Recently, I’ve been apart of conversations that beg the question if Jesus is the only way to eternal award (heaven, etc). The question is always phrased different but the issue the same.  I’m not going to talk about life after death. I am going to talk about the larger question: Why We Need Christ. 

When someone asks the question if Christ is the only way, they have assumed we need God to free us from something.  But from what – the answer is sin.  So the thought here is “I know I have a problem, and need help, so as long as I’m following God (whoever He is) wouldn’t I get to the same result?” Yes, if that God views sin and redeeming the same.  The problem is that each major religion views sin (the reason we need God) in completely different ways.  And these different views are equally diverse among practicing Christians.  

The most general way to define Sin is an act that violates a moral rule, or the state of having committed such a violation.  Generally, Sin is anything that is considered prohibited or considered wrong.  So any thought, word, or act considered immoral, shameful, harmful, or alienating might be termed “sinful.” 

Here lays the problem – what actions does God (whoever God is) define as sin and how do we obtain salvation, deliverance, rescue, or escape?  Let’s look at how religions view sin and elude of sin. 

• Buddhist believe in karma (good deeds produce good results while bad deeds produce bad results). Salvation is achieved by stopping suffering (yours & others).
• Judaism holds that sin is what you do; not who you are (sinful). Salvation doesn’t come through animal sacrifice but through repentance and prayer alone (1 Samuel 15.22; Hosea 6.6; Psalm 51.17). 
• Christians view sin as not following God’s moral guidance, violating the contract between you and God, thus savoring the relationship between people and God.  All Christians agree that sin serves as a barrier to one having a complete relationship with God (John 3.16).  Salvation is viewed in terms of reconciliation and a genuine relationship with Christ (Romans 6.23).
• Islam (Muslim) views sin as anything that goes against the will of Allah (God).  Islam, like Judaism, teaches that sin is an act and not a state of being.  Sin is atoned by repentance and compensation if possible, feeding the poor, freeing slaves to even stoning to death or cutting hands.  It’s said that for every good deed that is done, ten bad ones (sins) will be taken off (Qur’an 11.114).
• Bahai consider humans as naturally good, fundamentally spiritual beings.  Their teachings compare the human heart to a mirror if turned away from the light of the sun (i.e. God), is incapable of receiving God’s love.  In this sense, sin is to follow the inclinations of one’s own lower nature, to turn the mirror of one’s heart away from God and toward one’s self (self-serving).
• Hinduism, sin is often used to describe actions that create negative karma by violating moral and ethical codes this differs from other religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the sense that sin is against the will of God.  Sin is an intentional transgression of divine law and is not viewed in Hinduism as a crime against God, but rather as an act against dharma, or moral order and one’s own self.   

Here is the problem with religion – religion equals saving one’s self.  Any of the above religions views “salvation,” or escape from “wrong behavior,” as something you do.  You read that correctly, that includes Christianity, because Jesus didn’t teach this view of sin and salvation.   

Here is what Jesus taught.  He taught if you’ve seen him you’ve seen the Father (God of Abraham). We are not perfect and need a savior (more than a teacher).  We can never do enough to earn salvation, create harmony for ourselves or others, all our sacrifices and repentance will never make us right before a perfect God.  Nothing we do, no matter how many times we give will bring us closer to God.  We are no mirror image of God, nor capable of receiving God’s love on our own.  We are flawed.  We need Jesus completely God and completely man to be our mediator before God. 

I accept Jesus as Lord and Savior!  I don’t do enough to earn salvation or cause good for others. The God of Moses demands perfection and I failure.  How can I throw a stone or remove a limb of a person who is no worse than me?  I am not fundamentally good and often serve myself. 

Last, if salvation can come through being “virtuous,” following the rules, ensue teachers, or being good to myself – than I give.  Life, Faith, Hope most be bigger than any about me.