Many people say that all spiritual views are basically the same, perhaps adding that all beliefs speak of love and goodness. But this is like saying that a fast-food restaurant and a fancy steakhouse are alike because they both serve meat. Despite any similarities in the food, everyone agrees that the distinctions make all the difference in the meal. Yet many remain reluctant to apply the same standard to the spiritual realm.

What are the distinctive characteristics of Christianity? There are several of great significance. Briefly, we might summarize some of them by considering the themes of God, heaven, hell, sin, and salvation. Christianity declares there is one God, revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives in a perfect heaven. A fiery lake of judgment was made for the devil and his fallen angels; but people who reject God will also suffer eternal torment there. Sin has infected the human heart and indeed caused the world itself to be fallen; therefore, despite varied efforts to develop ethics and morality, humanity is as far from God as we can be.

Most importantly, Christianity teaches that salvation from sin is freely available through faith in the redemptive, sacrificial death and powerful resurrection of Jesus Christ, who though fully God yet became fully human. God’s offer of grace implies that any attempts to earn His favor by our own merits, or by adding to the work of Jesus, are not only insufficient but are actually offensive to Him, as if He has offered us pure water while we bring our shovelfuls of dirt to the well.

Yet God persists in His offer of salvation, and “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). The Bible is enough to explain God’s ways and attract our hearts to Him.

S. Campbell