Why Is the Bible and Not Some Other Religious Book the Word of God?
As my children were growing up, I taught them that Christianity is different from every other religion in the world in one key point – a concept revealed to us in the Bible. That point is that every other religion is based on salvation by the “good” works of man, while the Bible reveals that man can never do enough good works to be accepted by a holy and righteous God. Scripture tells us:
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (Romans 3:23, NLT)
Every other religious book teaches that salvation must be earned by the “good works” done in life. In these religious systems, it is as if celestial scales hang over each person’s head with good works on one side and bad works on the other. No one knows if enough good things have been piled on to earn heaven. The joke is that old people are nice because they are trying to add good works to the scale to earn salvation.
The problem is that when a person dies, they carry with them all of their sins, along with all of the good they have done. When approaching a holy God – which means one who is perfect – just one sin is enough to keep you outside His presence. The Bible gives us this sobering declaration:
No one is righteous – not even one. (Romans 3:10, NLT)
While the other religious books teach that you can work your way to heaven, the Bible says you cannot. No one can.
Without Hope
This truth may lead you to believe that you are without hope, but the entire Bible declares the message that hope for salvation can only be found by placing your faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
There is an old saying that “all history is ‘His Story.’” The Bible in its entirety is the story of a loving and holy God reconciling sinful mankind by the death and resurrection of the Son of God.
The Old Testament points forward to the coming of the Messiah – the promised Lamb of God who would take upon Himself the sins of all people. The New Testament openly tells that story in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – and then the letters of the early apostles tell us how to live as one of His disciples.
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