We all would like to think there are many ways to get the job done. Truth be told, sometimes there is only one way to do things right. We can have all the appearances of following the rules but when we look under the hood we start to see the differences. Don’t all religions basically teach the same thing? No, they are not on the same level. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Racing is an interesting endeavor, it is said “we will race anything.” I remember the pedal car race that was part of the John Blewett Memorial North South Shootout at Concord Motor Speedway. One of the young competitors brought his own piece. When I asked why, his dad let me know that he went over the cart and made sure everything was lubricated and moving freely. After all this is a race and you don’t bring a knife to a gun fight. If we are racing then our piece needs to be as good as it can be!
Today that young competitor is wheeling a Whelen Tour Modified, none other than Austin Beers. He knows the deal and comes to race. He has developed a reputation for racing hard but bringing it home in one piece. I wonder if that pedal car sits on a shelf commemorating his first victory?
As I scratched my head and thought about it I began to understand there is no such thing as “just a race.” Even a pedal car race has to have rules to keep the contestants, or should we say parents, from taking steps to gain an advantage. Rules attempt to keep things on the same level.
It is a great endeavor to level the playing field and the same is true for life. Since life began there have been differences that indicate we are not all the same. We all see things from different perspectives and interpret things differently. We talked about that a few weeks ago. Not only do we differ from each other, we differ from God.
Isaiah reminds us in 55:8-9; “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
So the questions remain; “Aren’t all religions equal?”; “Don’t they all teach the same thing?” The simple answer is no. We will need to look a little deeper though.
Look at the same questions as they relate to race cars; “Aren’t they all race cars?” “Don’t they all do the same thing?” The simple answer is no, but the explanation takes a little longer to explain.
There is a difference that separates Christianity from religion, any religion. Many religions have things in common, rules for living, a divine being, life after death in paradise and those that have gone before us and inspire us to keep going. Essentially the same beliefs with different labels.
We believe that religion teaches us to obey the rules, live a good life and we will go to paradise, heaven, and live forever with everyone who went before us and will come after us. Our goal is to be “good enough.”
Christianity separates itself from religion on that point. Christians believe, as taught by Scripture, that there is not one of us who can be “good enough” to be accepted into heaven and dwell with God for eternity. We believe that all the rules and religion cannot make us right with God, there needs to be something else, we cannot work our way into heaven.
Ephesians 2:8-9; God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
That is the difference between Christianity and religion, we cannot do enough “good things” to cover our capacity to do bad things, sin. Listen to what John said about it.
1John 1:5-10; This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
When we claim to be good we ignore our true nature, we ignore our desire to make life as good as it can be for us and us alone. We are, by nature, selfish. We try to do things for others to compensate for those things we do for ourselves. It makes us feel good. It helps us deal with the manipulative, selfish desire we have within us. Let me be clear, we cannot be good enough.
That is what separates us from God, our incapacity to be good enough. That’s what separates Christianity from religion, we cannot be good enough. God knows that and made a provision for us to be forgiven.
Romans 3:21-25; But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.
Romans 5:6-8; When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
All things are not equal, Christianity is different from all other religions, in fact it isn’t a religion at all. It is a gift from God, for He accomplished for us what we could not do for ourselves. Don’t be naive, we cannot earn God’s grace. No one can be good enough. Without Christ, His sacrifice, death and resurrection spending eternity with God in heaven would not be possible. Christ saved us from sin and death. In Christ we level the playing field.
Now is the time, today is the day, salvation is found in no one else, no other person, no other religion. We need to realize that and turn to God, accept His provision and return to Him, our creator.
Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.
