| |
WHICH RELIGION SAVES? I am a Baptist. I am a Jew.I am a Buddhist. I am Hindu.I am Pentecostal. I am Catholic.I am Orthodox. I am Mormon.
- So many religions! And these are just a few. Which religion saves?
Many believe that only their religion can save. Others, while faithful
members of a religious group, are quick to add that it really doesn't matter
what you believe, just so you are a "good person."
"We are all going to the same place anyway," they
say.
Who is right? Whom can we trust? What is religion, anyway? Religion is
a set of beliefs, attitudes and practices. Religion in itself cannot save
anyone.
The great religious leader of India, Mohandas Ghandi, wrote, "It
is a constant torture to me that I am still so far from Him whom I know
to be my very life and being; I know that it is my own wretchedness and
wickedness that keeps me from Him." His religion gave him
no assurance of salvation, although was considered, in all partsof the
world, as a great and good man.
Aristotle, the great philospher of Ancient Greece, wrote, " Man
is on a slope, with his appetites and passions gravitating downward. He
knows that he ought to go upward, but there is something in him that
drags him downward."
Buddha, founder of one the great religions of the world said, towards the
end of his life, "I am still searching for truth."
If these and many others could not find truth and assurance of
salvation through their religion, then surely their religion could not
save them.
No, friend, religion cannot save you. But Jesus Christ can! Religion will
not bring us to peace with God, but Jesus Christ will. For "God was
in Christ, reconciling (bringing into harmony) the world unto himself..."
2 Corinthians 5:19.
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other
name (Jesus) under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved"
Acts 4:12.
We must distinguished between popular Christianity, which is relationship
between a man, and the the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us examine Christ's claim
as the Saviour of man.
The old testament prophesied that a Messiah, or Saviour would come. Jesus
claimed to be the Messiah. These prophecies were written hundred of years
before Jesus was born. Isaiah prophesied that God would become man. "For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall
be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, Phe prince of Peace" Isaiah
9:6.
This was confirmed by the Apostle John. "And the Word as made flesh,
and dwelt among us, ( and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14.
Micah tells us the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea (Micah
5:2). Jesus was born in Bethlehem fulfilling the prophecy. Isaiah foretold,
in vivid detail, the suffering of Christ and His atonement for our sins.
Read Isaiah 53. We read in Psalm 16:10 that He would rise from the dead.
Jesus Christ did this. Hundreds of people saw Him.
These are but few of the many Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in the
life of Jesus Christ and recorded in the New Testament.
If you are looking for the door to eternal life, do not look to a religious
system, but to the person of Jesus Christ. Religion may disappoint you
but Jesus Christ never will. He gives us a new life by His Holy Spirit.
Long ago Nicodemus came to Jesus looking for peace for his soul. Jesus
told him plainly, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" John
3:5,6.
How can we be born of the Spirit? On the day of Pentecost, the Apostle
Peter, preaching under the annointing of the Holy Spirit, said, "Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise
is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as
many as the Lord our God shall call" Acts 2:38,39.
Jesus Christ is calling you. He is both able and willing to save you. "....we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ..."
Visit the church listed below and see how simple it is to be saved!
-
- United Pentecostal Church
- No. 7 Lower P. Burgos St.,
- P.O. Box 232
- 2600 Baguio City
- Tel. 443-5319
- email: upcbc@mozcom.com
If you do not reside within Baguio City, please write to us so we can communicate
with you and give you address of the Apostolic church fellowship nearest
your residence. God bless you.
* The above article was reproduced from UPCI Overseas
Ministries Publication tract C-1.
Back to List of Tracts- Back to Main Page
|
