A question I get all the time is “Don’t all religions teach similar lessons?” It’s true. Christianity has a lot of similar teachings to other religions. That seems to lead people to believe that it is just “another way” amongst all the “other ways” that lead to God. But what I want to explore today is the different concepts between Christianity and some of the major world religions. And how Christianity stands apart.

Works vs Grace

All the major world religions are focused on what you do as an individual. You get to paradise, Nirvana, etc. through your own works. Your good deeds have to outweigh your bad deeds. There is no salvation. God does not come down to save you; you have to go up to God. It’s the opposite in Christianity. From the beginning, God shows that we can’t get to him because our sin has separated us from him. Our sins taint our good deeds and cannot please God. So instead of us climbing the ladder to God; God comes down to take us up. That’s done through the cross of Christ. 

Historically Verifiable

Every single religious leader who has ever lived has died and stayed in the grave… Except one. Christianity has something unique amongst the other faiths. The truth of Christianity hinges on a real historical event… The resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus rose from the dead then that’s it Christianity is true! If the resurrection didn’t happen then Christianity is false. That’s what it boils down to. The very Bible tells us that if Christ is not raised from the dead then our faith is useless and futile (1 Cor. 15). No other religion has this kind of historical resurrection from the dead. Some have said there are many resurrections in other religions that existed before Christianity. For example Osairis and Odin. But when you study those other “resurrections” you see that the figures who came back were not real historical figures and/or were raised back in some spiritual way, not physically or historically. That’s very different from what Jesus did.

Assurance of Salvation

John writes this in his first epistie (not the gospel) “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13)” This is the most important one for me. Knowing that you are saved and that heaven awaits you in the next life. Jesus died for all of our sins so that we can be clean before God. Jesus finished the work that needed to be done on the cross. This is why Jesus says in the Gospel of John “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life (John 5:24).” It goes hand in hand with the idea of works vs grace. There’s nothing more that you can do to get to heaven and because of that, you don’t have to wonder if you’ve done enough. The truth is you haven’t and you never will. But Jesus has done more than enough for you, me, and the world.

These are just a few of the differences, but there are many more. To bring this all home I want to share some final thoughts. A lot of people who I’ve talked to are super focused on the question “How can we know for sure?” If that’s where you’re at; then check out Jesus! Here’s why. At the end of the day in Hinduism, there is no way to know if anyone breaks the cycle of reincarnation and achieves Moksha. In Islam, there is no way to know if Allah is merciful enough to let anyone into paradise. In Buddhism, there’s no way to know if anyone achieves Nirvana. This is the case for every world religion. There are no guarantees that you’ll go to a better place. But isn’t it the same for Christianity? No. Why do we believe in heaven? Because someone came from heaven and told us that there is a heaven. Jesus. Why do we believe him? Well, he promised that there is life after death. He proved it by physically dying on a cross and showing back up three days later! American apologist Dr. Frank Turek said this in one of his conference Q&As “If a guy predicts his own death and resurrection and pulls it off. I’m just going to do what that guy says.” Jesus also made another promise in John 14. That he’s coming back for us! He’s coming back to make everything right and rid the world of pain. He’s coming to turn sorrow into joy and “no one will take your joy for you (John 16:22).”

Hope this helps! God Bless