In Part 1, we discussed the fact that there are over 2,000 differing religions. We discussed the fact that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with God Himself. Because none of the world’s 2,000 religions agree completely, that limits the truth to just one religion. The question now becomes, which religion is the true religion? Is there a way to measure truth? To the open-minded, I believe there is. To those who have already closed their minds to the truth, there is not.
If only one religion is the truth, there must be something to distinguish it from all other 1,999 religions. There are at least five ways Christianity distinguishes itself. This is the topic I want to discuss in the next few articles.
The first thing that causes Christianity to stand out from the rest is its holy book, the Bible. We are told in II Timothy 3:16 that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” II Peter 1:21 says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
The Bible claims God Himself delivered the Book to His people. It was not a mere book written by man, but was directed by God to man. No other book makes this claim. Charles Russell, Joseph Smith, did not give it, or any other human being, but by, and only by God Himself.
In my articles, Is the Bible Really the Word of God? – Parts 1-4. I go into more detail as to proof of the above statement, but allow me to review some quick thoughts from those articles that set the Bible apart from other holy books. 1. Its infallibility – History, archaeology, and true science all back up the Bible as truth. 2. Its harmony – The Bible is a volume made up of 66 separate books written by 40 different human authors over 1,500 years, on three different continents, yet without error. 3. Its prophecy – Of the over 300 Messianic prophecies in the Bible, 100% are fulfilled. No other holy book has ever come close to 100% fulfillment.
The second thing that distinguishes Christianity from the other religions of the world is its founder. Christianity is the only religion that claims God Himself as the founder. Christianity surrounds the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. No one can deny this. It is also clear Biblical teaching that Jesus Christ the Son, is equal to God the Father. Jesus predicted and fulfilled His death and resurrection – an act that validated His claim to be God.
Clearly, Christianity beings and ends with Christ. At the proper time, John the Baptist directed his ministry back to the Lord, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). No other religion claims to be founded by God Himself.
At the risk of treading some dangerous waters, who founded the Jehovah’s Witnesses? – Charles Russell. Who was responsible for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? – Joseph Smith. How about Confucianism? – Confucius. Buddhism, Hinduism, and others never were, nor claimed to be, founded by God Himself. This sets Christianity apart from the other 2,000 religions.
To summarize, Christianity is set apart from all other religions by its book and by its founder. We will look at some other differences in Part 3. Truly we can know the truth, and the truth will make us free.
Knees for the Nations 