Don’t all religious basically teach the same thing?
No,they are not all the same!
Christianity teaches that in salvation we experience forgiveness for the sins in our life and realize a new relationship with Jesus that comes only through the exercise of what faith we have in Him. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that is not from yourself, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
Good works are wonderful. They represent, for the Christian, our desire to show our love for and commitment to God. They are an expression of thankfulness for the grace that God has shown us. Good works are an outgrowth of our faith, but they do not bring about salvation – only God’s grace and faith can do that.
In John 14:6 Jesus said: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus makes it clear that there is no other way of salvation other than believing in Him. There is no path to salvation through our own effort, or our own good works.
Many people are misled, and believe that if they just work harder and do more good things to please God, then they will be assured of salvation. But Jesus, in His own words disputes this. Paul, also in Ephesians 2:8-9 says that: For it is by grace you have been saved – through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
Many other religions and sects base their salvation on how many good works they can do on earth. But scripture makes it clear that there is no amount of good works that we can do in our lifetime to attain salvation. Salvation is a free gift from God. It is a gift of grace. Jesus took my sins and the sins of the world “on His back” to the cross. Only then would God be able to forgive you and me. It is not our good works that caused God to forgive us and grant us salvation. It is because God loves us so much that He sent his son – Jesus – to the earth so that the one and final payment for man’s sins could be atoned or paid for. God has done the work of forgiveness because of His great love for us. Our good works are a response to that great love. Our good works are an expression of our gratefulness and our love for God.
- Rev. Bill Mason
