There is one great common denominator between all religions outside of Christianity—they all believe that a right standing with God is based upon obedience, personal merit, or some ability to please God. Christianity stands alone in declaring that man is hopelessly and helplessly lost. He cannot improve his standing before God, he cannot obey God, he cannot please God. If he is to be saved, God alone must save him. It is this truth that fallen man hates most of all, for it requires him to humble himself before God, acknowledge his sin, and ask for mercy! God is righteous and man is a lawbreaker, therefore he is no more inclined to seek God than a criminal at large is inclined to seek an officer of the law.
Paul Washer – ‘The Truth about Man’
I always tell people that all of the religions in the world with the exception of Christianity are works righteousness. Every religion in the world teaches that you must be a “good person” to go to heaven.
All Paul Washer is saying here is what Scripture tells us.
Paul Washer has a great way of expressing in today’s language what the Scriptures read so clearly.
Thank you for sharing this quote.
Amen to the quote and comments! No human can work hard or long enough to pay for one sin. Easy decision methods, such as in my previous church, are a plague – leading goats to think they are sheep and leaving sheep to wonder about many lesser things than they ought.
I actually preached a sermon about this subject last week. If you make a catagory called “Works Salvation” only one major religion falls outside of it, that being true Christianity. The amazing part is those that cry the loudest against a religion of merit are usually the ones following the hardest after it (ex: Emergent Church). Washer is right, it isn’t knowledge of grace that is the problem; it is pride and submission to Christ that trips them up. They find rebellion to be sweeter than mercy.