Selfish Religion vs. Christianity

My weekly Bible study is a constant source of great questions. The folks that attend are a unique blend of inquiring minds. I am constantly astounded how deeply one can delve into the truths of the Bible and still not plumb its depths. The big question: What are the true differences between Christians and devotees of other religions?

We discussed many possibilities. One idea was that a relationship to Jesus was a sincere faith. Indeed, it can be alleged that Christian faith is the only true faith and therefore, since other faiths are based on faulty premises, perhaps the other faiths could not be truly sincere. I don't believe that to be the case. Their faith is misdirected, but I cannot agree with the view that believers of different faiths are any less sincere than a true disciple of Christ. There are thousands of young men and women wearing white dress shirts and ties, (young men!), that are spending a good chunk of their family's fortune riding their bicycles door to door spreading their version of the truth. I am sure that they are sincere. There are many men, women and children that are required to spend at least four hours per week passing out literature from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society to any and all who do not slam the door in their faces. The level of sincerity of these folks would have to be sky-high to trudge through that misery. In my opinion, the most obvious example of sincerity that we see in our world today are the suicide bombers that are dying for Allah. Surely sincerity is not where the difference lies.

Another thought was the so-called "changed life". In Christian-speak, the changed life means the noticeable difference that a true believer must experience in their life that demonstrates that conversion really happened. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." While this is absolutely true, one could easily argue that other faiths experience a "changed life". Believers in Christ know that the the changed life of which they speak is a supernatural event that involves the invasion of God's Holy Spirit into one's life, but to a non-believer that explanation may be clear as mud. He might argue that other faiths certainly exhibit some form of changed life. The followers of Jim Jones certainly experienced a HUGE change in their lives when they chose to follow him to Guyana. The Muslims that blow themselves up are changing their lives in a profound way! Even though true Christian believers can make a case here, I don't believe that the "changed life" is really the hallmark that sets us apart, unless we can better explain what that changed life looks like, and how UTTERLY UNIQUE it is.

I believe that the outward demonstration of the difference between true Christian faith and other faiths is the sacrificial life that is NOT a QUID PRO QUO. What do I mean by that? ALL other faiths involve sacrifice, but their sacrifice is a BUSINESS PROPOSITION. If I do this, then I get that. If I perform these sacraments then I can enter Heaven. If I live a good life then I will earn eternal life. If I blow myself up, I am rewarded with seventy virgins. All other religions are a quid pro quo, or an exchange of one thing for another.

OK, now here's where my argument gets a bit sticky. Some people will allege that the Christian life is the same kind of DEAL. If I "ask Jesus into my heart", then I get to go to Heaven. This for that. I disagree completely.

First, I would take issue with the phrase "ask Jesus into my heart", since the Bible nowhere speaks of such a concept, but I'll save that argument for another day. Second, I would allege that the faith that one exercises is a GIFT of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (For those of you that might insist that the "it" in the italicized phrase is referring to "grace" rather than "faith", I would refer you to James White's article on the technical proof of the meaning of this verse in Greek - http://aomin.org/index.php?itemid=630 ) Philippians 1:29 "For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake." (italics mine) Third, I would assert that from a HUMAN standpoint, Heaven is NOT the TV portrayal that most people believe in. It is not that great golf course in the sky. It is not the great entertainment center. It is NOT ABOUT US! It is about God, HIS glory and how WE give it to Him. If we look at the eternity that Christians will spend in Heaven, it would repulse the unregenerate mind. From a selfish HUMAN standpoint, who would WANT to worship God and give Him glory for eternity? Wouldn't that be like going to a boring church service 24/7/365? The Christian "quid pro quo" is dying to ourselves daily in gratitude for the opportunity to worship God forever. In Luke 14 we find three warnings. Jesus said that we cannot be His disciples unless we sacrifice of our earthly relationships. (verse 26) He said that we cannot be His disciples unless we sacrifice our hopes, dreams and all of our earthly desires. (verse 27) Lastly, He said that we cannot be His disciples unless we sacrifice all of our earthly possessions. (verse 33)

If we examine the Christian life in comparison to the life of other faiths, the difference is obvious. The Christian is supernaturally driven to sacrifice all that he has, and all that he is for God and others, and he does so out of pure gratitude for a the gift of an eternal relationship with God, that he already received in full, in the past. In other words the believer in Christ will sacrifice all today with nothing to "gain"in the future. God will not love the believer one bit more if he gives $1 million to the church, or goes on a 3 year mission to Irian Jaya, or if he sacrifices his life for a stranger. (God will not love the true believer one bit LESS if he treats his wife poorly, or blows off Sunday services to play golf, or if he swears loudly at his TV when his favorite team loses!) God's love is INFINITE for His children. Those acts all affect the believer's RELATIONSHIP to God at that moment, but not God's LOVE for him.

As a final "proof", look at the "Hall of Fame of Faith" in Hebrews chapter 11. Here we see the DEMONSTRATION, or the PROOF of the faith of true believers. Notice that these acts all have one thing in common. They are all humanly COUNTER-INTUITIVE. They are certainly NOT an exchange of one thing for another. All of these people are walking with God and are guaranteed to have eternal fellowship with Him in His Heaven. In spite of this guarantee, these people do things like building a boat in the middle of nowhere, miles from any water because God told them to. They sacrifice the son that they waited 100 years to have, just because God asked them to. They were sawn in two, just to follow their savior.

The changed life that makes NO SENSE in human terms is the real demonstration of the difference between Christians and followers of man-made, man-centered religions.

His servant,

D. L. Culiver