Overview and Objectives

Alternative religious views have saviors who remain in the grave. No other system offers everlasting life as a gift to those who trust One who has overcome death for them. No other system offers assurance of forgiveness, eternal life, and adoption into the family of God by calling on and trusting Someone in the same way a drowning person calls for and relies on the rescue of a lifeguard (Romans 10:9-13). The salvation Christ offers does not depend on what we have done for Him, but on our acceptance of what He has done for us. Instead of moral and religious effort, this salvation requires a helpless admission of our sins. Instead of personal accomplishments of faith, it requires confession of failure. Unlike all other options of faith, Christ asks us to follow Him—not to merit salvation but as an expression of gratitude, love, and confidence in the One who has saved us (Ephesians 2:8-10).

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

As you proceed through this lesson have the following question in mind.
Many of the belief systems of the world put the responsibility for attaining salvation and happiness in the afterlife on the shoulders of the human being. When this occurs, how many good works need to be performed to assure God’s acceptance? How do we know the good will outweigh the bad in the end? How do you think Christianity differs from this religious view?