Have you ever wondered the difference between
Christianity and other religions? I mean, what's
the difference between Jesus and Buddah or Jesus
and Muhammad? And on and on, what's the difference
between the one true God and other [false] gods? Well,
in 2 Timothy 4, 3 through 4, it says, This scripture
makes it clear for us, but it can still be confusing
to see the difference between Christianity and
other religions because what other religions
say might sound actually good. Because other
religions always talk about making yourself a
better person, but none of us are perfect, so
that's impossible. The only way we could have
been saved is if someone perfect died for our
sins, which is exactly what Jesus did. We have
to be careful not to be deceived, because in
today's world it's harder to tell good from bad
and right from wrong. And that is because the
devil disguises himself as a voice in our heads
or through other people, social media, and anything
we consume. In 2 Corinthians 11 verse 14 it says,
but I am not surprised. Even Satan disguises
himself as an angel of light. Wow. we really
have to be careful. Just because something looks
good on the outside doesn't mean it actually
is good. And it could be a total contradiction
to God and who he is. We have to remember that
when it comes to Satan, he was once Lucifer,
who was an angel of the Lord, but he turned away
from the Lord because he wanted to exalt himself
to be God. And if Satan was actually wants an
angel, then that means he knows the scripture
from cover to cover. And that means he can twist
the scripture in ways that we won't even understand
unless we have the Holy Spirit guiding us. So
we have to discern. What does it mean to discern?
It means to figure out through the filter of
the Holy Spirit What is good and what is bad?
Uh -huh We can't twist the word based off of
how we feel or just so that we feel less convicted
Because that's exactly what it says in 2nd Timothy
4 3 through 4 People will start going to teachers
who say stuff that makes them feel good, but
the word of God It should make us feel convicted.
It should make us want to stop doing the bad
things that we have been doing And also, it's
so important that we know the word of God for
ourselves, that we're actively and consistently
reading the Bible. If anyone ever adds or takes
away from the scripture or contradicts what the
word says, don't listen to them. In Revelation
22, verses 18 through 19, it says, if anyone
adds anything to them, God will add to him the
plagues which are written in this book. And if
anyone takes away from or distorts the words
of this book of this prophecy, God will take
away from that person his share from the tree
of life. Along with adding or taking away or
distorting the word of God, Satan also uses illusions.
You may have seen or experienced this yourself
that a lot of the times people are persecuted
or treated badly for talking about Jesus. And
you may say, oh yeah, I've seen that with other
religions as well, like Muslims and Hindus, but
Satan is the master of illusions. Religions like
Islam and Hinduism may be persecuted, but just
because Satan has to put on an act to make his
schemes and illusions more believable. For example
when Moses opposed Pharaoh to let the Israelites
go God showed himself and proved himself through
many signs and wonders for example turning Moses's
staff into a snake or turning the whole river
into blood But then it seems like most of the
stuff Moses did Pharaohs sorcerers were able
to do the same things But what were those? Illusions.
They weren't real and they sure didn't last.
And we can see it when Moses turned his staff
into a snake by the power of God, and then Pharaoh's
sorcerers turned their staffs into snakes. But
guess what happened to the snakes that the sorcerers
created? They were gobbled up. by the snake that
Moses had created through the power of God. This
story shows us the power of God versus the illusions
and the power of darkness. Jesus even said that
when he comes back, he will divide what is true
and what is good apart from what is evil and
what is not from him. Another example of the
devil's illusions is when Jesus was in the wilderness
for 40 days and was tempted by the devil. Satan
made illusions appear to tempt Jesus to follow
him. And what Satan tried to do with Jesus? He
does the very same thing with us. But guess what
Jesus did? He fought off the temptation of the
devil with scripture. Which is the very same
thing we are to do when we're tempted or confused
about the issues of life Because the scripture
is where we get our wisdom and our strength.
Oh And another thing which is the difference
between Christianity and other religions Even
though Christianity is categorized as a religion.
It's mostly about our relationship with Jesus
People who follow for example Islam or Hinduism
or all the other religions out there are gonna
tell you that God is distant and For them he
is because those people are blind to what they're
doing They're still stuck in their sin But for
us once we are saved and once we accept Jesus
Christ into our hearts minds and spirits We are
no longer distant to God. We reach God through
Jesus We have a personal relationship with God
and Jesus. And remember, we serve one God with
three different functions. Isn't God so amazing?
Now that we've learned about the difference between
Christianity and other religions, here are three
points I want you to leave with. One, we need
to hide the word in our hearts and know the word
of God for ourselves so that we don't get deceived.
Two, Remember, we can't save ourselves. That's
why we come to God because Jesus saves. And three,
remember that anything apart from Jesus is an
illusion. It might give us pleasure temporarily,
but it doesn't last. So, if you have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ, then I invite
you to give your heart to the Lord today. To
receive Him into your heart, go to Romans 10,
9 -10. It says that if you confess with your
mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
that God has raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved. For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. If you said this prayer
with sincerity, you are saved from all your sins,
past, present, and future sins you may commit.
This truth is not a free past to sin anytime.
Instead, Jesus gives you power over all wrong
choices and empowers you to spread the gospel
to others. You are saved forever and your name
is written in the book of life!