The Point of Friction

Here it is, short and sweet. Hinduism is based on the fact that all life is completely unified and that mankind is evolving to attain the ultimate impersonal divinity. This unity is so pervasive that some Hindus will not even pray because it denotes an individual being praying to another, albeit very different, being. It has only two doctrines that are not negotiable: reincarnation and karma. Hinduism is a very open religion, and one will often find that Hindus will tolerate almost any religion and trade facets of their own for others in order to be accepting. Most orthodox Hindus (whatever that means), when confronted with Christianity, will say that Christians are right in a sense because they were born Christian and are believing in and following something. They will also say that Christians are never living their final life, that there will be at least one more round of reincarnation. If you're interested in this lecture series, here's the link: http://www.rzim.org/resources/listen/justthinking.aspx?archive=1&i=50

Anyway, this is all very interesting, but let's get to the point. As I was thinking about karma and other iterations of works-based salvation, I was struck with how much they leave a person wondering if they've "made it" yet. There's no mechanism for determining how good is good enough. There's no way of measuring how many and what kind of good deeds outweigh the bad. Does volunteering once at a homeless shelter cancel out swearing at stupid drivers? If not, how many times do you have to volunteer? How long do you have to volunteer? Does it depend on how many times you cussed? Does it matter what you said? The point is, I thought about the absolute confidence I have in Christ's atonement for me. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:9-10)

Salvation through belief in Christ is simple, and at the same time it satisfies a right vs. wrong system if you need to think about it that way. It all started with the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, where sin was paid for by blood. Certain sacrifices paid for certain sins, and this was the way to be justified (sort of, just bear with me). Every sin. Every SINGLE ONE, either intentional or unintentional, had to be paid for. If you don't pay for your sin, you're done. It's as simple as that. BUT, when Christ died, it was such a huge sacrifice that it covered every sin and replaced it with His own perfect righteousness. Every SINGLE ONE, either intentional or unintentional. 

The gospel makes sense. There's a standard. There's a system. There are clearly delineated requirements for salvation. I have confidence in Christ's ability to cover for my sins, and I rejoice and marvel in that. It's love and grace though and through, and I'm seeing it more and more every day.