Living Spring 活泉-Vol8-2016

Religion
vs. Christianity
What’s the difference?
author unknown
“Why are you Christians always sending missionaries
overseas? People have their own culture, their own
religion, why don’t you just leave them alone?!” This is
one of the most common statements we hear as we
lecture on college and university campuses throughout
the United States and around the world. Students and
faculty often jeeringly ask us, “What is so special about
Christianity, different from every religion in the world?” To
be sure, this is a very significant question; and probably
one of the most significant questions that any Christian
could ask themselves: what is so special about Jesus
Christ?
Our family has a close friend named Lou. Lou grew up
in the nation of Thailand and he was a Buddhist for the
first 20 years of his life until he met some Christian
missionaries who introduced him to Jesus Christ. If you
were to ask Lou today, “What is so special about Jesus
Christ and Christianity different from every other religion
in the world?” Lou would share with you the following
story:
“When I was a Buddhist I felt like I was in the middle of a
large lake. I was drowning and I didn’t know how to swim.
As I struggled to keep my head above water, I looked out
towards the shore and saw Buddha walking up to the edge
of the lake. I was going under for the third time, when
suddenly Buddha began shouting out instructions to me,
teaching me how to swim. Buddha shouted, ‘Kick your
legs and paddle your arms.’ But then Buddha said, ‘Lou,
you must make it to shore by yourself.’ As I desperately
struggled to follow the instructions of Buddha, I looked
out towards the shore again, but this time I saw Jesus
Christ walking towards the edge of the lake. However,
Jesus did not stop at the edge of the lake. Jesus dove
into the lake and he swam out and rescued me! And
once Jesus had brought me safely back to shore, then
he taught me how to swim, so that I could go back and
rescue others!”
You see, this is the key difference between Christianity
and every other religion in the world: Christianity is not a
religion! What are religions? Religions are about human
attempts to make our lives right with God, through our
good works, sacrifices, rituals, and money. However,
Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is about God
entering human history to graciously save men and
women through His Son Jesus Christ. It is only by placing
our faith in Jesus Christ and submitting to his Lordship
that we will be saved.
A relationship with God will never be found in any religion,
because religions only offer swimming lessons to people
drowning in the sea of sin. And it doesn’t matter how
sincere or devout you are in your religious faith and
practice, because the sea of sin is eternally immense.
The only hope for men and women drowning in the sea
of sin is Jesus Christ. God entered human history in the
person of Jesus Christ; he dove into the sea of sin in
order to save desperate and drowning people. If you’ll
allow him to take you there, he’ll hold you in his loving
arms and bring you safely to shore. And after arriving
safely to shore, then your swimming lessons begin, so
that you can go back and rescue others!
FEATURE
Living Spring
39