Is One Religion As Good As Another?

 (Sermons, List 1)

Text:  Acts 4:11-12:

      This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.  

Introduction

      This sermon is titled with a question, namely: "Is one religion as good as another?" It's a legitimate question, one many persons have asked. And it deserves an answer. However, the answer has to depend on what is meant by the word ‘religion,’ and why a particular “religion” is under consideration. Is it supposed to do something for the practitioner? Does the something have anything to do with atonement for sin as a prerequisite for eternal life?

Suppositions

I suppose most of you have heard it said, "It doesn't matter what you believe, so long as you are sincere about it"? That is not a wise attitude. Poisons can make you sick, and they may kill you if you ingest them, regardless of your “beliefs.” You’ve probably heard “ignorance is bliss” too, but don’t count on it. Know what you believe and why you believe it. If you make the wrong choice you will be stuck with it eternally.

One God

Many people think all roads lead to heaven.  They believe God accepts anyone, no matter how He is approached, and under whatever name they choose to call Him. Those folks are wrong. Although there are many ‘gods,’ there is one ‘God.’ In Genesis 1:1 he is called ‘Elohym,’ and He is credited, rightfully, as The Creator of all things.

As the New Testament indicates, one of God’s names is Jesus. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4). Exodus 6:2-3 says He “appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty” but stated that He was also LORD (Hebrew  ‘YHWH,’ which is traditionally ‘Jehovah.’ (NKJV).

Psalm 145 describes The LORD God. He is not vindictive, and we shouldn’t be either. In fact, He reserves vengeance for Himself. (Romans 12:19). He “is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” (Psalm 145:8).  And He “is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18) However, God can be approached today only in the Name of His Son Jesus, Who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6).

Definitions

My dictionary defines religion, generally, as “an expression of belief in a divine or super-human power, or powers, to be obeyed and worshiped as the creator(s) and ruler(s) of the universe - often involving a code of ethics and a philosophy." I said ‘generally’ because atheism is a religion too. Theirs is a disbelief system. It takes misguided faith to believe the Universe resulted from happenstance.

Anyway, that dictionary named Christianity, Buddhism, Humanism, and Cleanliness as possible examples of religions. Those choices provide a major clue concerning the fallacy of the "all roads lead to heaven theory." For instance, cleanliness can easily protect a man from several types of physical problems, including some dread diseases, but the relief is only physical. Personal cleanliness cannot wash away sin or guaranty eternal life.

No condemnation

Sin is a serious matter.  If you are seeking freedom from condemnation for your sin you should go where you can actually find it. Romans 8:1-4 points the way: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

If you are living under condemnation, submit to Jesus.  Allow Him to help you live for God and be led by His Spirit. You won't get another chance to find His peace after you die. As 2 Corinthians 6:2 says,  “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Original Sin

Adam died spiritually when he sinned.  You and I inherited his dead, sinful nature, which involved a dead, or inoperable spirit. From birth, the sinful, fleshly nature dominates us. Our impotent spirits need the infusion of God's eternal life that comes from a spiritual re-birth.

John's Gospel records the event where Nicodemus went to Jesus with questions about salvation. Jesus told him he had to be born again. (John 3:1-15). The born-again experience becomes ours when we receive it through faith in the completed work of God’s crucified and risen Son.

The Apostle Paul spoke to born-again Christians at Ephesus when he said, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins." The Ephesians received spiritual life because of Jesus' sacrifice. It was a life-giving experience. Their new life was recognizable to them and to others who knew them well.

Many gods

The names of Allah, Baal, Brahma, Buddha, Confucius, Hari Krishna and other gods do not bring peace to troubled souls. They cannot lead men to the heaven where Jehovah Jesus is preparing places for the redeemed. (John 14:1-3).

False god-makers get their directions from Satan. (John 8:44).  That liar hates men as well as God. He works hard at keeping men from finding peace and salvation in Jesus. That’s why there are so many religions. Satan is always busy deceiving men and women. When one ploy doesn’t work he invents another.

Looking for God

Religion cannot save anyone. But we need to be saved - from the results of original sin and from the demands of the flesh that make us selfish. Christianity is the only belief system that can even approach that goal. However, despite the dictionary definition, Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship with Christ.

The Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe who made man in His own image, assigned us a strict standard of behavior that no man other than Christ ever kept. All others have "sinned and fallen short of" God's glory.” (Romans 3:23). We have not met God’s standard but we have earned a reward, one we cannot appreciate.

Judgment 

Romans 6:23 refers to that reward as “the wages of sin,” and calls it "death." And the worst part of death is spiritual rather than physical. Spiritual death results in separation from God, leaving the ‘dead’ person to exist away from any semblance of God’s mercy eternally.

Men don’t endure forever in the flesh. Our bodies are temporary residences. As Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Judgment brings spiritual death to lost sinners. They are separated eternally from God - in a place all of us should want desperately to avoid.

Escape

Although no one can escape judgment, born-again Christians can escape the penalty sin earns by resting in the salvation Jesus provided at Calvary. Hell is not for Christians. It was made for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41). The grace of God that saves us from sin’s penalty brings us eternal life with the Savior.

Religion

How do the religions of the world treat the sin problem?  They prescribe rituals for men to perform in attempts to save themselves. Those rituals do not remove sin or guilt. The harder men work at them the worse they feel and the more hopeless it seems. 

Christianity

How does Christianity treat the sin problem?  Our God made provision to pay our debt for us. As Jesus of Nazareth, God stepped into History and took our sin on Himself. We can be free from sin's penalty, and from our personal guilt, by accepting Jesus’ payment as His gift to us. John 3:16-18 says: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Jehovah Jesus

Jesus is our object of worship. We who were lost in sin revere Him as the “author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2). One day, “every tongue” will “confess that” He “is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:11). In the mean time, God does not want anyone to go lost.  He is not willing for anyone to perish. (2 Pet. 3:9). He accepts all who seeks salvation on His terms. (John 6:37).

Terms

Salvation’s terms include faith in the God who said, “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6). In order to be saved, sinful men must repent for their misdeeds and believe God will save them when they ask in Jesus’ name. 

Jesus is the Jews’ Messiah and the world’s Savior. He is the  "'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:11-12). Salvation is a gift all Jews will accept eventually. (Zechariah 12:10). In the mean time, it is available to everyone as a gift Jesus paid for at Calvary. The price of our salvation was His broken body and His shed blood. His offering paid our penalty and assures eternal life for all who believe. (Acts 16:31).

The living Savior

Although Jesus died at Calvary He did not stay dead. After three days He rose again. His grave is empty. He is alive in Heaven now where He makes intercession for us. (Heb. 7:25 & 12:2). Can the same be said for Buddha, or Mohammed, or Confucius, or any other founder of any other religion? No!  They are all dead, many in graves clearly marked for their followers to find.

Ignoring facts does not change them. Forgiveness can be had, to allow you to escape the penalty of your sin, but only from The LORD God for Jesus sake.

There are no second generation Christians. No one can                                                               depend on another person's relationship with Christ to save him. We can be saved only as a result of our personal trust in God and our commitment to Him.

All bad

Is one worldly religion as good as another? Yes, but they are also equally bad. None is worth anything more than the exercise it generates. Many men have initiated religions but none of them ever finished the job. All religions leave men lost, looking for God in the wrong places. Men find Christianity only when they realize that God is looking for them.

How about you?

Are you a born-again Christian? Be careful. Don't consider yourself one simply because you live in a Christian nation, or because you associate with a ‘Christian’ organization. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security. Be sure you are born-again spiritually (John 3:7), having initiated a personal relationship with Christ. And be sure He is the object of your worship. (Luke 4:8).

Luther

Martin Luther served as a priest in a religious system he examined diligently. He found real hope only when he trusted in the righteousness of Christ. (2^nd Corinthians 5:21). We cannot earn righteousness for ourselves and we cannot profit from the righteousness of departed “saints.”  “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5).

As Martin Luther discovered, “The just shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4). Those words are repeated three times in the New Testament. Each of them ties the “faith” that counts to Christ alone.  Romans 1:16-17 puts it like this: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for every‑one who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The Just shall live by faith.’”

All alike

No worldly religion can save you. In that respect they are all alike. None of them can prepare anyone for eternity with God. Put your trust in Jesus alone, and look for Him only in Christianity. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. (Heb. 12:2). His is the “only name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).

Pure religion

Now, if you want to now how God wants men to be religious, without need for observing any of the world’s religions as such, look at the Book of James. He does not require us to observe a set of rules for salvation. He does want the saved ones to practice self-denial by demonstrating compassion for their neighbors. James said it like this: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27).

Note: The Greek word translated to “visit,” in that passage (KJV), was used in only three other places in the New Testament, each of which described a ‘visit’ that brought positive benefits to the “visited ones.” (Acts 7:23, Acts 15:14 and Acts 15:36.

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D. E. Beneze, Colorado Springs, CO, 25 October 2006. Used at Rapid City, SD, 6/14/81, and at Salida, CO, 11/15/92.  Latest update 6/13/2007.