Besides Christianity-Is there another way?

P.O. BOX 10907, GEORGETOWN.

Matthew 4:4: “……. People need more than bread for their life, they must
feed on every word of God” (NLT).
Hosea 4:6: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge….” (KJV) or “My
people are being destroyed because they do not know me….” (NLT).

BIBLE STUDY: BESIDES CHRISTIANITY – DO ALL

RELIGIONS LEAD TO THE GOD OF GRACE AND SALVATION?
IS THERE ONLY ONE WAY?

CONTENTS.

1.0 Introduction: Scripture definition framework - Context – Page 2.

2.0 The Religious Perspective – Claims of other Religions – Page 3.
3.0 The Biblical Perspective or Claims – Page 5.
4.0 The Christian Teaching of Exclusive Salvation – Page 9.
5.0 Conclusion: Future Grace – Page 12.
Bibliography/References

Quote: Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living
while the other helps make a life.

Quote: A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees

the opportunity in every difficulty – Winston Churchill.

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BIBLE STUDY: BESIDES CHRISTIANITY – DO ALL

RELIGIONS LEAD TO THE GOD OF GRACE AND SALVATION?
IS THERE ONLY ONE WAY?

1.0 Introduction: Scripture definitional framework – Context.

1.1 The Triune God – God by the revelation and testimony of the
Scripture, is one divine Being in three eternal, co-essential, yet
distinct Persons – God the Father is the first Person of the
Godhead, God the Son is the Second Person of the Godhead and
God the Holy Spirit is the Third person of the Godhead. He is
the one true God, eternal, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient
and omnipresent. He is Creator of heaven and earth, Sustainer
of the universe and the Source of human salvation. Though
transcendent, God is directly and personally involved with
human beings. God is love and infinite goodness (Mark 12:29; 1
Timothy 1:17; Ephesians 4:6, Matthew 28:19; 1 John 4:8
and 5:20; Titus 2:11; John 16:27; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1
Corinthians 8:4-6). God is a trinity.
1.2 Salvation is the restoration of human fellowship with God and
the deliverance of the entire creation from the bondage of sin
and death. God gives salvation, not only for the present life but
for eternity, to every person who accepts Christ as Lord and
Saviour. This is the gift of God, by grace through faith in Jesus
Christ, not earned by personal merit or good works. (Ephesians
2:4-10; 1 Corinthians 1:9; Romans 8:21-23; Romans 10:13;
Matthew 1:21; Romans 5:8; Romans 6:18, 22-23). It is not
based on human actions or performance.
1.3 The Assurance of Salvation. The Bible affirms that all whose
faith remains in Jesus Christ will be saved. The Bible
emphasises the infinite faithfulness of the Lord, the total
sufficiency of Jesus Christ for our salvation, the dynamic love
of God for all peoples and the gospel as the power of God for
the salvation of all who believe. Having such assurance of
salvation, believers are urged to remain firm in the faith and to
grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. (John 10:27-29; 2 Corinthians 1:20-22; 2 Timothy

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1:9; 1 Corinthians15:2; Hebrews 6:4-6; John 3:16; Romans

1:16; Hebrews 4:14; 2 Peter 3:18).
1.4 God’s grace is the free unmerited favour God has chosen to
bestow on his entire creation. In its broadest sense, God’s
grace is expressed in every act of his self-disclosure. By grace,
humanity and the entire cosmos have been redeemed from sin
and death through Jesus Christ. By grace, humans are
empowered to know and love God and Jesus Christ and enter
the joy of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. (Ephesians
2:8-9; Titus 3:7; Colossians 1:20; 1 John 2:1-2; Romans
8:19-21; 3:24; 5:2, 15-17,21; John 1:12). Grace does not
involve any spiritual or physical conditions that we first have to
live up to before it is granted.

2.0 The Religion Perspective – Claims of other Religions.

2.1 Does the Christian gospel really teach that Jesus is the only
way of salvation? Some people, that is, those who are religiously
or legalistically/works oriented object to the Christian belief
that salvation is available only through Jesus Christ. In our
pluralistic societies (society with a variety of groups of
different ethnic origins, culture or religions) tolerance is
expected or even demanded as there is religious intolerance and
hence the potential for conflict. Further the concept of
freedom of religion or freedom of religious expression (which
permits the existence of all religions) is sometimes
misinterpreted to mean that all religions are somehow equally
true. It is the view of some people that all paths (religion,
philosophical, etcetera) lead to the same God who may just have
a different name. But is this really so?
2.2 Some persons are of the view that all the paths eventually lead
to the same God and salvation. As such the tendency is for such
persons to be intolerant with people who subscribe to the belief
or who believe in only one way. Such persons also object to the
practice of religious or Christian evangelism that they may see
as an intrusion or an un-welcomed attempt to change the beliefs
of other people by imposing one’s own beliefs. This tends to be
seen as an imposition on one’s private life or a violation of his or
her human rights. Ironically, such persons themselves want to

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change the beliefs of people who believe in only one way and do
not recognise the existence of another way – their way.
2.3 The major world religions include Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism,
Judaism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism and African Tradition
Religions. Of these the two monotheistic religions (belief or
doctrine that there is only one God) are Judaism and Islam.
Most religions are exclusive (not including or not admitting
something else). Orthodox (traditional, conventional) Jews claim
to have the true path. Muslims claim to have the best revelation
of God. Hindus believe that they are right. Buddhists (who
believe that all suffering can be brought to an end by
overcoming greed, hatred and delusion) believe what they do
because they think it is right. Even the modern pluralists
believe that pluralism (a form of society with many minority
groups of different cultures, religions, etcetera) is more right
than other ideas. The logical question one can ask is: Can all
these religions/philosophies/ideas be right or true and
therefore follow different paths to the same God?
2.4 The plain truth is that all do not lead to the same God or to
salvation. For one thing, the different religions have different
and in some instances have several deities or gods. The Hindu
has many gods and describes salvation as a return to
nothingness. This is a different destination than the Muslim
emphasis on monotheism (the doctrine that there is only one
God) and other heavenly rewards. Neither the Muslim nor the
Hindu would agree that their respective paths eventually lead
to the same destination. Based on the history of the
relationship of these two major religions, they would rather
fight than arrive at a compromise or switch allegiance. They
prefer to do battle for religious supremacy and paramountcy of
beliefs. In this scenario, western religious pluralism would be
dismissed as condescending and woefully uniformed.
2.5 In modern society religious plurality and the evangelising mode
of some religions (for example, Islam) present challenges to
Christian evangelism – the mandate of the Commission of
Matthew 28. Christians in the wider Christian community need
to spiritually strategise in order to obviate or overcome the
challenges posed by these religions.

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2.6 Believers/Christians believe that the Christian gospel – the

gospel of Christ is correct while at the same time allowing
people the right and the freedom of choice to believe or not to
believe it. As Christians understand it, faith requires that
people have the liberty or choice to believe or not to believe.
However, while we in Christianity affirm the right for people to
believe as they decide, this does not mean that Christians
believe that all faiths or religions are true or right and that
they lead to the same God. Allowing other people their
constitutional or human right to believe as they wish does not
mean that Christians have to compromise or quit believing that
Jesus is the only way of salvation or eternal life. There is no
valid reason for a Christian to feel inferior or to compromise
his/her beliefs in anyway.

3.0 The Biblical Perspective or Claims.

3.1 Christ claimed in the gospel to be the one and only path to God.
He claimed to be the exclusive means of truth and salvation.
People who reject Him are also rejecting God ( because God and
Christ are one) as shown in the following Scriptures:
• Matthew7: 26-27: V26: “But everyone who hears these
words of mine and does not put them into practice is like
a foolish man who built his house on sand. V27: The rain
came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and
beat against the house and it fell with a great crash.”
Comment: In effect what Jesus said here is that if you
do not follow Him, you will not be in the kingdom of God.
• Matthew 10:32-33: V32: “Whoever acknowledges me
before men, I will also acknowledge him before my
Father in heaven. V33: But whoever disowns me before
men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
• John 5:22-24: V22: “Moreover, the Father, judges no
one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son. V23:
that all may honour the Son just as they honour the
Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour
the Father who sent him.” V24: I tell you the truth,
whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me

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has eternal life and will not be condemned, he has

crossed over from death to life.”
• John 8:12: “When Jesus spoke again to the people he
said: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me
will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of
life.”
• John 14:6-7: V6: Jesus answered, “I am the way and
the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me. V7: If you really knew me, you would
know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him
and have seen him.” Comment: What is explicit here is
that Jesus said that the people who claim that there are
other ways or paths to salvation are wrong.
• Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else for there is
no other name under heaven given to men by which we
might be saved.” Comment: Peter was forthright when he
told the Jewish leaders that we all need the forgiveness,
redemption and reconciliation offered only through
Jesus Christ. Jesus requires and desires our complete
redemption – spiritual, emotional and physical. He alone
has the power to bring it about not any god or religion or
philosophy.
• Ephesians 2: 1-3, 12-13: “As for you, you were in your
transgressions and sins. V2: in which you used to live
when you followed the ways of this world and of the
ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at
work in those who are disobedient V3: All of us also
lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of
the sinful nature and following its desires and
thoughts…V12: remember that at that time you were
separate from Christ excluded from citizenship in Israel
and foreigners to the covenant of the promise of the
promise, without hope and without God in the world V13:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have
been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
• 1 Timothy 4:10: “…. We have put our hope in the living
God, who is the Saviour of all men and especially of
those who believe.”

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• Galatians 3:21: “Is the law, therefore, opposed to the

promise of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been
given that could impart life, then righteousness would
certainly have come by the law.” Comment: Paul made it
clear when he said in Ephesians 2 that those who did not
know Christ were dead in their transgressions and sins.
They had no hope and despite their religious or
philosophical beliefs, they did not have God (verse 12).
There is one Mediator, he said – only one way to get to
God – through Jesus Christ. In addition, no man can come
to Christ unless the Father draws him or her (John
6:44, 65).
• 1Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. V6: who
gave himself as a ransom for all men…” Comment: Jesus
was and is the ransom everyone needed and needs. Paul
showed in Galatians 3 that if there were any other law
or any other path that offered salvation, then God would
have done it because He loves humanity – His creation.
• Colossians 1: 19-22: V19: “For God was pleased to have
all his fullness dwell in him V20: and through him to
reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth
or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood
shed on the cross.V21: Once you were alienated from
God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil
behaviour V22: But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s
physical body through death to present you holy in his
sight without blemish and free from accusation.”
Comment: These verses highlight the supremacy or the
paramountcy of Christ. It is through Christ that the
“whole world, a prisoner of sin” (Galatians3:22) is
reconciled to God. Paul was called to spread the gospel
among the Gentiles. He referred to the religion of the
Gentiles as being worthless – Acts 14:15: “Men, why are
you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We
are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from
these worthless things to the living God, who made
heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.”

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Comment: Because of their religion, hence their beliefs

and practices/rituals, the people saw Paul and Barnabas
as “the gods” who came down to them in “human form”
and so they wanted to offer sacrifices to them” when
they saw Paul healed the man who was crippled from
birth (Acts 14: 6-13).
• Hebrews 10:11: “Day after day every priest stands and
performs his religious duties; again and again he offers
the same sacrifice, which can never take away sins.”
Comment: Christ is not just better than other paths or
ways – He is effective and inherently sustainable
whereas the other paths of religion are not. It is an all –
or- nothing difference, not one of relative benefit or
importance. Relatively is not applicable here.
3.2 The gospel of Jesus Christ is bad news for religion that is
based on fear, superstition, authoritarianism, ignorance, self-
actualisation/works and legalism. The gospel of Christ is bad
news for any religion, including religion that poses or
masquerades as Christianity. It is bad news for religion that
convinces its followers that salvation includes requirements to
say certain prayers at certain times, to light candles at specific
times, to give specific amount or percent to the specific religion
that convinces them of that requirement, to perform rituals,
deeds and penance as a central part in their relationship with
God or demand that its followers be in church every time the
door is open.
3.3 The gospel of Christ is great news for those churches and
congregations that are spiritually healthy, Christ centred or
focused places of worship that rely solely on God’s grace and
refuse to take the broad road of legalism, the road that
ensures it will maintain power over the lives of its
congregants/members. The gospel is great news for those
persons who had no idea that God really does love them, not
because of what they do but in spite of what they do.
3.4 The gospel of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God is not about
the dues we pay so that we can pass muster or be bona fide
members in some social club. The gospel of Jesus Christ is
about our freedom to willingly congregate, fellowship and meet

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in places of our choosing, in ways and in venues where we do not

feel threatened or intimidated – in public and private, formally
and informally, to proclaim and share the kingdom of God. When
two or three of us gather together in His name, He is in the
midst and as such we are “doing church.” Church can be formal,
it can be public and it might be with lots of other people. The
primary ingredient that determines whether or not authentic
Christianity is taking place is the position or focus given to our
Lord (Master) and Saviour.
3.5 Christ must be central or the centrepiece. He must be centre
stage. God’s grace must overshadow and inform all that is said
and done. A community of believers will be just that – believers,
if they are gathered to believe in and express faith in Jesus
Christ. This is done where two or three are gathered in Jesus’
name, not in the name of religion – legalism – deeds or good
works – regulations, etcetera – but in His name or by His
authority.

4.0 The Christian Teaching of Exclusive Salvation.

4.1 The Christian teaching of exclusive salvation is based on what
Jesus Himself said and what the scriptures teach. This is highly
linked to who Jesus is and man’s fundamental need for grace
and a relationship with Christ. The Bible says that Jesus is the
Son of God in a unique way. As God in the flesh, He gave His life
for our redemption and reconciliation to God and for our
salvation. He was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world” (Revelation 13:8).
4.2 Being fully God but also fully man (human), Jesus prayed and
asked His Father for another way, but there was none – See
Matthew 26:39 (NKJV), which attests to this: “He went a
little farther and fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘O my
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me;
nevertheless, not as I will but as you will.’” Jesus knew what
the Father’s will was. He had to die for the sins of humanity
before mankind could be redeemed, reconciled to God and be
offered salvation – eternal life. There was and is no other way.
Salvation comes to humanity only through God Himself entering
the human world to suffer the consequences of sin, absorbing
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and experiencing the penalty Himself, so as to free human kind

from it, as His gift to humanity (all of us). This is why He is also
our High Priest as described in Hebrews 8.
4.3 Most religions teach some form of works (human effort,
appeasement, performance and self reliance) as the path of
salvation. This path involves for example, saying the right
prayers and observing the frequency times of such prayers,
doing the right things and humanitarian deeds, attending church
services, giving tithes/offerings, etcetera, hoping these will be
enough to court God’s favour as He is seen as being a harsh and
chauvinist God. The concept taught or propagated is that people
can be good enough if they have the good will, determination
and intentions and hence try hard enough with self-discipline
and positive thinking. However, Christianity teaches the direct
opposite.
4.4 Christianity says that the heart of man is deceitful above all
things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), our nature is
sinful as sin dwells in us (Romans 7:17-18) and all of us have
sinned (Romans 3:23). As such Christianity says that we simply
cannot be good enough no matter how well intended and
resolved we are, we need God’s grace. Christianity teaches that
we cannot be good enough no matter what we do or how hard we
try or discipline ourselves. On our own, we will never be good
enough and because of that, other religions will never be good
enough. The only way humanity can be saved is through the love
and grace of God. We can never deserve to live forever
(salvation) by earning it through our works or our human
performance/efforts and self- discipline. The only way we can
be given eternal life is for God to give us something that we do
not deserve and cannot earn.
4.5 This is what Paul is referring to in Galatians 2:21 when he uses
the word grace: “I do not set aside the grace of God.” If
righteousness could be gained through the law (through human
performance) Chr ist died for nothing (in vain). We are saved by
grace not by keeping the law. The law does not save man. It is
Christ who saves humankind. Salvation is a gift of God,
something that we could never earn with even a thousand years
of law keeping and mere human performance or law obedience.

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Religion cannot offer grace as it is based on legalism and is

works oriented. See Romans 6:23:“For the wages of sin is
death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”
4.6 It is not also a hybrid situation. Humanity is not saved by grace
plus works but by grace and grace alone. Paul makes it clear
that we must choose either one or another. “Both” is not a valid
option – Romans 11:6: “And if by grace, then it is no longer of
works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works,
it is no longer grace, otherwise work is no longer work.” See also
Galatians 3:18: “If the inheritance depends on the law, then it
no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to
Abraham through a promise.” Comment: Salvation does not
depend on the law or obedience to the law – legalism but on
God’s grace.
4.7 Galatians 3:21: “If a law had been given that could impart life,
then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.”
Comment: If there were any way that law or rule keeping –
human performance could lead to eternal life (salvation), then
God would have saved us with the law. However, this was and is
not now possible. The law cannot save anyone nor forgive sin or
reconcile anyone to God.
4.8 The above comments do not in any way negate or rule out the
need for ethical, good and exemplary conduct, discipline and
behaviour on the part of a Christian. God wants us to have
integrity, to be disciplined and have good behaviour, of course.
He wants us to love others and thereby fulfill the law as Christ
is the end of the law and the centrepiece – the law of the new
covenant. But He does not want us to think that our good works
and discipline are ever a reason for our salvation. If our works
contributed to our salvation, then we would have something to
boast about – Ephesians 2:8-10: V8: “For by grace you have
been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the
gift of God, V9: not of works lest anyone should boast. V10:
For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in
them.” Comment: Saving grace is not of yourself, “it is the gift
of God.” Even faith is not of yourself, it too is the gift of God.

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“So then faith comes by the hearing and hearing by the word of
God” (Romans 10:17). Saving faith comes from God as the
sinner hears the word of God.
4.9 It is all a matter of grace. Your sins may be great and many but
God’s grace is greater. Romans5:10 says: “But where sin
abounds, grace abounds much more.” God’s saving grace is
limitless, inexhaustible and eternal. Salvation by the grace of
God rules out totally all human effort in accomplishing God’s
saving work.
4.10 God in His infinite wisdom designed His plan of salvation in such
a way that we cannot take any credit for saving ourselves. We
can never claim to deserve anything, we can never claim that
God owes us anything. This goes to the heart of the Christian
faith and it makes humanity all the more unique. Paul tells us in
Ephesians that we are not saved by our works but that we are
saved FOR works. Christians do support with their finances and
prayers, the work of the kingdom or government of God. Jesus
saves us so that He can make us into His workmanship. We are
saved so that He can create us into the person He wants us to
be. Such a person is not lazy, indolent, immoral or ambivalent or
a person who lacks integrity. That person is motivated and
charged with energy and enthusiasm to share the gospel – to
pass on the same grace that has been given to him or her to
someone else.
4.11 In relation to salvation, are both sides of religion and
Christianity true at the same time? It is impossible for both
ideas, that is, the idea or the doctrine of works as propagated
by most religions and the doctrine of grace as taught by
Christianity in the gospel, to be true at the same time. The
doctrine of grace teaches whether we like it or not, believe it
or not that no other paths lead to salvation. Christ is the
doctrine and He is the path.

5.0 Future Grace.

5.1 If there is only one way or path to salvation through
Christianity, then what about those people who have and follow
other religious beliefs or those who died without even hearing

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about Jesus? Are they permanently lost? What about the

people who lived before Jesus was born, do they have any hope?
5.2 The answer is a resounding YES! They have hope. This is so
precisely because the Christian gospel is the gospel of grace
and God is love and His love is unconditional. People are saved by
God’s grace not by merely pronouncing the name “Jesus’ or by
having special academic/intellectual knowledge or special
formulas. Christ died for the sins of the whole world (for all
humanity have sinned – Romans 3:23) whether people know it or
believe it or not. See 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (KJV): V14:“For
the love of Christ constrains us, because we thus judge, that if
one died for all, then were all dead; V15: And that he died for
all that they who live should not henceforth live unto
themselves, but unto him who died for them and rose again.“ 1
John 2:2 (KJV) says: “And he is the propitiation for our sins
and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Comment: Jesus’ death was an atoning sacrifice for everyone –
past, present, future, whatever nationality, ethnicity or religion.
5.3 Christians are confident that God is true to His Word when He
says in 2 Peter 3:9: that “the Lord is not slack concerning his
promise … but is longsuffering to us, not willing that any should
perish but that all should come to repentance.” Comment:
Although His ways and times may often be invisible to us, we
nonetheless trust Him to love the human beings He has made.
(In Isaiah 55:8-9, He tells us that His thoughts and ways are
higher than ours). He did not make humanity just to condemn
and destroy us afterwards. Is this the action of a loving and
caring God? Certainly not!
5.4 In John 3:16-17 Jesus said plainly: “For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not
send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save
the world through him.” Comment: Christians believe that the
resurrected Christ has conquered death and therefore not even
death can pose any barrier to His ability to lead people to trust
Him for salvation regardless of the person’s religious
persuasion/belief which is not relevant.

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5.5 We do not know the details of the ‘hows’ or the ‘whens’ in

relation to salvation for all people but we can trust His Word.
As such, we can believe that one way or another He urges every
person who ever lived or who ever will live, to trust in Him for
salvation – whether before they die, at the point of death, or
even after they are dead. If some people in the last judgement
turn to Christ in faith when they at last learn what He has done
for them, then He will certainly not turn them away. God’s
judgement is righteous, “for there is no partiality with God” –
Romans 2:11 – see also verses 12-16.
5.6 No matter when people are saved or how well they understand
the gospel, it is only through Christ that they can be saved.
Merely having good intentions or well-intentioned good works
will never save anyone. It does not matter how sincerely people
believe that they can be saved if they try hard enough in living
the Christian way of life. It is just not possible.
5.7 The whole point of grace and of Jesus’ sacrifice is that no
amount of good works, no amount of religious deeds, practices,
rituals, penance or appeasement can ever save anyone. If such a
path or way could have been devised, then God would have
surely done it (Galatians 3:21/Matthew 26:39).In Christianity
a relationship with Christ is not dictated by what we do, how we
do it, how often we do it and when we do it. This is what religion
and legalism propagate or advocate. New covenant Christianity
does not carry with it the laws, rules and regulations of an old
covenant type religion. Requirements of religions or old
covenant type religions are not bound on Christians today in the
new covenant.
5.8 If people have sincerely tried to attain salvation by working, by
meditating, penance or any other humanly devised means, then
they will learn that their works or actions do not earn them
anything with God. Salvation is by grace and only by grace. The
Christian gospel teaches that no one can earn it (salvation) and
yet it is available to all. Religion/legalism is the virus of grace –
one of the foundational and fundamental doctrines of the
gospel of Christ and the new covenant. It negates grace and
promotes ‘works’ and self. It is the very antithesis of the gift
of grace and salvation.

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6.0 Conclusion.
6.1 Regardless of what religious or legalistic path a person has been
on, Christ can rescue him or her from it and set him or her on
His own path – the only path. He is the only Son of God who
provided the only atoning sacrifice that everyone needs. God
prepared this sacrifice – His own sacrifice. He is the unique
channel of God’s grace and salvation. Jesus is exclusive and
inclusive at the same time – the narrow way and the Saviour of
the entire world. The only way of salvation yet it is available for
all.
6.2 God’s grace, shown most perfectly in Christ, is what every
human being needs. The good news is that it is freely available
and given to all. Religion evaluated in the context of the divine
purpose of humanity, grace, salvation, redemption, forgiveness,
reconciliation and a personal relationship with Christ is bad
news. It has no real spiritual utility, sustainable and eternal
value. The gospel of Christ and the kingdom of God is good news
for all humanity. There is only one way – Christ. He is the only
path.

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Bibliography/References.

1. Plain Truth Ministries Update – Issue of February 22, 2005.

2. Statements of Beliefs of the Worldwide Church of God. Copyright
2001.
3. The Spiritual Renewal Bible – New International Version. 1998.
4. The Christian Life Bible – New King James Version. 1985.
5. Tkach, Joseph. Article: Only One Way? Year 2002. Copyright –
WCOG, USA.
6. Tkach, Joseph. Article: Grace. Year 2002. Copyright WCOG, USA.

Prepared by A. Williams and presented at Worship Services of the

Worldwide Church of God, Guyana on 24th January 2004. Published by the
Worldwide Church of God, Guyana. The purpose of these Bible
Studies/Lectures is to teach what the Bible says and to help people
understand their relationship with God independent or irrespective of their
denominational beliefs or affiliations.

March 2005.

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