Section 1 Becoming a Follower of Jesus
BECOMING A FOLLOWER OF JESUS
“It is by grace you have been saved!” (Ephesians 2:5)
There are many different religions and religious systems in the world, but a vast majority of people in the world follow one of five major religions. Three of these are monotheistic, meaning they believe in one God. These are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Two are polytheistic, meaning they believe in many gods. Buddhists and Hindus follow polytheistic teachings.
All of these religions have one thing in common, with the exception of Christianity. They believe the path to heaven, or to a better “next life” is paved with our accumulation of good deeds and an avoidance of bad deeds. Your spiritual state and destiny is based on how well you perform in this life. This includes adhering to various religious rituals and practices. Those who perform very well will be allowed access to heaven, paradise, nirvana, or maybe a better reincarnation. Those who perform badly will be doomed to hell or reincarnation as some lower form of life. This is referred to as a “works based” religion.
Many nominal Christians have erroneous “works based” beliefs. they think when their life is over God will will evaluate the deeds of their life, weighing both the good and the bad, and then the righteous judge will decide whether or not they have earned their way into heaven. Yes, many church attenders believe this is the way things are. Nothing could be further from the truth.
the message of the Bible is very clear on this issue. God gave the Law (an incredibly complex and difficult set of rules) to the people of Israel through Moses. The centuries that followed and the religion of the Jews proved only that human beings are completely incapable of meeting the standards set forth by God. All of these rules and regulations were given to prove our need for a savior (Romans 3:20). It is by the sacrifice of the Savior, Jesus Christ, that we become eligible to receive the grace of God (2 Timothy 1:9). Grace is the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
Yes, grace is freely given and unmerited. It cannot be earned. It is a gift from God because of His love for us (Ephesians 2:8-9). That is radically different from what other religions believe about salvation and spiritual maturity.
