–17   16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Genesis 3:1–7   1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

Genesis 5:3–5   3 When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. 4 Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

Romans 5:14–21   14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus could not have a human father otherwise He would have been born in Adam’s image, spiritually dead:

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

New creation in Jesus Christ:

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

The whole gospel

Before salvation we faced two problems, we were:
1. alienated from God
2. dead in our sins (we were born spiritually dead)

Two parts to salvation:
1. reconciliation with God through the death of Christ
2. being made spiritually alive through the life of Christ

Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

John 3:16–18   16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

What is salvation? See verse 5, being made alive with Christ:

Ephesians 2:5–9   5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Galatians 2:20–21   20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

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