Grace Versus Works - Saved By The Faith Of Jesus

Works-based Christianity is similar to the principle of Karma, which is the "law of the deed," a centuries-old worldwide belief that if you do good things, good will come back to you, and if you do bad things, bad will come back to you. It is believed that suffering is a result of a person's past wrongdoing. It can be rectified through living many lives in various forms as necessary to achieve union with God and attain god-consciousness. This belief is the complete opposite of Jesus' command to "do to others what you would have them do to you" (Matthew 7:12 NIV). Karma has been around since the beginning of Creation. The three friends of Job operated under it. They tried to convince him to repent so God could start blessing him again.

The belief in karma resulted in a cruel caste system that relegates those who have not been successful in getting closer to reaching god-consciousness to live in poverty and subservience to others. Wealth, good health, lighter skin color, and a higher-class position are directly attributed to personal success in moving closer to god-consciousness. Under the karma belief, if someone gets hurt or sick, they are being punished for a past wrongdoing.

Karma goes hand in hand with reincarnation, which is essentially a belief that a soul/spirit takes on a physical body, and when it dies, it begins a cycle of rebirth in a life form that could be different than the one it left behind. The rebirth can occur hundreds or thousands of times if a person does not live a good enough life and fails at working out their salvation. The next life is determined by how they lived their previous life. Each lifetime is punished for past mistakes that the person may not even know they made. The ultimate goal is to reach a spiritual level where they escape from the endless circle of birth, death, and rebirth.

Reincarnation may seem to be a comfort, but it is quite the opposite, as it is a hopeless cycle that perpetuates the problem of evil, offering no forgiveness and making it impossible to escape the cycle of rebirth. Karma fuels pride and leaves no room for grace or mercy, and opens the door for judging others.

The Disciples of Jesus also operated under the karma principle.

"As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." (John 9:1-3 NIV)

They were convinced that the blindness was the result of past sin. Jesus made it clear that it is wrong to draw a black-and-white conclusion when one sees someone suffering. He said there was no connection between sin and the man's blindness.

In another instance, Jesus was approached by people who told Him about some Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus responded to them and said,

"Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them - do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." (Luke 13:1-5 NIV)

The people who approached Jesus thought they were better than those who suffered horrific deaths. He told them not to pass such erroneous judgment and let them know that how or when a person dies is not an indication of their status before God, and that if they did not repent of their sins, they would also perish.

Eternal Salvation

As with all other religions, karma is based on self-effort to obtain god-consciousness and or eternal life. Every human being on the planet needs God's kindness, mercy, love, and grace, and He provided the way to find it without having to earn it, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. It is the free gift of God's merciful grace that sets Christianity apart.

Grace and mercy are at the heart of the Gospel. According to the Bible, salvation is a gift from God, not something that can be obtained in any other way. It is only Christianity that presents salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. God's love comes free of charge with no strings attached. Only Christianity dares to proclaim that God's love is unconditional.

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens,[a] the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift – not from works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:1-9 NIV)