"Come Follow Me!" Jesus said. -By Brother Chuck
By Brother Chuck
Jesus never said come follow my religion. Jesus said, "Come, follow me... At once they... followed Him" (Matthew 4:19-20 NIV).
"God
hates religion," some have argued. I've argued it myself. And in some ways, that may be
true. There are an estimated
4,200 religions in the world today, according to Reference.com. These include Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism
and Judaism. There are many smaller yet still prevalent religions, such
as the Baha'i faith.
There are also numerous indigenous or folk religions throughout the world.
With this many religions in the world, it
creates much confusion. God is not the author of confusion. Although I've argued that God hates religion, Christianity is classified as a religion.
Do you think God is religious? God is fully committed to relationships, not so much religion. That is why Jesus said, "Come follow me." He didn't ask us to follow his religion. He asked us to follow Him. Christ has proven to be the most influential leader of all time. Even after his death some 2000 years later, 2.3 billion people around the world are still following Him today. Making Christianity the largest religion in the world. Christianity continues to grow.
Which
religion is true then? Is it Christianity? Or is it one of the 4,200 other religions?
Christianity has set itself apart from all other religions in the world.
Christianity is the only
religion built upon the person of Jesus Christ. One day, I ran into
an old friend from high school named Paul. I had become a Christian.
Paul had become a Unitarian. I was sharing the Gospel with Paul and
explaining that Christ was the only way to heaven. He looked at me smiling and replied, "Chuck, Chuck, Chuck, all roads lead to the top of the mountain." Is he right? Do all
roads lead to the top of the mountain? By that he meant all roads
lead to God and Christianity is not unique. It's just another on a long
list of other religions that all lead to God. Is that true? Could Paul be right? No! Definitely, no! Jesus couldn't have been more clear
when He said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6 NIV). In other words, Jesus was saying, "I am the [only] way [to God]. I am the [real] truth. I am the [real] life. And no one, [under any circumstance] comes to the Father [God] except through me."
Consider what sets Christianity apart from all other religions:
Christianity is the only religion built upon the person of Jesus Christ.
All other religions require man to reach up to God through his own efforts in an attempt to save himself. Only in Christianity does God reach down to man and save him by grace [unmerited favor] alone; no works required.
All other religions are made up of rules and requirements of conformity to pacify God. Only Christianity is a living, walking, talking real relationship with God.
Only Christianity looks to the Bible as it's one and only source for Truth, faith and practices of the Christian and the church.
Only Christianity is based upon the most amazing event in all of human history-the resurrection of Christ.
Perhaps, the resurrection is the most important event of all, because without it, Christianity does not exist, and our preaching and our faith is useless. "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." (1 Corinthians 15:14 NIV) But Christ did raise from the dead!
Only in Christianity did Jesus claim to be God, rise from the dead, raise others from the dead, walk on water and perform many other miracles. The lame did walk. The blind receive their sight. The deaf did hear. The lepers were cleansed and Christ conquered death through His resurrection. The Gospel is preached to the poor all around the world. Over and over again Jesus proved His claim of divinity. He alone is "the way the truth and the life" (John 14:6) and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Christianity indeed sets itself apart from all other religions in the world. Our relationship with God is not based upon the good works we do for God. It's based upon what He has done for us, on the cross. We are not trusting in our good works, our efforts, and our conformity to follow rules to save us. We're trusting in a Person, the Person of Jesus Christ.
Do you know how to become a Christian?
Do you know how to go to heaven? Let's get this matter settled once
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