What Makes Christianity Unique?
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It is interesting that Christianity is unique when it comes to THE most important question: what happens after you die?
All other religions require works of some sort. Christianity alone (not Catholicism, but true Christianity) says, there is nothing you can do. Only God can save you.
Islam: says that, if your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, you'll go to paradise, and only Allah knows what your status is. There is a shortcut to paradise by being a martyr.
Hinduism: you must do well in whatever your position is in this life. If you do well, you will come back (reincarnated) at a higher level.
Catholics: to go to heaven a Catholic must be e baptized in the Trinitarian formula, they must observe the Catholic sacraments, and they cannot die with any unconfessed mortal sins. If they fail in any of these areas, they can work out their sin debt in purgatory.
Mormons: believe that everyone goes to heaven, except for those Mormons who leave the Mormon church. There are multiple levels of heaven and to get to the higher levels requires a lot of work, in particular obedience to the church in whatever they ask you to do. If you are a man who does all that is required, you can become a god of your own planet.
Christianity: there is nothing you can do to get into heaven. You have broken God's laws (see the The Good Person Test), and have earned the just penalty. Everyone on earth is in the situation. So God came to earth as a man, died on the cross in your place, paying the penalty you've earned for breaking God's laws. God, Jesus Christ, did it all. If you trust this is true and accept this gift, it is yours. But you can't even do that on your own, so God gives you the faith to believe (Ephesians 2:8-9). God does it all. Trust Him.
Christianity does not require you to do anything... nothing. However, when you become a Christian your desires change and you will want to get baptized. You will want to be with other Christians (attend church). You will want to help others. But you do this things not as a result of an external compulsion imposed by your religion, but as the result of an internal desire. That's the difference between Christianity and all other religions. God does it all, and our response is one of love.
What Makes Christianity Unique? (GQ)
Questions about Christianity (GQ)
Many people, when they die, will stand before Jesus and say:
Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? - Matthew 7:22
And Jesus will say to them:
I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. - Matthew 7:23
Get your Bible out and read Matthew 7:21-23. These are some of the most frightening verses in the Bible.
They describe people who believe with all their heart that they are saved. They have no doubt that they know Jesus and they've done many great things that prove this is true. Put Jesus says, 'Depart from me...' He doesn't know them.
Are you truly trusting Jesus? Scripture says to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). Have you done that?
Do you read your Bible regularly? Do you fear false teaching? Are you growing in your obedience to God? Are you growing in your understanding of what God wants? Do you regularly share the good news about Jesus with others?