By Stinnett Ballew
In the Word of God (KJV) we read:
2 Samuel 7:22
Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
I Chronicles 17:20
O Lord, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
Much is being said today comparing Christianity with other religions. Many are saying that all religions are good and produce law-abiding, peace-loving citizens. People fail to understand that there is a vast difference between religion and salvation. Religion is an individual doing something for God. Salvation is God doing something for a hell-bound, hell-deserving individual. In this pamphlet we will look at some important differences between Jehovah, the God of the Bible that the Christians worship and the gods that other religions worship.
The God of the Bible has a Son
His title and name is THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. God expressed His love and desire for the world through His Son, Jesus Christ. We read in John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Again we read in First John 4:9-10, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Does your God have such a Son?
The God of the Bible Has a Sacrifice
There are many instances of the sacrificing of lambs in the Old Testament. The Lamb for the sacrifice is promised in Genesis 22:8. “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” The Lamb for the sacrifice is pictured in Exodus 12:5-7. “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.”
In Isaiah 53 we learn that the Lamb is to be a person. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”
Who is this Lamb? In John 1:29, John the Baptist introduces us to the Lord Jesus Christ saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Here the Lamb is presented. This first introduction of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John answers Isaac’s question. God provided himself a Lamb in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 19:34, the Lamb is pierced.
Does your God have such a Sacrifice?
The God of the Bible Has Salvation
The sacrifice was more than a dying lamb. It required the shedding of blood. Notice these truths about the shedding of blood in the Word of God. In Exodus 12:7 we read, “And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses.” In Leviticus 17:11 we read, “For it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
In Hebrews 9:12 we read, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he (the Lord Jesus Christ) entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Here we learn that the Redemption of sinners is in the Blood of Christ. In Hebrews 9:22 we read, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” Here we see that the Remission of our sins is in the Blood of Christ. In Colossians 1:20 we read, “And, having made peace through the blood of his (the Lord Jesus Christ) cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself.” This teaches that Christians are Reconciled to God through the blood of Christ.
So we conclude that in the Salvation of Christianity there is Redemption. This deals with the sinner’s purchase. There is Remission. This deals with the sinner’s past. And, there is Reconciliation. This produces the sinner’s peace.
Does your God offer such a Salvation?
The God of the Bible has a Spirit
Every Christian has the Spirit of God living inside them. Just before His death on the Cross, Jesus said to His disciples in John 14:16-17, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
In Galatians 5:22-23, the Word of God teaches us that the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Christians are enabled by the power of the Spirit of God that lives inside them to possess these fruits of the Spirit in our lives. Christians then, by the power of the Spirit of God are loving, joyful, peaceful, law-abiding citizens.
Does your God have such a Spirit?
CONCLUSION:
Since all other gods have no son or sacrifice, they have no real salvation to offer. Therefore, their followers have no salvation to enjoy. Since their god has no Spirit to indwell his followers, they have no love, peace or joy inside them. The only joy the followers of other gods have is in destroying those that disagrees with them. The God of the Bible gave His Son to die for his followers that they may live eternally. All other gods requires their followers to die for their cause to keep their religion alive.
The difference is very clear. You must make the choice. Do you want a god that offers a religion that requires you to destroy others, or even you and your sons to die for him? Or, do you want the God that gave His Son to die for you so that you can be saved and live eternally with Him in Heaven?
The God of the Bible says in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
In Mark 1:15, the Lord Jesus said, “Repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…”
Right now, if you will turn from your sins to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the God of the Bible, with repentance and faith, He will save you by His grace. You will immediately experience God’s forgiveness and cleansing from all your sins. You will immediately begin to enjoy a peace that passeth all understanding. After you are saved, you should start studying the Bible and praying daily. Start attending a church where the Word of God is taught and preached. You will enjoy the fellowship of other Christians and as you grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, you will be able to help lead others to the Lord Jesus Christ that may be saved also. May God help you to do it right now.
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