(11-06-2024, 09:01 AM)Oyk Wrote: Often, we hear religions being called Beliefs and Faiths. Peepur can only become Taoists, Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems and Christians if they believe based on faith.
Except for Christianity, all religions offer "salvation" through Faith and doing whatever is taught. GRACE is missing in those religions.
We need God's GRACE to be saved, and that sets Christianity apart from all other religions. We are not saved by Faith per se, but GRACE through Faith. This is why both Muh and Sidd need(ed) Christ because it's through Christ that they may receive the GRACE of God.
The other religions say they don't need Christ. Through Christ, we receive God's GRACE. Without Christ, we only face God's wrath. Without Christ, Man is covered in sin and unable to be reconciled with God Who will turn His face away from us.........even if the man has faith. Eg: Judaism is a faith that says that Jesus had no business being here on Earth. Kill Him. Don't waste taim! Oh, the followers of Judaism do have faith, and dare I say that a lot of them are very devout too, who follow the Mosaic Laws and continually pray for forgiveness for sins committed.
New International Version
Romans 5:8
8 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
I see you have been articulating, defending and sharing this foundational truth of the Christian faith to a lost world - that the only way to eternal life is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Sometimes repetition is necessary to drive the point home.
Yes, grace is central to the Christian life. The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that our noblest efforts at self-reformation or righteousness fall short of what God's holiness requires and do not measure up to the demands of the law. The apostle Paul states, "No flesh shall be justified by the works of he law." (Rom. 3:20) We're described as being "flesh" by nature, and we're morally incapable of doing what God demands.
"The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Rom. 8:7) This means that we can't, apart from grace, do what God requires. So can God hold us responsible and accountable to a law we can't keep? The law requires perfection, yet none of us is perfect. How can a loving God require perfection from imperfect creatures?
Further, the Bible tells us the desires of a man's heart are wicked continually, and that man has a will, but that will is under the bondage of sin. Fallen man is in a state of enmity and estrangement from God. Mercifully, God is a God of love. God loves the sinner but not the sin. The Christian ethic of loving one another and loving your enemies is God-ordained. Grace through personal faith in Christ is the only means by which anyone can be saved. The exclusivity of Jesus Christ represents the core of the Christian message.