Do you Follow Christ or Christianity?

Most religiously sincere church going believers will not enter into Heaven. (Matthew 7:13-23)

There is a real and profound difference between being a follower of Christ and being a follower of the man-made religion called Christianity. Yet most people belong to the latter without realizing it.

The term “Christianity” is not found in the Bible, and Jesus did not come to create another religion called Christianity. He came to establish a Kingdom, calling people to complete surrender and obedience to His Kingship over their lives.

Christianity, as it exists today, is a human system built around His name, blending His teachings with cultural norms, traditions made by men, and personal preferences, and while it may look spiritual, it does not demand the same complete surrender that following Christ does.

Being a follower of Christ is twofold, it requires the complete surrender of the person's behaviors and purpose. While being a follower of Christianity only requires partial surrender; and only of behaviors not purpose.

A follower of Christ turns away from the old life, submitting all meaning and purpose completely to Jesus as Lord. A follower of Christianity, however, keeps their own meaning and purpose in life with some behavior modification.

Christianity exists in tens of thousands of variations, denominations, movements, and organizations, yet all of them share this common DNA that marks them as part of the same system, regardless of their differences in behavior modification.

Across its many branches, Christianity softens the call of Christ by allowing people to continue to keep most of their life while adding a few behavioral changes both of omission and commission.

We see that the many forms of Christianity, though different in behavioral doctrines, are not unrelated, but part of a single system, sharing the same spiritual DNA.

A person can test themselves to see if they belong to Christ or Christianity by asking a simple but vital question: has my old life been completely surrendered and replaced by the rule of Jesus, or has it merely been partially rearranged with some religious behavior modification?

If you find yourself to be a follower of Christianity, do what the Bible teaches us to do in that moment...

“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” -2 Corinthians 6:17