How is Christianity different than all the other world religions? It’s a question visited often by skeptics like myself, and one that I think is worth answering.
-in many religions, and many so-called Christian denominations for that matter, the plan to get from earth to God or heaven is a sort of contractual agreement. The god in question lays out some guidelines and principles that people should do if they want to get into heaven; then, if people do them and fulfill their end of the contract, they get to go to heaven. If they don’t, well then they go to hell. Pretty simple and straightforward. It makes a lot of sense, and I can see what many religions are framed this way. After all, isn’t that how our forms of government work? Don’t the powers higher than us do the same thing?
-the problem is incurred when we believe that God functions in a way that a human would. That his desires and laws and expectations are equivalent, or only slightly higher than that of a kind king, or emperor. The truth is, God’s standards are not slightly higher, they are infinitely higher. God is the being that created the universe. He created absolute truth. His thoughts are infinitely higher than ours, the created beings.
-so, what are the implications of this elevated standard, or “holiness?” Well, for starters, there is no way we could fulfill our end of the contract. The standards that would earn us favor with an infinitely holy God would be infinitely high, unattainable by finite beings. We would literally have to be perfect in order to earn God’s favor.
-additionally, we’re slaves to our sin. We do not, and can not want to give up our sin to follow Christ outside of his grace alone. The Apostle Paul says in Romans that we are all slaves to something, be it righteousness (God) or our own sinful desires. The problem is, slaves can’t free themselves. They cannot even by their own free will get a new master because they do not own the rights to their own lives.
-on the cross, Jesus bought us from our former masters. He paid the price for our souls in full for his ultimate glory through shedding his blood. We have no contract with God. We are bought and paid for by him. The transaction did not occur between humans and God, in fact we had no part in it. It took place on a cosmic level when Jesus bought us. We had no say in the matter, if we did, we wouldn’t be a slave in the first place.
-here are where things get a bit difficult. If there is no contract, then what limits can God place on what he will ask from us? If it is truly by his grace that we are freed from our sin and brought into HIS slavery, what is there that he cannot do with us? NOTHING. Because I had no way of paying for my own soul, and Jesus paid the full price, he OWNS me. That means he can justly do whatever he wants to with my life and death. That seems crazy in our warm, fuzzy, individualistic Western culture, but it’s absolutely true.
-this sharply contrasts with religions that do not view God as infinitely powerful, or just don’t understand the implications of that. The key for me to Christianity is realizing that I’ve always been a slave, I’m just under a new and infinitely better master now.
No comments:
Post a Comment