Cedarville Magazine, Spring/Summer 2016

The Exclusivity of the Gospel The Exclusivity of the Gospel Comparison Chart God/Creator Salvation CHRISTIANITY God is personal – He thinks, acts, knows, and interacts with His creation. There is only one God who exists as a triunity of persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Human beings are sinful and can only be saved by the free gift of God’s grace received through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. ISLAM There is strictly one God, Allah, who is the all-powerful creator, director, and judge of all creation. Individuals gain paradise through faithful submission to Allah and obedience to his laws. BUDDHISM There is no personal god at all. All that exists is the product of an eternal chain of cause and effect. What we perceive as reality is an illusion and temporary. There is no permanent identity for persons. Followers achieve Nirvana, an existence marked by peace and the cessation of desire and suffering. Nirvana ends the cycle of birth and death. This achievement is through the self-disciplines of meditation and right living. HINDUISM There is no personal god. Brahman is the absolute reality that encompasses and unifies all that exists. Hindu deities are expressions of this one reality. Adherents achieve Moksha, or liberation from the cycle of birth, life, and death, through right action, knowledge, and devotion. JUDAISM There is one God, Yahweh, an all-powerful, all-knowing, and eternal creator. He is the holy lawgiver and judge. Conservative Jews achieve heaven through obedience to the Law. Reformed Jews attain heaven through betterment of self and society. Chart courtesy of Don Grigorenko, Professor of Missions at Cedarville University. He earned his Ph.D. in intercultural studies. lives even though they have not heard of Jesus Christ.” Response | This objection does not take seriously the passages in Scripture that clearly communicate humanity is spiritually dead apart from Christ and that salvation comes specifically through faith in Christ. For example, consider Ephesians 2, where those apart from Christ are described as “dead” and “children of wrath.” Yet, by faith “in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13). The New Testament is clear about the spiritual condition of humanity apart from Christ. Jon Wood is Vice President for Student Life and Christian Ministries at Cedarville University. Cedarville Magazine | 15 JUST $65,000 MORE TO GO! If we as a Cedarville family raise just $65,000 more for the Campaign for the Jeremiah Chapel by the end of June, we will complete the $175,000 matching gift challenge from a generous donor. *Until June 30, chapel seats will be available for a gift of $250 Give by June 30 at cedarville.edu/ChapelCampaign to double your gift and help us complete the chapel renovation!