In our third blog, we discussed “What is the point of Christianity if Christianity is not a religion?” This blog was the third installment of a series of the 5 R’s, answering the question of “What is the point of Christianity?” The complete list of 5 R’s is Reality, Not Simply Religion, Broken Relationships, Restored Relationships, and the Resurrection. In today’s episode, we will dive into the third R, “What is the point of Christianity if I have a broken relationship with God?”
What’s the point of Christianity If I Have A Broken Relationship With God?
The point of Christianity, if you have a broken relationship with God, is to have a restored relationship with Him. Now, this may sound high and lofty and, to some, even somewhat nonsensical. However, Jesus says this: “For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”- John 3:17.
To understand this verse, we need to have a little context as to what is going on in the passage as a whole. This verse is taken from a point when someone in the Bible had a very similar what’s the point of Christianity question. This person’s name was Nicodemus.
Nicodemus is a Pharisee. A Pharisee is a man who belonged to a religious leadership sect and, in many cases, were Rabbis (the people who taught their version of church). In addition to this, they were experts in the law.
Nicodemus saw the miracles that Jesus was able to perform and knew that, without a doubt, he was from God. In fact, many of the other Pharisees saw that Jesus was someone from God. Not only did Nicodemus know this, but he knew that there must be something to learn from Jesus. In this conversation, Nicodemus is told by Jesus that He is here to save the world.
At this time, the Jews were waiting for God’s Son to come and save them. Many people believed that this saving would happen through overthrowing existing governments and putting the Jewish leadership back into power.
Let’s take a look at this verse again, though. This verse states that Jesus came to save the world, not to judge it. This shows us that Jesus’ answer to “what is the point of Christianity if I have a broken relationship with God” is this: I am here to bring you back to a right relationship with God. There is no judgment of you, there is no anger towards you, simply let me bring you back to a relationship with God in spirit and in truth.
What’s The Point Of Christianity If I Can’t Have A Relationship With God On My Own?
The point of Christianity if you can’t have a relationship with God on your own is because you can’t be perfect. God gave us His laws by giving them all to Moses. These laws are recorded in the book of Leviticus. However, to keep all the laws would mean that you would have to never waiver or falter in the 613 laws that are outlined in the Bible.
Jesus did just this! He followed all 613 laws to the letter. He was then killed by the religious leaders for saying that He lived without sin and was God in human form.
So the point of Christianity if you can’t have a relationship with God on your own is this, Jesus lived the perfect life so that you don’t have to. When you fail and falter, Jesus’ perfection covers your sin. All you simply must do is believe that Jesus is Who God sent to the world to live a perfect life for you. This gives you the ultimate promise of salvation even though your sin says that you deserve otherwise.
What is The Point Of Christianity If I Can’t Fix My Relationship With God?
The point of Christianity if you can’t fix your relationship with God is that you were never supposed to fix the relationship in the first place. As we talked about earlier, there are 613 laws that need to be kept to be in perfect unity. And only if you do that are you able to stand before a holy, almighty Creator. These laws vary from seemingly obvious laws, such as not to murder, to some laws that do not seem to make sense anymore, such as dietary restrictions.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:17 “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”
To understand this verse more, let us look at what Jesus is actually saying. At this time, many religious leaders were concerned that Jesus was coming to overthrow the law and what the prophets had said. This would mean Jesus was trying to start a revolt against God’s chosen people. Yet, let’s look at the words of Jesus.
Jesus clearly tells the leaders that He is here to fulfill the law and what the prophets say. The biggest thing that the prophets say is that there will be a promised Messiah that will take away the sins of the world. We see this in the book of Daniel, Chapter 9, verse 24, which says, “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the wrongdoing, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.”
This passage predicts what Jesus claims He is here to do. Completely fulfill the law and atone for the sins of the world.
Additionally, we see that Jesus is recognized by John the Baptist as the person who puts an end to sin. In the gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 29, John the Baptist is recorded to say this. “The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
The only way we, as people, are able to stand before a Holy God is if there is no hint of sin among us. Think of a hint like someone who has a severe allergy. If someone were to partake in a food dish that contained even a slight amount of the food item, it would cause serious damage to them.
This is how it is with God. Because He is so holy, He can have no room for sin in His presence. To allow something that would be outside of His nature would be as if someone had an allergic reaction. It would have to be removed or corrected.
Our sin is like living in a constant state of being an allergen. It is not possible for us to live sinless lives. To sin is the natural inclination of the human condition.
So how, then, are we able to have a “corrected relationship” with God if we are not capable of doing it on our own? How do we stop being the “allergen” that needs to be removed or corrected? The answer comes down to a simple one-word answer, “Faith.”
The point of Christianity, if we can’t fix our own relationship with God, is that our faith in Jesus removes the “allergen” of our sin. Jesus is the only One Who is capable of following every letter of the law because He, in fact, is God. Our faith, in turn, must be in Him alone. His works alone. And that this exclusivity is what restores our relationship with God.
Broken Relationship With God | Conclusion
The whole point of Christianity and having a broken relationship with God is to have that relationship permanently restored. We as people will never be able to have a correct relationship with God on our own merit. We are sinful people who, even when trying our best, fail and are unable to “balance out” the scale of good deeds over bad deeds.
This is where we need our one and true savior Jesus to come and take the punishment of our sins for us. As the book of Daniel says, “to make an end to sin.” However, the easiest and most difficult thing about this idea is that we need to put our faith in Jesus and outside of ourselves.
This simple child-like faith is how we have a corrected relationship with the almighty God. A relationship that lets us call out to Him in our moments of joy, despair, and everything in between. You see, the point of Christianity when you have a broken relationship with God is to come back to the family you were designed to be a part of, God’s family.