Secrets from Beyond The Grave

"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12). Thus all men need redemption. Redemption is different from religion. Religion is formed for men to reach up to God (or a god), but redemption is God reaching down to man. Anyone can form a religion, establish a belief, and make certain laws and regulations for their followers, but these activities have nothing to do with redeeming a human soul from hell. People do not spend eternity in hell because they are Hindu, Jewish, or Muslim, but they do so because they have no redemptive salvation covenant that delivers them from the eternal death penalty. One of the criticisms of Christianity is that Christians believe they are the only ones going to heaven and that anyone who does not believe as they do will be lost. As far as Christians believing they are the only ones going to heaven, I would say that Christ is the only religious leader who was predicted to come, called the Messiah, and who had a clear plan for saving mankind, fulfilled that plan, then rose from the dead! I have asked some Muslims if they have an assurance of going to heaven, and they do not. Only if they follow the Quran, pray, give to charity, follow the five pillars of Islam, and make hajj in Arabia, then they may be found worthy. Even Orthodox Jews follow laws, regulations, rituals, and customs in an attempt to make it into the kingdom of heaven. Here are reasons a Christian has such confidence: What other religious leader do you know with an empty grave? What other religion has a clear plan of salvation that leads to eternal life? Can you name one religion--outside of the covenant through Christ--that teaches you will never need to pass through hell or experience a purging of fire to enter the kingdom? These are the reasons why a true believer has total confidence in the gospel message. What About the Heathens Who Have Never Heard the Gospel? Two of the most common questions that people have are: Will a person who never heard the gospel be lost? If a person is moral, lives a good life, dies without receiving Christ, and knew little about Jesus, how could God condemn such a person for eternity? In the Hebrew Scriptures the English translation uses the word heathen 143 times. The word for " heathen" is goyim and refers to "foreign nations, unbelieving nations and non-Jewish people." In the context of the meanings, the word is used extensively for nations that worship idols or have no knowledge of the God of Abraham. Today, the common meaning of goyim is a Gentile, or simply a non-Jew. God introduced His covenant to Abraham and His commandments to Moses through the Hebrew nation of Israel. Prior to the manifestation of Christ, the nations around the Mediterranean Sea had been influenced by the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Greco-Roman culture. All previous cultures and empires were idol worshipers who built temples and managed a priesthood that presented various offerings to their male and female deities. With the introduction of the new covenant, the gospel of Christ spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire, due in part to the amazing miracles performed by the followers of Christ. The apostles clearly taught that Christ was the final sacrifice for sin and was the only way to gain access to the kingdom of heaven. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. --Acts 4:12, KJV