The whole story

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:12).

Some time back, I was watching the news concerning a man whose wife was in critical condition. He was organizing a prayer service for her, and he invited people of all faiths to come. He said that all religions are basically the same, they are just confused about the details.

I could not disagree with him more strongly. All religions are not the same; there are basically three kinds of religions in the world, and they are very different from each other.

One type of religion believes that God is an angry judge—you must please Him or else. He has a list of things for you to do in order to earn His favor. Please God enough and He will reward you; if you don’t make enough of an effort, He punishes you. Religions of this type emphasize the need to work hard at being good.

A second type of religion views God as a cuddly grandfather—no matter what you do, He’s all smiles. Oh, He might give you a stern lecture about bad behavior, but He doesn’t really get angry. All people are His children, and although He urges us to be good, He loves everyone too much to actually punish them. Religions of this type assure their members that God loves people unconditionally, and He accepts them just as they are with no changes required.

The third type of religion is based on the Old and New Testament. It tells us that God is holy and that we are sinners. It teaches that God hates sin, hates it so much that those who commit sin are sent to hell when they die. But the Bible also speaks of God’s great love—a love so committed to our welfare that He sent His Son to suffer all the punishment that our sins deserved. When we gratefully pledge our loyalty to Jesus, He forgives us for angering God and teaches us how to live a life that reflects God’s perfect love. When we eventually die, He will bring us to His side to live in happiness forever.

All religions are not alike. Some teach that God demands good behavior—but that’s only part of the story. Others teach that God loves us deeply—but that’s only part of the story. The Bible teaches that through Jesus, God forgives us for sinning and teaches us how to really live—and that, my friend, is the whole story.