Part Eight: Two Ways Christianity Offers Spiritual Fulfillment That No Other Religion Can
This week’s blog post concludes my present series. Moving from apologetics to application, we’ll see that Christianity offers spiritual fulfillment in two ways:
Philosophical Fulfillment:
In the Christian worldview, spiritual fulfillment includes gaining answers to precisely the same questions that the non-Christian world cannot answer:
- Who am I? What is my relationship to the rest of life and the cosmos?
- Where did I come from? What is the origin of my existence?
- Why am I here? What purpose do I have for my existence?
- What happens to me when I die? Is there life after death, and how do I attain it?
All these questions are unanswerable by science or philosophy because they involve issues beyond the scientist’s or philosopher’s ability to respond. They are unanswerable by non-Christian religions because they do not have divine revelation. These questions can only be answered by an all-powerful, all-knowing God who stands above and apart from humanity.
Christianity is true precisely because it offers answers to life’s great mysteries that are in total harmony and consistency with the world as it exists. Unlike other religions, the Christian worldview is coherent and believable; it is not mystical, esoteric, or far-fetched.
Practical Fulfillment:
Christianity is also true because it meets human needs at their deepest level in a pragmatic way. Being a Christian is not always easy, but it promises something no other religion in the world can offer—and accomplish: it replaces the old, beaten self with a new spirit-filled self. Christian has been the world’s most successful religion not only because it’s the true revelation of God but because it makes changes in the inner person (2 Cor. 5:17). While other religions have rules and regulations to follow, Christianity has a risen Savior that promises a born-again life (John 3:3) if we trust in Him. Jesus assures us that He “came that [we] may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10; see Phil.4:5-7, 19).
Jesus is our crutch because we cannot attain eternal peace and life without Him. Only in Jesus Christ can we experience spiritual peace of mind. Prominent theologian, the late J. I. Packer, put it like this: “Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord: (Knowing God)
Is Christianity a crutch for weak people? Yes, in the same sense that gasoline is a crutch for an automobile. As C.S. Lewis said, Christians “run” on Jesus Christ—not because they are weaklings, but because God’s power becomes our power through acknowledging our dependence on Him. The apostle Paul says it best:
“And He [Jesus] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10, NASB) ©
Next Week I’ll begin a new series titled, “The World Beyond the Church—Moral Issues Confronting Christians in the 21st Century.”