In the religion of Christianity we see divisions. Did Jesus ever wish to establish a boundary called religion? Wasn’t his ideologies much above that?

Religion by definition is the service and worship of God or the supernatural. It is basically an effort made by man to connect with God – religare “to bind fast”. Christianity, in that sense can be called a religion, the largest one on earth with 2.4 billion people. But, if we look deeper into it, we would find that Christianity is not just about men trying to connect with God but is more about God calling us out of this world to connect with Him. That is why the word for “church” in Greek is “ekklesia”, which is made of two segments: ek, a preposition meaning “out of,” and a verb, kaleo, signifying “to call” — hence, “to call out.” The Church, therefore, consists of people whom God has called to become the body of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:14, Romans 12:5). 

Did Jesus want to call people out of their sinful ways to live a life of holiness? Yes, He did – “I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32) – and to make sure that this work is continued throughout the ages till the end times He establishes a Church – “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18).

What does this Church do? It continues to hold tight to the teachings of Christ, preaching the Gospel to the world and by doing so calls sinners to repentance. She, the Church, doesn’t create a boundary so as to restrict others from entering into the body of Christ but has always welcomed those who have knocked at her door and more importantly through her missionary work and evangelisation has gone out to invite others into the love of Christ.

As one can see, it’s not about whether Christ wished to establish a boundary called religion, but it’s rather about his wish to have a Church on Earth that can, by His grace, hold on to his teachings and ideology and continue his work – “to call out”. One analogy that could help us understand this comes from Christ himself: No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house (Matthew 5:15). The lamp is the Church and the flame that it holds forms the ideology and teachings of Christ and His apostles. The lamp doesn’t try to restrict the light being emitted from its flame but rather being placed on the lampstand by the owner of the house (God), calls out to its inhabitants to step out of darkness into the presence of the “Father of lights” – God. 

As for the presence of several divisions, it is a sad reality created as a result of man’s fallen nature. Let’s pray that one day Christ’s prayer – “that they may all be one” (John 17:21) – will come true through His grace and there would be only “one faith” and “one baptism” so that the world may believe that God the Father had sent Jesus Christ our Saviour (John 17:21).