Day 3: How Christianity is Different

Christianity is totally centred in a person: Jesus of Nazareth. It is not merely that He was the one who delivered the truths of the Gospel, but it is in His life and death and resurrection that the entire Gospel is centred. You cannot take away Jesus and have the New Testament. Now, that is not true of other religions. You could, for instance, take away Mohammed and replace him with someone else with another name and from another age. There are historical facts connected with it, but they are not essential to its truth. In the case of Christianity, however, these historical facts about Jesus are central to its truth. If they had not happened, the Gospel could never have been presented to the human race.

Christianity is rooted in history. It is not floating in some misty realm of subjective truth or theory or theology. So many people today view Christianity as just one religion among many—one set of theories or one set of moral principles. That is incorrect. If the events on which it is based are true, then Christianity is true. If they are not true, then Christianity is not true.

Third, Christianity claims that it will be verified in the personal experience of those who believe—and base their lives around—these three vital facts: Christ’s death, His burial, and His resurrection. Believing in Jesus and in these facts about Jesus will produce a tremendous, supernatural transformation in the lives of everyone who believes.