In all other major religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism), "salvation" is closely tied with "good works".
In Islam, the Quran places a special emphasis on "good works" in multiple passages. In fact, per the Quran, on the day of judgment, if a Muslim’s good works outweigh his bad ones and if Allah so wills it, he may be forgiven of all his sins and then enter into Paradise.
In Hinduism, Hindus attempt to break the cycle of "samsara" (the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth) through behaving in a way that achieves "good karma".
In Buddhism, "merit" is a force that results from good deeds, as it is capable of attracting favorable circumstances in someone's life and improving the mind of the person and their well-being. Similar to Hinduism, Buddhists attempt to live in a way that increases good karma so that they may reach a state of Nirvana, which can be described as the cessation of all desire, and thus, suffering.
Judaism places an enormous emphasis on good works, as it posits that this is the only way to achieve salvation. One's relationship with God must be based on three fundamental things: repentance, good deeds, and a life of devotion.
So what makes Christianity so different from these?
It's because Jesus completely and totally rejects the concept of "karmic debt". Jesus flat-out tells us that there is NOTHING we can do on our own to repay our karmic debt. It's a scam, a ponzi scheme.
This is why he died on the cross for us. Because we are completely unable to pay our karmic debts and thus, slaves to the karmic debt system, Jesus saw fit to free us from this bondage. Jesus said that His blood is sufficient for us to be liberated from the material realm.
Jesus basically ended the fed, so to speak. He broke the eternal cycle of birth-death-rebirth by shedding his precious blood for us. Because of him and his teachings, we are completely free from that. Good works are not a means to an end any longer. Instead, we do them out of sheer gratitude for what he did for us. We no longer do good works because we are afraid. We do good works because Jesus lives in us. He died for us but he didn't have to. He did it simply because he saw something that was wrong and tried to fix it. That is why we now do good works.
"Whoever tries to save their life will lose it! But whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."
In Islam, the Quran places a special emphasis on "good works" in multiple passages. In fact, per the Quran, on the day of judgment, if a Muslim’s good works outweigh his bad ones and if Allah so wills it, he may be forgiven of all his sins and then enter into Paradise.
In Hinduism, Hindus attempt to break the cycle of "samsara" (the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth) through behaving in a way that achieves "good karma".
In Buddhism, "merit" is a force that results from good deeds, as it is capable of attracting favorable circumstances in someone's life and improving the mind of the person and their well-being. Similar to Hinduism, Buddhists attempt to live in a way that increases good karma so that they may reach a state of Nirvana, which can be described as the cessation of all desire, and thus, suffering.
Judaism places an enormous emphasis on good works, as it posits that this is the only way to achieve salvation. One's relationship with God must be based on three fundamental things: repentance, good deeds, and a life of devotion.
So what makes Christianity so different from these?
It's because Jesus completely and totally rejects the concept of "karmic debt". Jesus flat-out tells us that there is NOTHING we can do on our own to repay our karmic debt. It's a scam, a ponzi scheme.
This is why he died on the cross for us. Because we are completely unable to pay our karmic debts and thus, slaves to the karmic debt system, Jesus saw fit to free us from this bondage. Jesus said that His blood is sufficient for us to be liberated from the material realm.
Jesus basically ended the fed, so to speak. He broke the eternal cycle of birth-death-rebirth by shedding his precious blood for us. Because of him and his teachings, we are completely free from that. Good works are not a means to an end any longer. Instead, we do them out of sheer gratitude for what he did for us. We no longer do good works because we are afraid. We do good works because Jesus lives in us. He died for us but he didn't have to. He did it simply because he saw something that was wrong and tried to fix it. That is why we now do good works.
"Whoever tries to save their life will lose it! But whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."
