Many religions have a lot of things in common with Christianity so what sets Christianity apart from these other religions.
The answer is Jesus.
Only Christianity says Jesus is the only Son of God and He came to the earth to save sinners and freely give them eternal life in Heaven. Jesus' life, ministry, death and resurrection are at the very heart of Christianity.
Our World Today
The growing and ever-present ideology in the world today is that you believe what you want to and that becomes your very own personal truth. Each person develops their own personal truth and the result of this is that there are no more absolute truths that people accept. This is called Post-modernism. An effect of post-modernism is religous pluralism which states that "all roads lead to the same place". This means that it does not matter which religion you follow or what "god" you believe in, as long as you are faithful you will go to Heaven.
This is wrong!
Another characterictic of other world religions is that some of them have Christian aspects mixed with error. Christianity is true and never mixed with error. Any error equals a false religion. these two characteristics, post-modernism and religions with Christian aspects mixed with error , give us the world that we have today. One of Satan's biggest weapons is confusion (Genesis 3:1)
Christianity: The Truth
- The truths of Christianity are consistent with history.
- The truths of Christianity are consistent with science.
- The truths of Christianity are consistent with reason.
Christianity is true in what it says about God. God is real and not just something humans came up with. He is self-existent and the creator of everything. God is eternal, holy and unchangable. God is also just. God is all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient) and God is everywhere (omnipresent). Two other very important aspects of God is that He is love and is personal. Throughout scripture, God has always been personal with His creation and He is so today.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." - John 3:16-17 (NIV)
Jesus: Our Salvation
Because God is love and He is personal, John 3:16-17 comes to life through His only Son Jesus Christ. It is here that one can see that Christianity is not just some religion where if we just follow the rules, go to church and act good enough we will go to Heaven when we die. NO! Christianity is not a religion but it is a relationship with Jesus Christ.
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life, No one comes to the Father except through me.'" - John 14:6 (NIV)
A Christian is one who believes in what Jesus has done for them:
- Jesus is the Son of God with all the characteristics of God (John 10:30).
- Jesus came to the earth though the virgin birth (Luke 1:26-33)
- Jesus was crucified on a cross, buried and rose from the dead to save humanity from their sins. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
Humanity Must Now Respond
God has spoken through His creation (general revelation: Rom. 1:20), through His written Word (special revelation: the Bible) and through the living Word, Jesus Christ (John 1:1).
Christianity does not teach that all people will go to Heaven nor can one earn their salvation with good works.
THE ONLY WAY TO RECEIVE THE FREE GIFT OF SALVATION IS BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST ALONE. (Romans 10:9-10)
Recap of Christianity
- Jesus is the one thing that separates Christianity from all other religions or cults.
- Christianity is the truth and all religions should be measured against it.
- The God of Christianity is the one and only true God.
- God has spoken to us through His creation (general revelation), through His written Word (special revelation), and through His Son, Jesus Christ.
- Christianity is more than a religion. It is a relationship with Jesus Christ.
- The only way to receive salvation and have eternal life in Heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ.
- The only way to be forgiven of our sins and be reconciled to God is through faith in Jesus Christ.
Discussion
Please leave a comment for the following:
- In a world that says there are no absolute truths and everyone develops there own truth, how do Christians convey the message of the absolute truth of Jesus Christ?
- Any other questions or comments from Lesson One: Christianity.
Bickel, Bruce and Stan Jantz. World Religions and Cults 101. (Harvest House Publishers: Eugene, 2002), 19-40.
5 comments:
I think one of the biggest ways that Christians should convey the message of the absolute truth of Jesus Christ is simply by living our lives as a reflection of Christ's teachings. This means that nonbelievers must be able to recognize and acknowledge our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In my mind, this relationship has to be what differentiates us from the other religions. He is our absolute truth! In addition, it is necessary for Christians to be able to back up with Scriptures why we believe what we believe. Certainly, if Christians have no basis for their beliefs, Christianity could be perceived by nonbelievers as "mixed with error" or worse, false. Unfortunately, this phenomena seems to already be occuring. So, I encourage us all to be ready to answer the hard questions, when nonbelievers are curious about our Christianity. Someone's salvation could depend on our answers.........
The scriptures tell us that we should always be ready to answer (1Peter 3:15). We should definitely live out in our lives what we are teaching. It will definitely make an impression on people if our words match our actions. I don't know what else we, as humans, can do. They have the responsibility to accept what is right and reject what is wrong. Too many people take what they believe in, what they would risk anything for too lightly and never investigate the truth. A person can be devout to any belief system and still live it out in everyday life; however, the receiver has to distinguish whether it is true or not.
This is a very good point and one that should challenge all Christians!
Being CONSISTANT in our Christian lives! People are hungry to find the meaninng/purpose of life. If they see a "real Christian" they will be drawn to the stability there is in Christ. When we as Christians have a history of walking with the Lord, the testimony of this is convincing. Live it, walk it, talk it, 24/7.
Let Christ do the convincing - not us.
As Christians, we must hold strong to our beliefs and not waver with the world! Hopefully, by conveying our faith in Jesus Christ to others they will see the truth with their own eyes. Prayer is also another important tool in helping lost people come to Christ. I have seen it with my own eyes, how through fervent prayer and faith that God will show His truth to others. We just can't waver in our belief in Jesus Christ no matter what the world around us says!
The world we live in today seems to have one goal of "taking out the Christians". While they are trying to remove everything that means something to us, we've got to constantly stand firm in our beliefs. We've got to show the unbelievers the life of Christ thru us. The way we live, deal with pressure, communicate with non-believers, and all the temptations the world tries to throw at us. Someone we do not even know should be able to look at us and tell that there is something special in our lives. That we have Jesus Christ living thru us all the time. ~~ In order for us to do this, we've got to make sure our relationship with God is growing each day. Our prayer life is growing all the time. Without this----we will not make it.
Post a Comment