You and I are incarcerated on a celestial devil’s island with no hope of escape. In this orbiting cemetery, the fleeting pleasures of life leave us unfulfilled, and we are but a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. (James 4:14) Many live their lives as if to avoid the basic issue of transience. Why is that? Why do so many live in despair?  Why do so many live with the prospect of a hopeless end when we have been promised endless hope?  It is because we leave God out of our reckoning. This is a planet in rebellion against God, it is the theatre of the universe and God has provided only one way of escaping this orbiting devil’s Island. Eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent (John 17:3) Amidst the meaninglessness of life men and women search for peace and fulfilment in the wrong places and in the wrong ways. We are told to pursue peace (1Pet.3:11), but in our desire to fill the God-shaped hole that is in every heart we try and fill it with God substitutes. Things or ideas or behaviours or even spiritual activities. We mistake happiness for peace and the elusive butterfly of happiness is for many but a dream. Others think they have found it in their substitutes. 

I was to discover unequivocally that the main difference between Eastern religions and Christianity is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the ultimate proof that He has power over death, and that He has demonstrated that fact. Remember, of all the tombs of all the Philosophers that ever lived there is only one that is empty! If you choose to follow my “Evidences” SMS series, you will get insurmountable evidence for Jesus’ Resurrection. I believe in the power of His resurrection, and therefore believe in my own resurrection by His power. 

The other chasmic difference is the doctrine of Grace – encapsulated in the doctrine of justification by faith alone that comes as a gift. Every other religion in the world and even the false forms of Christianity are based on the doctrine of salvation by works. The idea, that somehow, we can earn our way to heaven or the “next level”. At the heart of Christianity is the doctrine of God’s grace; eternal life is offered to us as a gift, without merit, muscle or money. It is not based on our performance, but on our acceptance of His undeserved offer! We cannot earn it or deserve it before or after the gift is bestowed, it is free, and it is offered to everyone and anyone – even the worst scum mankind can produce! The word Jesus used, “whosoever” (John 3:16) is an all-inclusive pronoun that excludes no one and is an invitation offered to the worst most miserable wretch you can find on the face of this earth. That’s grace! That’s justification by faith; being counted ready for heaven the moment you accept God’s offer. It has nothing to do with our performance. It is the work of a moment. It is the exchange made at the cross. Our sin is upon Him and His righteousness is upon us. Our penalty for sin, death, is upon Him and His life becomes ours. When you accept that you are justified by grace, you have had your spiritual birth – you are born again. You have your escape from the orbiting cemetery.