I get it. Religion is not God. Religion doesn’t save your soul. Lots of people use religion to manipulate others. Many religions are false. Many evil things throughout history can be attributed to religion. I get it!

That being said, Christians have got to stop pretending that faith in Jesus isn’t religion. I understand that you want to distance yourself from false religion. But referring to yourself as a ‘Jesus follower’ doesn’t make you non-religious. You’re a religious person who doesn’t like the word, ‘religion.’

When a Christian trashes ‘religion’ it undermines the gospel. A Christian who ‘can’t stand religion’ but ‘loves Jesus’ is speaking nonsense. It’s like a person who ‘can’t stand pets’ but ‘loves her cat.’ It’s like testifying that you ‘hate automobiles’ but ‘love your pickup truck.’

It is incoherent to suggest that following Jesus will lead to life but following religion leads to death. Faith in Jesus IS the religion that leads to life. Those of you who are now going to accuse me of ‘worshiping my religion,’ should read the first paragraph again.

Trying to classify your faith as something other than religion doesn’t make you open-minded, tolerant, or enlightened. You’re just making conversations even more difficult. You’re combating false religion by creating a false religion.

Christians: stop trashing “religion” and then trying to talk about Jesus. Your double-mindedness is leading people away from the truth.

“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 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.”

(James 1:26)