One evening, I was leading a small discussion group on a retreat with other students at my college. In our group, we were discussing our personal faith journeys and how God has worked in our lives up until this point.
When it was her turn to share, one girl in my group made a statement that disappointed me a bit.
"I consider myself a religious person," she said. "And I'm pretty content with that."
Why did it disappoint me? Well, the girl was speaking about religion, not
faith, and there is a fine but distinct line between these two words.
I would define faith as "what we believe." Our beliefs in turn impact our values, actions and the choices we make. For me and many of you, we believe in the Christian faith. We have
faith in God our Father, the creator of the heavens and the earth. We believe that we are saved by the actions of His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. We have
faith in the fact that because Jesus was resurrected, we will too obtain eternal life at the close of our time on earth. We have
faith in the Holy Spirit who guides and convicts us each day of our lives.
I will provide a Scriptural definition of faith: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.... And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" - Hebrews 11:1-6.
Religion, on the other hand, refers to how we live out our faith. Religion includes all of the practices and rituals that take place in church that serve to strengthen our faith. To put it simply, religion without faith is dead. What's the purpose of all of the rituals and the motions without a firm conviction behind them? That conviction is our faith.
When I think about the rituals and rote actions that we often mechanically take part in at church, the song "The Motions" by Matthew West often comes to mind. The lyrics to the chorus are as follows:
I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"
In this song, Matthew West speaks out against the sense of complacency that often controls our life as Christians. Because we go to church every Sunday and dutifully say our prayers --- a.k.a going through the motions -- we believe that's all we need to do to be a good Christian.
I'm not saying that I'm not guilty of regressing into going through the motions. I often do fall back into that trap. But I'm actively trying to prevent myself from doing so. I understand that going to church means nothing if I don't completely devote my life to my faith -- my belief in the saving power of Jesus Christ.
Although I was disappointed in the statement my friend made about being content as a "religious person," I didn't say anything in return to avoid sounding judgmental towards her. As a retreat leader, should I have said something -- in order to lead my peer toward a deeper faith and not simply rote religion? Maybe.
What do you think is the difference between religion and faith? If you were in my shoes, what would you have told this girl to help her climb out of the rut of complacency with being "religious" and not "faith-filled?"
Comments (11)
And faith without specific practices is dead. We can't just go through the motions, but we cannot just say we have "faith" without doing those things that Jesus told us are necessary indicators, for lack of a better word at the moment, of our faith. I think you could have explained to her what you said in this post. Why are Christians so flummoxed at this idea of being "judgmental"? I think it comes from a massive misunderstanding of the term.
I have always liked the definition of faith as being testimony in action, or in other words, living and obeying what the Spirit has witnessed. Belief is passive. Faith is active. And you are right-on that it is faith that saves, not religion. It is only by faith that we desire to become Christ-like, and only through His Atonement that we can.
But religion is important in that it sometimes keeps us hanging in there, even if only by habit, until we gain a living faith in Christ. It is like the Law of Moses. It was a schoolteacher to Israel. Salvation could not come by the law, but its ultimate purpose was to lead the people to Christ if they followed it out of more than just blind obedience.
you might have asked her what she meant by religious...not all people mean the same things by the same words, there was one philosopher (i can't remember his name) who thought that all arguments and debates would be settled if we could just properly define all our words, and get all people to think of the same thing when a word is said.
You can be religious, but not faithful.
You can also be faithful, without being religious.
Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a
heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium
of the people. -Marx
God gains no pleasure from our rote and dry religion but He does when we love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength.
I do think especially given that you were in a position of leadership you should have challenged her on this. That's not being judgmental but rather you had a concern for her soul relationship with God. We are all responsible to encourage one another, spur one another on, admonish one another.
You could have pointed to the love relationship Jesus had with His Father and His desire not to do His own will but His Father's will and to glorify His father and finish His work.
You could have pointed her to the passion and intentionality of the Psalmists or to the apostle Paul, or even Hebrews 11. True faith manifests itself in works, it's not passive but active. You could have unpacked Heb. 11:6, especially focusing on "earnestly seek." "How did the Heb. 11 saints please God by their faith? How did they earnestly seek Him? How did they go beyond the minimum? Examine your own life. Are you really earnestly seeking Him as they did? Understand that He is not pleased w/ half-hearted and half-baked faith? We're to go 'with Him, with Him, all the way!'"
You can now be praying for an opportunity to speak w/ her again and for God to impress upon her her need to become a woman who earnestly seeks Him.
Interesting, I normally hear "religious" and "spiritual" being juxtaposed, not "religion" and "faith." I agree that faith needs to be embodied. James 1:27 says, "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." That is, faith embodied looks like this.
I am religious, but as has been noted, only because I have faith.
Perhaps you should have asked her what she meant. Often, people use common words incorrectly. Perhaps she assumed that 'being religious' meant she had faith. Perhaps she had faith, but not very strong or certain, yet acted in reliance upon her faith. I am not sure there's enough reported from her to really discern here.
Contrary to what some believe, religion and faith are not at odds. Indeed, religion without faith is dead. However, we have to see that the traditions and rituals of religion can help us to grow in faith, maintain faith, come back to our faith etc. As a Catholic, one of the wonderful experiences I have is the Eucharist. Whether I am with it or not, deep in faith or lost in doubt, Jesus is present in the Eucharist. That "religious" tradition (as many would deem it) is something that can supplement my faith.
However, my "religion" tends to help push me back to faith when I stray. In other cases, it may bring complacency, a sense of "Oh, I'm doing my duties so I don't need a personal relationship with God." It all comes down to the individual and how they understand and are motivated by God.
If the young lady is religious and her religion is according to the scriptures, then her faith is implicit to her religion."Religion" is used as a dirty word by some today, even professed Christians. Religion is ones service and worship of God. Our religion defines the principles we believe and live by and if your religion is from God you shouldn't be ashamed of being religious. To be a religious Christian necessarily demands you understand what is the will of God. For instance, Jesus established the "Lords Supper" before His death and commanded His disciples to do this as often as they gather. We know from example and inference that the disciples met on the first day of the week and obeyed the Lords instruction. This is then a religious practice that Christians must do to obey God’s will. There are denominations that choose, unscripturally, to make a show of the supper a few times a year, so this becomes their religion. Even though they observe the supper every first day of the week the Catholic church has perverted the elements of the supper into the actual blood and flesh of Christ. This is their religion that evolved a few centuries after Christ. We must search the scriptures diligently to determine that which is true and then live your faith religiously for God according to His Word. Being reigious is a good thing neighbor.
You ask the question "what would you have told this girl to help her climb out of the rut of complacency"...? If you are certain that her understanding of "religion" is the one to which you ascribe; then you certainly should have pursued a deeper discussion on the matter. However, she may see "religion" and "faith" as one in the same. In either case, the only way you can know her "beliefs" or understanding is to ask for clarification. This one question, "Can you elaborate on what you mean by saying you consider yourself a "relgious" person? What does that look like in the real world?
I believe it is encumbent upon us as brothers and sisters in Christ, to help one another "see" ourselves as we ARE and not as we may want others to think we are. By furthering this discussion, it would quickly become evident which understanding your friend has of relgion. It was an opportunity lost for both of you. You could have gained insight into your friend's heart, and she may have had a moment of enlightenment about herself.
Love never judges, but it always cares enough to give. In your case, your attempt at "protecting" your friend from embarassment was actually a lost opportunity for both of you. She didn't have the opportunity to have you "give" into her life and you missed an opportunity to look deeper into her life instead of being "disappointed".
God's love to you my friend.