“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” ~ Acts 4:12
In the first post of this series, I gave four evidences for God’s existence. Yet many people believe God exists. They just don’t believe biblical Christianity is true or Jesus Christ is the human face of God and the Lord and Savior of humankind.
Certainly, Christianity is by no means the only faith that lays claim to having “the truth.” There is also Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam as well as many other religions that claim to hold “the truth.”
All serve a different deity, all have their own sacred writings and all teach a different path of salvation.
There is the view that all of these religions are true. But I have always found this idea unconvincing, as the different religions cancel one another out logically. (For instance, one religion affirms Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah; another says He isn’t. Both cannot be true.)
Here are a few points to consider about the uniqueness of the Christian faith:
1. Unlike all other faiths, Christianity is based entirely on a Person.
Every religion is based upon the teachings or the philosophy of its founder. Not so with Christianity. Biblical Christianity is based on the Person of Jesus and not simply His teachings.
Remove Jesus, and there is nothing left to Christianity whatsoever. The entire faith is based on Christ’s incomparable life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His present work on the earth through His Spirit, and His second coming.
Buddhism is not based on the life or death of Buddha. It is based on his teachings. Remove Buddha and Buddhism still survives.
In the same way, Islam stands apart from Muhammad. It is rather built on his teachings. The same with Confucianism. Only Christianity is built on a Person and not on a teaching or philosophy. (I expand this point in Jesus Manifesto.)
In addition, the effect Jesus had on people—both when He was on earth as well as today—has no peer.
When people confronted Jesus, one of the three things happened: They either hated Him, were threatened by Him or they adored Him.
With Jesus, there was and is no middle ground. This is the mark of a unique Person.
2. All other religions point to Jesus, while Jesus pointed to Himself.
Most of the major religions speak highly of Jesus and point to Him as a “way” to find God. Islam says He was a great prophet. Buddhism says He was a great teacher. Humanism says He was a great moral philosopher. The Mind Science religions say He was a spiritual mystic of the highest order. Even certain segments of Judaism say He was a great rabbi or prophet.
But what did Jesus say about Himself?
Jesus said He was the very Son of God and the only way to God. His exact words were: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father [God] except by Me.”
Every religion points an arrow to Jesus. (Jesus even gets mentioned by Satanists, but that religion makes Him the only enemy.)
So if I follow all the religions of the world, they will all point me to Jesus. But if I go and listen to what Jesus said about Himself, HE POINTS ALL THE ARROWS TO HIMSELF.
So to my mind, every religion confirms Jesus of Nazareth is who He said He was—the Messiah, the Son of God, the only way to salvation.
Let me put a finer point on it by referring to C.S. Lewis’ famous trilemma. When it comes to the startling claims of Jesus—that He is the Son of God, sent by God to save the world—we only have three options:
1. He was either a madman who was under a delusion of grandeur.
2. He was a bold-face liar who deliberately deceived others.
3. He was who He said He was: the Son of God and the Lord and Savior of the world.
