><>...CHRISTIANITY...><>
Christianity is unique among all the religions of the world. Most of them emphasize the life of the founder, but Christianity is based on the death of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus is unique for it was prophesied in the opening pages of the Bible <Gen. 3:15> and came to pass in the New Testament age thousands of years later.
Not only is the death of Christ absolutely essential to Christianity. So is His resurrection. His death and resurrection are so important that all four gospels-- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-- devote one-fifth of their teachings to this combined subject. <Mark 10:45> summarizes this unique mission of Christ's: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
The world already had plenty of religions and gods at the time of Jesus' birth. The Romans had combined their gods with those of the Greeks, and thousands of deities were worshiped. None of these gods had ever lived, most were based on imagination or heroic stories. But Jesus had actually lived in Palestine, had been crucified under Pontius Pilate (the Roman governor of Judea), and had been raised from the dead by the power of God the Father.
People who worshiped the mythical gods actually chose to ignore the visible signs of truth that pointed them toward God and eventually to salvation through grace <Rom. 1:20-21>. This plan of salvation came to full maturity on the Cross.
Today, Paul's battle cry still rings forth as the banner of the Christian faith: "A man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ" <Gal. 2:16>. Salvation is available only through Christ <Acts 4:12>, made possible by His death, burial, and resurrection. Christianity is more than a creed, more than a religion; it is a way of life for all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)
(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers) |
