Jesus is inseparable from church and religion— assuming we're talking about the right church and the right religion. The challenge comes when we see people in imperfect churches, practicing an imperfect religion. These manmade contradictions can be a turnoff. However, that does not mean we have permission to form our own version of Jesus. The Jesus who is the Word of God and who is Himself God has taught us to worship with His people and to serve Him in a specific kind of way. All other forms of church and religion will fall short. So, it becomes our responsibility to diligently discover what Jesus wants from His people, and to fellowship with Jesus and His people by practicing our faith in the correct way. We need to find the true church of Christ.
Before outlining some Bible passages which demonstrate this, it is helpful to accurately define our terms. When the Bible is talking about "church", it is not referring to the building or to a specific denomination or sect of Christianity. In the Bible, "church" literally means "assembly", or in some sense, "the people who are called out for service" (see also "Why are There So Many Churches?"). In 1 Timothy 3:15, Jesus' church is more specifically referred to as "God’s household", "the church of the living God", or the "pillar and foundation of the truth". Using these biblical definitions should help us. We're not looking to be a part of another manmade group. God did not plan to separate us according to our preferences and traditions. When we're looking to be part of a church, we are simply looking to be Christians, a part of God's family known as the one true church. We are added by God to a specific group of people, which He designates as His church.
Some people like checklists, and some people don’t (especially in religion). If you’re looking for some specific requirements that a Christian should be practicing– hang in there! We’ll get there soon enough. First, let’s establish some common ground by defining the word "religion". The generic definition is a system of faith, worship, and practice. By this definition, every religious group has their own rules for what they believe, how they worship, and what they practice in everyday life. However, The New Testament does not lay out multiple choices for the religion of Christianity. There is only one correct religion, which the Bible generally refers to as "the faith". So, just as we're looking to be part of the one true church, we want to make sure we are practicing the one true faith, or the system of teaching found in the New Testament as taught by Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Ephesians 4:5 says, "[There is] one Lord, one faith, one baptism," (CSB).
In order to demonstrate that Jesus expects "religious adherence", consider Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount. By most religious standards, the sermon contains timeless moral principles we should live by. However, more than that, the sermon makes a careful distinction between those who practice a shallow form of religion and those who follow Jesus by practicing a higher standard of faith and obedience. Jesus said in Matthew 5:20, "For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses (emp. added) that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven." The scribes and Pharisees were the religious and moral zealots of the day. Jesus did not say that those religious zealots were taking things way too seriously and needed to dial it back some. Rather, His point was that our religion needed to go deeper than surface level requirements. For example, He said in verses 21–22, "You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder… But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” After following with several similar examples comparing a shallow religion to a deep practice of Christianity, Jesus says in verse 48, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Our reaction to a false and shallow religion should be a desire to dig deeper to be like God, not to abandon religion altogether.
Jesus goes on to say in the Sermon on the Mount,
"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.... “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash." (Matthew 7:21; 24–27).
So, the Sermon on the Mount makes it clear that we cannot have Jesus without religion (a system of faith, worship, and practices).
The Bible shows us how the early church carried out these teachings of Jesus. After the church was started on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, for example, Christians were adhering to a specific form of religion. Acts 2:41–47 says,
"So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved."
The church from day one practiced a religion which included, baptizing, adhering to the apostles' teaching, fellowshipping, breaking of bread, praying, giving and sharing, and praising God. All of these practices are still followed by churches of Christ all over the world today. Anyone practicing less than these falls short of what Jesus expected from His people.
Practicing religion with the church is not only adhering to Jesus' teachings, but it also puts us in closer fellowship with God and other Christians. In Ephesians 5:18–21, the Apostle Paul writes to the churches in Ephesus, "Be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of Christ." This passage tells us how the Christian can "be filled with the Spirit" or in other words, "to have fellowship with God". It says to 1) address one another, 2) sing and make melody to the Lord, 3) give thanks to God, and 4) submit to one another. While this list does not include every practice of the church needed to bring one closer to God, it does show us that some religious activities will accomplish that. You cannot have fellowship with God without church and religion.
Overall, there is a better question than "Can I serve Jesus without joining a church and practicing religion?" That kind of question implies that a shallow faith might be okay, but Jesus never taught that. Instead, the question we should be asking ourselves is, "In order to serve Jesus faithfully, how can I become part of the one true church and take part in the one true faith?" If that is what you wish to do, then we want to encourage you in that. Let us know how we can help deepen your study of God's word. If you want us to put you in touch with a local church practicing and teaching these things, connect with us through our homepage or through social media. We're happy to make connections all over the world between truth seeker and the true church.