Religion is human expression. It is culture, belief, tradition, and practice. Religion deals with basic questions such as “Why am I here?” (purpose and meaning), “Why is life so difficult sometimes?” (evil and suffering), “Who am I?” (identity), and “Where do I belong?” (community).
The exceptional feature of Christianity, which makes it different from every other religion, is grace. The most basic conviction of Christianity is that the only productive response to sin is grace. This involves ideas such as honesty, repentance, belief, forgiveness, and redemption. In other religions, the answer is human effort. In Christianity, the answer is God’s effort.
The essence of grace is that it is God’s effort, it is God’s work. Grace reframes so we can be honest about sin and honest about ourselves. Grace is God’s effort that leads us to turn from our sin in repentance and turn toward God in faith. Grace is God forgiving us in such a way that we forgive ourselves and others. Grace is God redeeming what has been scarred or ruined by sin into something whole and productive.
The effect of grace is that it changes sinners. Christianity is the idea that God’s work changes how people think and live.