Why Christianity is the only Faith that Offers True Salvation

One of the major doctrines that separates the Christian faith from all other religions is the doctrine of the trinity. The concept that Jesus Christ is fully God, not a demigod or an Angel, but that He is God Himself in the person of Jesus. Other religions and cults that give lip service to Jesus paint Him as merely a prophet or a wise man. But the idea that He is infinitely more than this, that He is literally the image of the invisible God, our Savior, our Lord, and even our Creator, is a strictly orthodox Christian teaching. This idea that He is Lord of all things, a fully omnipotent extension — or eternally begotten -- person of the Trinity, separates the Christian faith from all other falsities. And it is this doctrine that gives the believing Christian an assurance of salvation that no other faith can parallel, grant, or even comprehend.

I recently visited a Bible study hosted by my friend Reed Chambers -- who has been featured on my podcast before, if you remember, when we talked about our love for Star Wars and the movie series' Christian symbolism. But his ministry is designed for international and local students at Gadsden State Community College who are interested in Christianity, but who may or may not be believers, as well as for international students who need a community to experience college with. People of all nations and faiths come to his Bible study to engage with the ideas and doctrines of Christendom, as well as to discuss their own worldviews, cultures, and backgrounds. I have to say, sitting in a room with those who believe in various faiths was one of the most interesting discussions I have ever been a part of. It was thrilling to see the Holy Spirit confront and convict members of all faiths as the Gospel was shared and the comparison was made between Christianity and other world beliefs.
 
After two-and-a-half hours of discussing different religions and comparing the various solutions for the brokenness of our world — it was clear that Christianity stood apart as the only logical remedy for the fallen nature of our world. All other religions have a works-based faith. If you boil them down to their core, they are all based on receiving a reward (either a better reincarnated form in your next life, access to Heaven, or a realm to create your own planets and populate them) if you perform good deeds in your present life, pray enough, offer alms, or have a good status in your church.
 
But what does a faith that is based on works actually do to a person? What does it do to their heart? Would a truly gracious, merciful, and perfectly loving God create beings that must earn the right to stand in His presence?
 
There is only one logical option for a God that desires a genuine relationship with His people, and it’s not a works-based salvation, it’s a grace-based redemption. A works-based system has the opposite effect on the heart of man that I would expect an intimately loving God to desire to foster in His people.

Reed said it best at the core of his lesson, “The irony of human virtue is this: the better we do on our own ability, the worse we become. The more we do, the better we make ourselves into, the more highly we think of ourselves, and the more we look down our noses at other people who just aren’t as good as we are.”
 
And this is exactly true.

C.S. Lewis provides more insight about how this pride in our good works can corrupt us, "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you." [1]
 
Man-based religion only brings pride. God, who wants to know us intimately, does not want us to grow prideful, because it ultimately draws us farther away from an intimate relationship with Him. So why would the God of the Universe create a religion that fosters pride, and makes man the center of his own faith, and even the center of his own salvation?

If it is your works that save you, because you did a certain number of deeds that earns your salvation, then God isn’t your savior, you are your own savior. Thus, it is you who is glorified, not God. And if God does exist, it doesn’t make logical sense that He would create a religion that fosters pride and self-worship in His created beings; it would eliminate the need for Himself, it would remove His glory, and it would further separate us from an intimate relationship with Him. Thankfully we serve a logical God, a gracious God -- the true Author of Salvation. He works in such a way as to save us fully on the actions of Himself, so that He is ultimately glorified, and any act we do as a result of His sanctifying work in us only points back to Him.
 
Christianity is the only religion that isn’t based on the works of man. Our salvation, and ultimately our relationship with God, is based completely on the work of God in the person of Christ, through the covering blood spent on the Cross that we receive by grace through faith in His Son. None of that has anything to do with our good deeds.
 
Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV) says, “1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
 
In Christianity, everyone is equally separated from God due to their fallen nature (we are all dead in our trespasses and sins), and it is only through grace (the gift of God on the Cross) that we can be saved. Paul makes it clear that this is "not your own doing; it is the gift of God". Thus, your salvation is not based on your works; your salvation literally has zero to do with any good thing you could ever do. And even the works that you do as a result of salvation, these were "prepared beforehand" by God Himself. You can't even get credit for those!
 
Though Ephesians Chapter One is spiritual meat and may be difficult for some to digest, the concept of God’s grace through divine election -- a sovereign choice of God -- is made clear in how Paul describes the salvific event.
 
Ephesians 1:3-10 (ESV) tells us, “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
 
According to the Bible, not only is there nothing we can do to earn our salvation, but the salvific event itself was a planned moment by God. Paul says that God "chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." Before God had ever created the world or animals or trees, He had already chosen you to be one of His children. Paul says that "in love he predestined us for adoption". I don't think anyone understands fully exactly how that works, but I know that it is true, and Paul tries to use a very specific analogy to help us understand how God's choice to save us really works — so he compares our salvation to the act of adoption.
 
In adoption, an orphan is chosen by a loving person who decides to raise a helpless child. The child is taken from a world of brokenness into a loving home where he or she can be cared for. This is what God does to all of us who become His children; it is a beautiful thing, and it is nothing close to any other religion.
 
Every other religion creates a superiority complex because you think that your works saved you or helped you earn your place in God's presence, but in Christianity, there is literally nothing that saves someone outside of the blood of Jesus Christ. It is that blood that covers your sins when you place your faith in Him, at that moment you are adopted out of your sins into His family by His grace, and that according to His will and His glory and His purpose. This adoption is irreversible; it can never be lost. No matter what you do after that act of adoption, God will never abandon you or cast you out of His hands. He doesn’t adopt people just to let them go when they act wrongly. He is not a frivolous God. He has mercy upon mercy and grace upon grace for His children. And just like an adopted child that knows full well what horrible environment they were redeemed from will choose to act respectfully in obedience to their new parents, so will a child of God when they enter into His Holy family. It’s not that your works after salvation are necessary to remain a child of God, but they are naturally committed by someone who is genuinely adopted. You can’t help but have a new desire to please your new righteous Father, to enjoy His presence, to cherish His attention.
 
Though Christianity flips all religions on their heads with the doctrine of grace, it is even more special because of what is at the foundation of the doctrine of grace. The doctrine of grace is only as good as what it is founded on. So what is it founded on? What is this grace, actually? In Christianity, the grace (or gift of God) that we receive by faith, is founded on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So is that a good enough sacrifice? Is that good enough to make us righteous? You see, if Jesus is not a perfect sacrifice, then everyone will go to Hell anyway, because no one will be covered in perfection. We must be covered in perfection to stand before a perfect God.
 
And this is where Christianity stands apart from all cults and false religions — Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that is needed to truly redeem us, to truly cover us and make us perfect so that we are able to stand before a holy God when we die.

Jesus is fully God, as described perhaps most clearly in the Gospel of John. This means that God Himself came down to earth to die on the cross for our sins. A perfect sacrifice paid the price to make us perfect in Him. And since we become perfect in Him, since we are covered in His righteousness, it makes logical sense that we can now live with our perfect Father for eternity. This is why the trinity must be true. Logically, any other solution falls short, even if they are "grace based", because they do not offer a perfect sacrifice.
 
Not only does Christianity flip every religion on its head by being solely based on the doctrine of grace, but the sacrifice that the offering of grace is founded relies on the perfectness of God Himself. Our faith is based on Him in every way, and all to His glory. Any other route to salvation and peace with God is forced to rely on man’s good deeds, and no man can act good enough to be perfect. In Christianity, our salvation is eternal because it relies on the sacrifice of literally an eternal God.
 
Thus, the Christian may live freely in God’s grace and truly have peace, knowing that their salvation is the result of the saving work of God in them, not the other way around. The foundation of our faith is the sinless sacrifice of Christ, not the filthy rags of works that pale in the face of our perfect God.
 
If you are reading this, you need to honestly ask yourself, what is at the foundation of my faith? What is it that I think places me into a right standing with God? If your answer to that question has anything to do with your right actions or your personal goodness, then you have been deceived and are standing on a false foundation. If your answer is based on the work of Christ, but you do not believe He is God, then you do not believe in the historical, perfect, and Biblical Jesus, and therefore, you do not believe in the Jesus that saves. Any foundation other than Christ’s Godman-propitiation alone will not save. Repent of your false beliefs and place your faith in Christ our God for your righteous covering -- for your kaphar. [2]
 
Cite: Faucett, D. (2022). Why Christianity is the Only Faith that Offers True Salvation. Science Faith and Reasoning. Retrieved from https://www.sci-fr.com/articles/why-christianity-is-the-only-faith-that-offers-true-salvation 
 
References:
1. C. S. Lewis (2003). “A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis”, p.114, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2. Kaphar meaning in Bible - old testament Hebrew Lexicon - New American Standard. biblestudytools.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/nas/kaphar.html