Kingdom of Life

“What is Christianity?”

‘Christianity’ is a word for the religion of those who believe in God, believe in His Son Jesus, and strive to do what the Bible says. It is the word for our religion that is probably best known among the general public. Therefore it is a useful starting point. But that is all it is; it may even be a little misleading.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines religion as “the service and worship of God or the supernatural.” Religion is our response to God; it is a human endeavor. Religion is not what God is doing, it is what we are doing in response to God. We don’t believe in a religion, we believe in God. Furthermore, the word ‘Christianity’ does not appear anywhere in the Bible. We don’t believe in a religion called Christianity constructed by people. We believe in truth from God, stated in the Bible, manifested in Jesus Christ and communicated through the Holy Spirit.

The Bible does have the word ‘Christian’. It refers to a follower of Christ. The first Christians referred to themselves as “brothers”, “disciples”, those “who belonged to the Way” (Acts 9:2), and so on. ‘Christian’ is a term that non-believers started using to refer to those first believers; before long, believers had adopted it as a name for themselves. A Christian believes in God, that the Bible is God’s Word (is from God), and that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, and he or she trusts in Jesus for salvation from death and does what the Word says.

“Jesus replied, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.’” (John 14:6-7)

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26)