You've most probably heard the popular cliché: "Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship."
I couldn't agree more. Nothing matters more in our Christian faith than a deep, growing and intimate relationship first and foremost with Jesus Christ.
But that doesn't mean the religion part doesn't matter anymore.
Church, communion, water baptism, and a lot of the Mosaic laws — these are just some of the few traditions that have been under attack. Some Christian circles have claimed that there's no longer any need for these since we're in the "New Covenant" now, and all that matters is the love of God. Yes, everything starts with love. But love will always lead to action, which includes the meeting of certain practices and traditions.
Tradition has long been part of our social practice as humans. We celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and certain victories. We have wedding ceremonies, morning habits, work meetings, and church events. All of these things are traditions that we keep for very good reasons.
It's true, however, that the potential danger at times is that we might focus too much on the externals that we risk losing the essence of the tradition.
But the solution to this lack of internal conviction is not to remove the tradition but simply to remember why we do what we do.
For instance, when Jesus called for communion as a tradition to be kept among believers, He instructed us to keep with the practice, doing it "in remembrance of [Him]." (1 Corinthians 11:24-25)
Jesus said this because He knew we would forget why we do what we do. But Jesus never called for the abolition of certain laws and practices.
Another example would be the Mosaic laws. While many dietary, civil, and customary laws are no longer applicable today, much of the Old Testament laws still have weight and bearing today. You can't be Christian if you say you don't follow the Ten Commandments anymore and thus will lie, steal and kill all you want.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
Jesus fulfilled the laws for us not because we would be excused from complying with them, but because He wanted to empower us to walk in His stature as well. Faith is not equivalent to justification minus works, but is equivalent to justification leading to good works.
Yes, Christianity starts with a relationship with Jesus, but the relationship we have with Him will always be primarily between Lord and follower, Father and child, God and creation.
This means we are to keep in His ways and follow traditions not because we are obliged to but because we are compelled by the love and relationship we have with Jesus, leading to obedience. Christianity is still a religion, but it is also so much more.
