Tag: grace

Why not other religions?

Maybe some think that my referencing Christianity and the Bible as the source of true and valid answers shows disrespect for other religions. Why not turn to them instead?

Apparently there are about 4,000 religions in the world – a statistic that reveals humankind’s innate religious disposition. In every country people discern there must be some Higher Power, some transcendent Reality, some Deity. Allied to this intuition is the reflex that God must be the fount of all goodness and justice, and that we, by contrast are not totally good and pure. People therefore fear divine judgment – sometimes perceived as the intervention of evil spirits – and they feel the need for God’s protection and his mercy.

The brightest and noblest minds, therefore, giving thought to these uncertainties, propose varying theologies, moral systems, and religious practices with a view to connecting with the Divine, or appeasing the powerful Spirit, or obtaining peace of mind by God’s forgiveness. Christianity deals with these same troubles of the human spirit, but with a radical difference that sets it apart from all other religions of the world. The essence of Christianity’s uniqueness is that while other religions issue from humanity’s deep religious thinkers, the religion of the Bible comes by the initiative and intervention from out of this world – from God himself who became incarnate in Jesus.

I have written an (unpublished) book: “Only Christianity: why Christianity is truly unique and uniquely true”. Interestingly, the 12 or so reasons why the Christian faith is unique correspond to reasons why it is true. Let me give you some of them.

Firstly, Christianity is anchored in history: it is not a mere religious philosophy proposed by man. God’s interventions in history are recorded throughout the Old Testament – Creation, the call of Abraham, the Exodus of Israel out of Egypt, their entry into Canaan, and ultimately of course the absolutely unique incarnation of God in Jesus, his historic life, death, and resurrection, recorded by the apostles. That God thus became incarnate should be known throughout the world!

Secondly, the unique fact of fulfilled prophecy. Blaise Pascal, impressed by this fact, enumerated in his Pensées (§489ff/693ff) numerous Old Testament predictions that were subsequently fulfilled. “I see a number of religions in conflict,” he wrote, “and therefore all false, except one. … But I see Christianity and find its prophecies, which are not something that anyone can do” (§198/693). As a statistician, Pascal found this convincing.

Thirdly, it provides a conscience-appeasing atonement. The sacrifice of Christ, bearing our sins and our punishment, is an historical accomplishment by which alone the requirements of Justice are satisfied. Only the atoning death of the God-man, Jesus Christ, could permit the Righteous God and Judge of all to grant forgiveness in a way that does not undermine the whole justice of the universe. 

Fourthly, the promises of Jesus Christ offer a full and perfect remission of all sins – not as earned by one’s religious practice or deserved according to one’s efforts at holiness, as all other religions propose  – but by a life-transforming experience of God’s grace that makes believers God’s children. 

This conversion experience is also unique to Christianity: it makes saints out of sinners as they receive the risen Christ into their hearts in repentance and by faith. 

Finally, Christianity offers a love relationship with a loving God and saviour which is beyond imagining. Believers may be overwhelmed when they grasp the love and faithfulness of their Saviour and the lengths to which he went to save us from hell.

Could any other religion rival all that?

Clive Every-Clayton

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Is there a hell?

When a well-known criminal monster, whom I will call Y____, much hated for his horrible and widely publicised wickedness, died in prison, the headline filling the front page of a tabloid shouted: “Burn in Hell, Y_____”. That not only expressed disgust at evil, it also revealed the positive human requirement of punishment for crimes committed. Hell would be the just penalty for sin.

Is there a hell? The question is rarely discussed openly; it may deeply perturb our hearts, as it did mine when I was a teenager. It deserves a clear answer, and as I have said before, only God knows the answer, so only he can tell us. When his Son Jesus came as his spokesman into the world, he left us in no doubt. He spoke of one sinner, who “died and was buried, and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment…” complaining, “I am in anguish in this flame” (Luke 16.22-24). He taught that at the last judgment, the lost “will go away into eternal punishment” (Matthew 25.46). More than once he warned, “in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8.12, 13.50). He insists that “it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God, than… to be thrown into hell” (Mark 9.47). However you may wish to interpret these passages, you cannot escape the fact that Jesus taught there would be severe pain suffered after death by unrepentant sinners. This is a most solemn warning.

Would you rather I said, “It’s okay – we’ll all get to heaven”? From another context, the words of a political advisor are relevant: “If you want to help people, tell them the truth; if you want to help yourself, tell them what they want to hear”. If God has given us such a serious warning, preachers must faithfully teach the truth he has revealed, not alter it in the vain hope of helping people. 

What I can say, however, is that even if you’re the worst offender, you can escape hell and go to heaven if you receive forgiveness from God in this life. That is why I have written a lot in previous blog posts about forgiveness: everyone desperately needs it!

When the Son of God came to earth, he wept over the unrepentant masses and urgently warned us: “Unless you repent you will perish” (i.e. in hell – Luke 13.3). He so wanted to save us from hell that he suffered the most horrendous agony on the cross for us. On the cross he was bearing your hell and mine – the punishment that we deserve – in our place. He died for you because he loves you; he wants to save you from hell. His death made atonement for our sins so that God, in all justice, may forgive us. If there is no hell, we cannot understand why the Son of God should have suffered such an agonising death.

The cross is the supreme measure of Jesus’ love for you. As awful as was his suffering, so strong is his love, bearing it for you. So you can be forgiven, redeemed, transformed, and made ready to go to heaven – if you repent and turn in faith to Christ your Saviour. Ask Jesus to forgive and save you from hell – and he will! “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved” (Romans 10.13). 

But if you would spurn Christ’s love and reject God’s wondrously merciful offer to free you from hell and grant you heaven, what do you think you would deserve?

Clive Every-Clayton

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What is faith?

Faith is essentially very simple, though it is deeply profound. We all have faith in people every day – we have faith in the bus driver, in our teacher, in our doctor, in the lady down the road who passes on the latest gossip, though we may sometimes doubt her.

The young couple about to get married have faith in the love and faithfulness of each other, so they make their commitment “until God shall separate them by death”. 

The scientist has faith that the world runs – and will continue to run – according to consistent order; he has faith in the scientific research papers he reads, without knowing how truthful the academic who wrote them really is.

Even the atheist has faith in his ideas – for his atheism is a “faith system” according to one-time atheist Alister McGrath.

Whatever religion people may have, they have faith in it. The question is: is that faith well placed? How do they know that what is proposed is reliably true? People who always ask that question can end up totally sceptical, because it is not easy to find a basis for our trust that is 100% watertight. In fact, the only basis that qualifies for that degree of truth would be a God of absolute truth.

I have set forth that basis as we looked at Jesus, who affirmed, “I am the truth” (John 14.6) and that he “came down from heaven” to “teach just what God the Father had taught” him to say; so “whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say,” and his “word is truth” (see John 6.38; 8.28 and 40; 12.50; 17.17).

As we listen carefully to Jesus’ words, and consider the purity of his life and the wisdom of his teaching, we are led to believe that he could indeed be the unique incarnation of God and the Saviour of the world. As we consider what he taught about salvation and forgiveness through his death for us, and examine the evidence for his resurrection from the dead, we are logically led to the conclusion that he must indeed be who he said he was. This is the first step of faith.

On that basis, we must go further, because real faith goes beyond simple belief in facts; it must lead us to trust. Faith as trust is essential in every human relationship, and so it is in our relationship with God. When Jesus calls people to follow him, he makes promises, and invites us to trust him to fulfil them. His promises are recorded in the Gospels and are open to “whoever believes in him” (John 3.16). 

Even if we’re not fully convinced that he came from God, as we pay attention to his words, faith and trust grow in our hearts. Jesus promises rest of soul, spiritual new birth, forgiveness of sins, abundant life and eternal life – the full, true meaningful life we deeply long for. All this and more is included in the restoring of a harmonious loving relationship between the forgiven sinner and God our gracious Saviour. This is – I keep repeating – the human fulfilment in life that we were created for, and we come to experience it as our faith expresses itself in trust.  In a prayer of commitment, we receive Jesus as our Saviour, to forgive our sins; we acknowledge him as our Master whose teaching we will believe and follow, and we commit ourselves to him as our Lord whom we will learn to love obey from now on.

Have you expressed your faith in that kind of prayer? 

Clive Every-Clayton

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Justice and amazing grace

Some people get confused about God’s nature: they think that God is “only love” – as if that one divine attribute is so glorious that it says all there is to say about God. Others, however, are gripped by “the fear of the Lord” and apprehend that God is a cruel judge who is out to condemn them to hell. What is right?

All God’s various attributes (and there are as many as 25) cohere in Him in absolute harmony; he is in no way divided against himself. All the attributes that describe him are his in perfection, and all he does honours all the many facets of his glorious divine character.

So when he contemplates us, sinful human beings, he looks on us both with justice and with love. His love desires our true happiness; his wisdom knows how to procure that happiness while respecting our freedom. He wants to win our love by demonstrating his great love for us. 

But equally he looks on us assessing the real seriousness of our sin, our disobedience to his will, our indifference to his love and our many transgressions of his holy law. Our sinful conduct incurs his righteous condemnation. He is a God of justice and that means he punishes disobedience to his commandments. Indeed, he expresses not only his calm, objective condemnation; he is stirred to righteous – but well-controlled – anger by our wilful disobedience.

These two aspects of his nature appear to be in conflict; but in his infinite wisdom, God knows how to show mercy in harmony with his justice.

Exactly 250 years ago, John Newton, who had been a worthless and wicked slave trader before his radical conversion in a storm at sea, penned the much loved hymn, “Amazing grace”. He had certainly deserved God’s judgment by his foul lifestyle on the high seas for many years. He admits he was a “wretch”. But – ah, the grace of God reached him, saved him, changed him into a saintly wise old preacher and hymn-writer, a much respected church leader and an inspiring spokesman of the movement that brought an end to slavery in Britain.

What then is this amazing grace of God that can save a wretch like Newton? It is a glorious theme in the Bible: it means that God is so loving, he is even kind to his enemies – to wicked, hell-deserving sinners – to the extent that he sets in motion a grandiose plan of salvation whereby those sinners, living in rebellion against God and flouting his law, can be brought to an enduring and radical change of life and inherit eternal life. Newton testified, “Grace… saved a wretch like me”. He once was lost, far from God, a blaspheming immoral sailor; but God found him and drew him into his loving arms and transformed his whole existence.

Grace means that even when we think we’ve sinned away all chances of mercy and forgiveness, and however heinous our sins may have been, there is still hope that God is willing to receive us back with love. Indeed, he has gone before us and done all that is necessary to allow him – in a way that fully respects an honours the requirements of his justice – to pardon sinners such as me and you.  

How he does that is the most wonderful news the world has ever heard!

Clive Every-Clayton

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