The answer to that is that there is a profound and fundamental difference between the way that other religions tell us to seek salvation and the way described in the gospel of Jesus. All other major faiths have founders who are teachers who show the way to salvation. Only Jesus claimed to actually be the way of salvation himself.
This difference is so great that, even though Christianity can certainly be called a "religion" in the broader sense, for the purposes of discussion, we will use the term "religion" in this chapter to refer to "salvation through moral effort" and "gospel" to refer to "salvation through grace".
Basically there are two ways to be your own Saviour and Lord. The first is by saying, "I am going to live my life the way I want". The second is by avoiding sin and living morally so that God will have to bless and save you. The second way trusts in your own goodness rather than in Jesus for your standing with God.
Self-salvation through good works may produce a great deal of moral behaviour in your life, but inside you are filled with self-righteousness, cruelty and bigotry, and you are miserable. You are always comparing yourself to other people, and you are never sure you are being good enough.
Churches that are filled with self-righteous, exclusive, insecure, angry, moralistic people are extremely unattractive. Their public pronouncements are often highly judgemental. Millions of people raised in or near these kinds of churches reject Christianity at an early age or in college largely because of their experience. Such church people and their unattractive lives leave many people confused about the real nature of Christianity.
There are two main differences:
(1) Motivation. In religion, we try to obey the divine standards out of fear. We believe that if we don't obey we are going to lose God's blessing in this world and the next. In the gospel, the motivation is one of gratitude for the blessing we have already received because of Christ.
(2) Identity and self-regard. In a religious framework, if you feel you are living up to your chosen religious standards, then you feel superior and disdainful toward those who are not following in the true path.
When my own personal grasp of the gospel was very weak, my self-view swung wildly between two poles. When I was performing up to my standards - in academic work, professional achievement or relationships - I felt confident but not humble. I was likely to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. When I was not living up to standards, I felt humble but not confident, a failure.
I discovered, however, that the gospel contained the resources to build a unique identity. In Christ, I could know I was accepted by grace not only despite my flaws but because I was willing to admit them. The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued and that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. This means that I cannot despise those who do not believe as I do.
The gospel makes it possible to have such a radically different live. Christians, however, often tail to make use of the resources of the gospel to live the lives they are capable of in Christ. It is critical for anyone reading this book to recognise this fundamental difference between the gospel and religion. Christianity's basic message differs at root with the assumptions of traditional religion.
The founders of every other major religion essentially came as teachers, not as saviours. They came to say "Do this and you will find the divine". But Jesus came essentially as a saviour rather than a teacher (though he was one as well). Jesus says "I am the divine come to you, to do what you could not do for yourselves". The Christian message is that we are saved not by our record, but by Christ's record. So Christianity is not religion or irreligion. It is something else altogether.
Based on: Tim Keller (2008), The Reason for God, p.174-185
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