Grace vs. Works: The Key Difference Between Christian Salvation and World Religions: Part II

In Part I of this miniseries, I talked about Buddhism, Hinduism, and Mormonism. If you haven’t read it, I recommend reading Part I first.

In Christianity, the birth of Jesus is the reason the religion is based on grace rather than works. All people are born with “Original Sin,” no human is perfect enough to earn their way into heaven through good deeds alone. By coming to earth as a baby, Jesus was God becoming human to do the “work” of salvation for those who believe. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” John 1:14.

Because Jesus lived a perfect life and sacrificed himself, salvation is treated as a free gift. You don’t “pay” for it with your own efforts; instead, you receive it through faith. In this view, doing good things doesn’t save you instead, you do good things as a way to show gratitude for the gift you’ve already received. This is what makes Christianity unique from all other religions. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2: 8-10

Indigenous Religions

Indigenous religions are fundamentally works-based because spiritual success, well-being, and harmony are entirely contingent upon the correct performance of rituals, ceremonies, and ethical conduct, rather than on divine grace or forgiveness. Since these traditions prioritize the balance between the human community, the ancestors, and the spirit world, the failure to perform these traditions directly results in misfortune; consequently, the spiritual fate and prosperity of the community rest upon the consistent dedication to their traditions.

In Indigenous worldviews, misfortune is viewed as a disruption. Unlike the Christian concept of sin, which focuses on the need for divine forgiveness, Indigenous misfortune manifests as calamities like crop failure, illness, or social issues resulting from neglected rituals or broken taboos. Consequently, the solution is not found in seeking repentance, but in performing acts to repair the relationship between the community, the ancestors, and the environment.

Jehovah’s Witness

Founded in the 1870s, Jehovah’s Witnesses are a young religion. The founder of the JWs was Charles Taze Russell. Russell was influenced by Adventist preaching that Christ would return in 1874—a prediction made by Nelson H. Barbour. When it became clear that the prophecy had not come to pass, Russell claimed Christ had returned, but invisibly. Russell then predicted that Christ’s reign would be unveiled in 1914.

In 1896, Russell founded the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, which eventually became more widely known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. When he died in 1916, his successor, Joseph F. Rutherford, set 1925 as the new date for Armageddon. Armageddon was said to be when Christ’s kingdom on earth would be complete and when the Old Testament saints would be resurrected. When that date came and went, Rutherford claimed that his followers had misunderstood.

Are you starting to see a pattern? Under Rutherford, JWs began going door-to-door to tell people that only 144,000 people would make it to heaven—a misinterpretation of Revelation 7:4–8. The story continues as the church grew past its 144,000 members. JWs do not believe that Jesus was God in human form; they believe that Jesus was God’s first creation and is God’s son, but not God himself. They have been criticized for cherry-picking scripture to come to this conclusion. JWs actually believe Jesus is the archangel, Michael.

JWs reject all translations of the Bible apart from their own, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. JWs believe that one earns salvation through obedience and good works, not by faith alone, which is in contrast to traditional Christianity. “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).

Scientology

I think when most people think of Scientology, they think of Tom Cruise. At least that’s what I think about, along with his creepy 1999 movie Eyes Wide Shut—ha-ha. Sorry, this one is just too weird not to make fun of!

Scientology is a religious movement founded by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950s that teaches that humans are immortal spiritual beings, known as thetans, who have become trapped in the physical universe and forgotten their true nature. The religion centers on the practice of auditing, a form of spiritual counseling using a device called an E-meter to identify and remove “engrams”—traumatic memories stored in the “reactive mind” that supposedly cause irrational behavior and suffering. By progressing through a strict hierarchy of study and counseling known as the Bridge to Total Freedom, members aim to reach the state of “Clear” and eventually become “Operating Thetans,” regaining total control over their lives and their environment.

Scientology is considered a works-based religion because it views salvation as a personal achievement attained through the rigorous application of “spiritual technology” rather than divine grace. To progress, members must move through a hierarchical path known as the Bridge to Total Freedom, which requires a significant investment of time and money into auditing and training. Because the movement teaches that an individual is solely responsible for their own spiritual condition and must follow exact formulas to improve it, the burden of “clearing” one’s mind and reaching higher states of existence rests entirely on the member’s consistent effort and adherence to L. Ron Hubbard’s methods.

Christianity

The primary distinction of Christianity lies in the concept of grace. While most religions provide a “ladder” of rituals, laws, or good deeds for humans to climb to reach the divine, Christianity teaches that God reached down to humanity through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. It is a faith centered not on a moral code to be earned, but on a restored relationship with God made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus, who is viewed as God Himself rather than just a prophet or teacher.

Ultimately, it shifts the focus from what humans must do for God to what God has already done for humans: “But God shows his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). If you are reading this blog and searching for answers to life’s biggest questions, I suggest you read the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis or The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.