Note well that just imagining a God or philosophizing about His existence or being superstitious and just thinking "He is there" doesn't satisfy: Only a personal and secure relationship with Him can! A one-dimensional God cannot fulfill our needs and meet us where we are.
Some people like to think of God as some higher power that influences them for good or bad in an impersonal way and the world at large. They don't feel they know it or have any kind of living relationship with it, but only respect it and live by its rules. It is a kind of mechanical fate to some and a cosmic energy or life force to others ("the Force be with you"). Some are convicted there is a God of some sort but call it or personify it by other names, such as "Mother Nature" or "Fate, Luck, or Chance."
There are no impersonal forces at work in nature and God is sovereign over all His creation. What these deluded people need to realize is the vast chasm between Jesus Christ and the so-called higher powers that cannot be known. Since we have a mind and are persons, a creator must have a higher mind and be a superior person, not a force or influence. Thinking of God as a mere higher power is a stepping stone or beginning to an acknowledgment of God in truth through a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Christ claimed to be God Almighty in the flesh and rose from the dead to demonstrate it to live witnesses who became martyrs witnessing of their experiences, and the veracity of their testimony was their blood and death. People will die for what they believe is true, but they won't willingly die for a hoax. The resurrection is either the greatest single event in all of history or it is the biggest hoax and fraud ever perpetrated upon mankind. The disciples were not deluded madmen and guilty of spreading rumors and lies. They were not consummate liars at all but men of high moral integrity and their lives verified and were consistent with their testimony. Jesus talked like no human ever talked and is not saying things you would expect of a madman; they are not the rantings and ravings of a lunatic.
Yes, Christianity is so vastly differentiated from "religion" that it is in a new dimension--viva la difference. Only in Christianity is their assurance of salvation, and an existential personal experience that is based on objective, historical fact. We would not be experiencing Christ if He were still dead in the grave. Religion is a "do-it-yourself" proposition and is basically "lifting up yourself by your own bootstraps." Religion says "Do," while Christianity says, "Done." Our salvation is not earned, deserved, and able to be paid back, but wholly of grace and a gift of God to be received as a gift. Only in Christianity is the sin problem adequately dealt with and solved by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ--there is no more reason for guilt and shame, but a real hope. The past is forgiven, the present is given meaning, and the future is secured. What purpose in life can a higher power give you?
Eternal life is about knowing God and having a personal, fulfilling, and rewarding relationship with Him. We are assured of a God who loves us and cares about us and meets our needs adequately. We are not left out to fend for ourselves in a dog-eat-dog world that has the law of the jungle and the rule is the survival of the fittest. The whole miracle of Christianity is how it changes lives and transforms from the inside out, making a whole new person in the suit, not putting a new suit on the person. We are not free to imagine any God we choose and put Him in a box; we must find and deal with the God who is there. God is here and He is not silent.
The uniqueness of Jesus is that He is especially known for who He is, and not what He said (though people quote Him all the time unawares). He alone claimed to be the Son of God and His credentials backed it up. His character was consistent with His claims, and His miracles were such that they were unique signs of His deity. If you take the miracles out of Christianity you have nothing left--Jesus would only be a footnote in history; you can take the miracles out of the other faiths and you still have them intact. Someone has said, "If you take Christ out of Christianity, you disembowel it and there is nothing left"--Christianity is Christ and Christ is God, which is the issue to be faced.
Christianity is a religion that God has revealed Himself propositionally, i.e., hundreds of times it says, "Thus saith the LORD" and this is not the case in any of the other "Scriptures." Christianity is a revealed religion that we wouldn't have thought of ourselves like having 72 virgins and enjoying wine, women, and song for eternity. Some disparities are: All faiths encourage good works, but in Christianity, we are not saved by works, but unto works. We don't do works in order to get saved, but because we are saved: not an "in order to" but a "therefore." Only Christianity has an objective reason to solve the so-called guilt problem of man, which is real and exists. Only Christianity offers an eternal life that begins as an abundant life in the here and now and is not provisional--a sure thing. Only Christianity offers grace instead of merit to gain salvation. We don't deserve it, can't earn it, and can never pay it back!
Many faiths claim to "work" and they say that that is proof they are true: The unique distinction is that Christianity is not true because it works, but it works because it is true. Every honest seeker of the truth owes it to himself to take a serious look at the claims of Christ and see that there is no comparison to any so-called higher power. Note well: Only Christianity proffers a personal God that loves us and knows us and wants a personal relationship with us so that we can know Him.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Some people like to think of God as some higher power that influences them for good or bad in an impersonal way and the world at large. They don't feel they know it or have any kind of living relationship with it, but only respect it and live by its rules. It is a kind of mechanical fate to some and a cosmic energy or life force to others ("the Force be with you"). Some are convicted there is a God of some sort but call it or personify it by other names, such as "Mother Nature" or "Fate, Luck, or Chance."
There are no impersonal forces at work in nature and God is sovereign over all His creation. What these deluded people need to realize is the vast chasm between Jesus Christ and the so-called higher powers that cannot be known. Since we have a mind and are persons, a creator must have a higher mind and be a superior person, not a force or influence. Thinking of God as a mere higher power is a stepping stone or beginning to an acknowledgment of God in truth through a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Christ claimed to be God Almighty in the flesh and rose from the dead to demonstrate it to live witnesses who became martyrs witnessing of their experiences, and the veracity of their testimony was their blood and death. People will die for what they believe is true, but they won't willingly die for a hoax. The resurrection is either the greatest single event in all of history or it is the biggest hoax and fraud ever perpetrated upon mankind. The disciples were not deluded madmen and guilty of spreading rumors and lies. They were not consummate liars at all but men of high moral integrity and their lives verified and were consistent with their testimony. Jesus talked like no human ever talked and is not saying things you would expect of a madman; they are not the rantings and ravings of a lunatic.
Yes, Christianity is so vastly differentiated from "religion" that it is in a new dimension--viva la difference. Only in Christianity is their assurance of salvation, and an existential personal experience that is based on objective, historical fact. We would not be experiencing Christ if He were still dead in the grave. Religion is a "do-it-yourself" proposition and is basically "lifting up yourself by your own bootstraps." Religion says "Do," while Christianity says, "Done." Our salvation is not earned, deserved, and able to be paid back, but wholly of grace and a gift of God to be received as a gift. Only in Christianity is the sin problem adequately dealt with and solved by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ--there is no more reason for guilt and shame, but a real hope. The past is forgiven, the present is given meaning, and the future is secured. What purpose in life can a higher power give you?
Eternal life is about knowing God and having a personal, fulfilling, and rewarding relationship with Him. We are assured of a God who loves us and cares about us and meets our needs adequately. We are not left out to fend for ourselves in a dog-eat-dog world that has the law of the jungle and the rule is the survival of the fittest. The whole miracle of Christianity is how it changes lives and transforms from the inside out, making a whole new person in the suit, not putting a new suit on the person. We are not free to imagine any God we choose and put Him in a box; we must find and deal with the God who is there. God is here and He is not silent.
The uniqueness of Jesus is that He is especially known for who He is, and not what He said (though people quote Him all the time unawares). He alone claimed to be the Son of God and His credentials backed it up. His character was consistent with His claims, and His miracles were such that they were unique signs of His deity. If you take the miracles out of Christianity you have nothing left--Jesus would only be a footnote in history; you can take the miracles out of the other faiths and you still have them intact. Someone has said, "If you take Christ out of Christianity, you disembowel it and there is nothing left"--Christianity is Christ and Christ is God, which is the issue to be faced.
Christianity is a religion that God has revealed Himself propositionally, i.e., hundreds of times it says, "Thus saith the LORD" and this is not the case in any of the other "Scriptures." Christianity is a revealed religion that we wouldn't have thought of ourselves like having 72 virgins and enjoying wine, women, and song for eternity. Some disparities are: All faiths encourage good works, but in Christianity, we are not saved by works, but unto works. We don't do works in order to get saved, but because we are saved: not an "in order to" but a "therefore." Only Christianity has an objective reason to solve the so-called guilt problem of man, which is real and exists. Only Christianity offers an eternal life that begins as an abundant life in the here and now and is not provisional--a sure thing. Only Christianity offers grace instead of merit to gain salvation. We don't deserve it, can't earn it, and can never pay it back!
Many faiths claim to "work" and they say that that is proof they are true: The unique distinction is that Christianity is not true because it works, but it works because it is true. Every honest seeker of the truth owes it to himself to take a serious look at the claims of Christ and see that there is no comparison to any so-called higher power. Note well: Only Christianity proffers a personal God that loves us and knows us and wants a personal relationship with us so that we can know Him.
Soli Deo Gloria!