Many are GOING TO CHURCH but few are GOING DOWN THE ROAD WHICH LEADS TO LIFE (Matthew 7:13-14).
Many name the Name of Christ (2 Tim. 2:19) and claim to be Christians but few understand what a Christian really is.
Many are RELIGIOUS but few are RIGHT WITH GOD.
| RELIGION | CHRISTIANITY |
| Religion is summed up in one word: DO! Man trying to DO different things to please God and earn His favor. | Christianity is summed up in one word: DONE–Christ dying on the cross to save sinful man (John 19:30). |
| TRYING | TRUSTING (Acts 16:31) |
| A Work to Do which is never done (How can anyone work well enough and hard enough to earn salvation?) | A Word to Believe (1 Pet. 1:25) about a Work that is Done (1 Pet 1:18-19) |
| Man hoping to save himself | God saving hopeless man (1 Tim. 1:15) |
| RELIGION is man trying to BRING HIMSELF TO GOD (by human effort, good works, etc.) | CHRISTIANITY is Christ BRINGING US TO GOD on the basis of what He did for us on the cross (1 Peter 3:18) |
| Religion is man trusting his own good works (Titus 3:5) | Salvation is man trusting the good work which the Lord Jesus did on the cross (Rom. 3:22-26) |
| Following rules | Enjoying life (John 6:47; 10:10) |
| Doing Something | Knowing Someone (John 17:3) |
| Seeking to earn God’s favor by works | Receiving God’s favor by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8 and Eph. 1:6) |
| “I can work my way to heaven and earn my salvation” (Rom 6:23 teaches that we have earned our way to hell: “the wages of sin is death”) | “I could never live well enough to earn my way to heaven. Christ had to pay the price for my salvation (1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18-19) |
| “Salvation is something that a person must earn.” | “Salvation is a free gift” (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 4:10). |
| The religious man compares himself with others (Luke 18:11) |
The saved man sees himself as God sees him (1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 53:1-3; Rom. 3:10-12) |
| “I have kept the law! I have done that which God has required” (Matthew 19:16-20) |
“I have broken the law but I am trusting the One who came into this world to save guilty lawbreakers” (1 Tim. 1:15) |
| A religious man trying to earn his way to heaven by works may be likened to a man trying to swim from New York to London by his own efforts and energy and strength. He will never make it! | The person who is saved by faith is likened to a man getting on a ship in New York and trusting that ship to bring him safely to London. This man simply rests upon the ship and lets the ship do all the work. |
| The religious man is seeking to establish his own righteousness (Rom 10:3) |
The saved man is satisfied with the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) |
| Religion teaches that good works are the cause of salvation. | The Bible teaches that good works are the result of salvation. |
| “I hope I will be saved.” “I think I will be saved.” “I feel that I will be saved, maybe.” |
“I KNOW I am saved right now” (1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that believe on to name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life”). |