… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins (I Cor. 15:17).

Having traveled extensively across the world, I’ve noticed a striking diversity in religious beliefs.  It is estimated that there are over 4,000 different religions that are classified into five major groups — Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism.  What sets Christianity apart from all the rest?

Even though all of the different religions have unique beliefs, they generally fall into a few primary categories regarding beliefs concerning salvation or how to get to heaven.

First, there is the belief that hard work and wisdom will lead the way to ultimate fulfillment through unity with god (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Baha’i) or freedom and independence (Scientology, Jainism).

Another belief is that the afterlife can be anything you want it to be. These religions believe that salvation is a non-issue and that the sin nature doesn’t exist (Unitarianism, Wicca).

A few believe the afterlife doesn’t exist at all (Atheism).

However, Christianity is the only religion that teaches that salvation is a free gift of God through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). That means that there is no amount of good deeds, hard work, or wisdom that will save us. It is by trusting in Jesus alone.

Paul very passionately teaches that the resurrection is one of the foundations upon which Christianity is built. It separates Jesus from any other religious leader who has ever lived. No other religious figure in history has ever prophesied his own death and resurrection -- and then accomplished it (Mark 9:30-32)! 

Because of the resurrection

• We know that Jesus is the true God. This makes our faith credible and sets Christianity apart from every other religion since every other human who died is still in the ground. Christ was the first to permanently rise from the dead (I Cor. 15:20)
• We don’t have to stay in our sins. We are all born with a sin nature, and the punishment for even one sin is death. However, when Jesus rose from the dead, it showed that death doesn’t have power over Him. This means that the sacrifice Jesus made for our sins on the cross is complete and paid for before God.
•  We will one day be resurrected as well. Believers can hold on to the promise of their own resurrection which serves as a demonstration of God’s power and love for humanity. (I Thess. 4: 13-18).
• We can trust Jesus’ claim that he has the power to grant eternal life because He lives. We can live a life filled with hope because we are invited into a relationship with the only true and living God. And we can look forward to the day we will live forever with Him in Heaven.

Lord, thank you for the gift of salvation through Christ’s resurrection. May we live in hope of our own resurrection and eternal life with you. Amen.