Christianity stands apart from all the religions of the world. One
important reason is that its founder, Jesus Christ, claimed to be fully
God. The Buddha did not claim to be God; Moses never said that he was
Jehovah; Mohammed did not say he was Allah; and Zoroaster never claimed
to be Ahura Mazda. Yet the lowly Carpenter from Nazareth declared that
whoever had truly seen Him (Jesus) had seen His Father (John 14:9).
Christ said He existed before Abraham: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to
see My day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews to Him,
Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham? Jesus
said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am"
(John 8:56-58).
Christ said that He was equal to the Father: "My Father has been
working until now, and I have been working."Therefore the Jews sought
all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but
also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God" (John
5:17-18).
Jesus also declared, "As the Father raises the dead and gives life to
them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges
no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son" (John 5:21-22). He
not only claimed to be God, He proved Himself to be God by raising
people from the dead!
Christ not only said but proved that He could forgive sins. In Mark
2:5-7, we read, "When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic,
"Son, your sins are forgiven you." And some of the scribes were sitting
there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak
blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Mark
2:5-7). To prove He had the power, Jesus immediately healed the man of
his paralysis, giving outward visible evidence of the inward spiritual
healing He had also performed in forgiving the man.
The power to forgive sins against God is something which the Bible
clearly teaches only God can do. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah records God
as saying, "I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for
Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins" (Isaiah 43:25).
Christ's claims are unmistakable. When He asked the religious
authorities why they wanted to stone Him, they replied, "For a good
work we stone Thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that Thou, being
a man, makest Thyself God" (John 10:33). The Jews understood what He
was claiming for Himself even if modern skeptics do not.
The New Testament teaches that Christ is the Creator of the universe.
"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made
that was made" (John 1:3). He continues to hold all things together.
"And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist"
(Colossians 1:17). Paul says Christ was God manifest in human flesh (1
Timothy 3:16). The apostle John refers to Christ as "the Word" and says
"the Word was God" (John 1:1).
The reality of who Jesus Christ is, is central to Christianity. Between
the Person, Jesus Christ, and the religions of the world and their
founders, there is a "grand canyon" separating them from one another.
Confucianism is a set of teachings; Confucius himself is not central.
Islam is supposed to be the revelation of Allah, with Mohammed being
only his prophet. Buddhism emphasizes the principles of the Buddha but
not Buddha himself. And in the Hindu religion, there is no known
historic founder.
But at the core of Christianity is Christ. He did not just teach about
truth, He claimed to be the truth. "Jesus said unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, except by Me"
(John 14:6). Who Jesus Christ is, is the important question for you. Is
He the Son of God? Is He the only way to reach God?
This is why we say that Christianity is not a religion; it is a
relationship. You do not become a Christian by merely knowing about
Christ and His teachings; you need to know Him personally, "And this is
eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3). This knowing comes through
reading and responding positively to the central message of the Bible,
the Word of God. “You shall know the truth,” said Jesus, “and the truth
shall make you free.”
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