The Essential Doctrines of the Christian Faith: The Biblical and Hindu Perspectives on Salvation

By: Devaki Jirel | November 10, 2020

Editor’s Note: Jason Kline, a member of the Bellator Christi team, teaches an apologetics class for a college in Nepal. Two of his students excelled in their final term papers for the course. Ms. Devaki Jirel is one of those students. Devaki provides insight into the Hindu understanding of salvation and contrasts it with the biblical counterpart. Devaki indicates that the doctrine of salvation is a critical aspect of the Christian worldview and sets it apart from other perspectives. Devaki Jirel and Mumsher Khadka represent the first two international writers for Bellator Christi.com. -Brian Chilton

In Christianity, salvation (also called deliverance or redemption) is the “saving [of] human beings from sin and its consequences, which include death and separation from God” by having faith in Christ’s death and resurrection, and the justification following this salvation.[1] In Hinduism, the word Mukti or Mokshya is similar to the word salvation and Hindu people mostly believe that the more we do good deeds i.e. Punya, the more we earn Mokshya, means it is possible that any person can earn salvation himself by doing good deeds and following Hindu rituals which include praising and worshipping idols of 33 crores of gods. So, from the view of both religions, salvation means getting separated from sin or the dark side resulting in eternal life in heaven after death on earth. But according to the Bible, it is impossible to get salvation by ourselves instead we need a mediator to connect ourselves with God. So, Jesus came on earth as a man and crucified on the cross defeated the power of sin and freed us from the slavery of sin, and built the way to the Lord. Whoever believes in Him shall be redeemed.

Hindu view is very different about salvation as Hindus Moksha or Mukti means liberation, freedom or release from the bondage of the rebirth cycle or reincarnation[2]In Hinduism they do not believe in man birth sinner. Because of God Brahma had created Manu.

He is the first man, the ancestor of the human race, and the first man.[3]Then he created the woman Shatrupa. They made from part of Brahma. Hinduism teaches that man is equal with God the Brahma because he is a part of it.[4]Therefore they believe all man is God when they respect each other they say Namaskar it means I respect your God who lives in your body. So, they didn’t believe in man as the birth of sin. In Nepali sin is called Paap. Ordinary Nepali Hindus believe that evil deeds are sin. They believe in different degrees of sin, some small sin, and some big. If someone steals or lies, he commits a small sin, but if someone kills a man and steals valuable things, then he commits a great sin. In Hinduism, 33 million gods have own story and scriptures but we can’t find clearly a story about Creation, man, and sin, but they call it is Sanatan dharma which means traditional religion. It is not only the oldest of all religions, but also the most complex one.[5]

In the Bible, we can find a mention about Creation, man, and sin which is easy to understand for people. In the beginning, God created heaven and the earth then He created everything then on the sixth day God had created man in owns His image and likeness (Gen.1:26). God had made man by the dust of the ground then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being (Gen.2:7). This was the first man his name was Adam. Adam was the first man in the World then God Made a woman for Adam. Her name was Eve, she was created by Adam’s rib (Gen.2:21-22). But Adam was not equal to God. But God joined together to have fellowship with them. Man was the perfect creation of God. While they had eaten the fruit of knowledge of good and bad (Gen3:5). At that time sin came into their life. That was disobedient. Therefore, man and God separated by sin. We believe we are a sinner in our birth (Ps51:5). Therefore, God had cursed Snake and make the plan for His people how to be free from the power of sins (Gen 3:14-15). He declared that He will send His only one son Jesus Christ for us because all people are a sinner (Rom.3:23). Therefore, Jesus Christ is a mediator for all people (Joh.14:6). It means our salvation is very important for us. This is how we can be freed from our sins or find out salvation (Mukti).

Any person to be saved or to get salvation he/she should believe Jesus as their savior and Jesus as the son of God. But most people from Nepal are from the background of Hindu; therefore it is difficult for them to believe the divine and human nature of Jesus at the same time. So, everyone must understand the purpose of coming of Jesus in this as a man from God conceived by a virgin and humanly born. After that he/she should believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead by defeating the power of sin forever and for everyone. Therefore, first of it is essential to prove Jesus is the only way to get salvation.

Why do we need salvation?

According to the Bible, all humans are sinners since their birth (Rom 3:23). That means everyone needs to be freed from the power of darkness and sin. But the Hindu perspective denies this fact and claims every people become a sinner or purged on the basis of their behavior or the deeds they do. But one thing is common that is the penalty of sin is eternal death and the final destination is hell. For example; the baby just born now starts crying which is an expression of rudeness or anger, which is the result of being a sinner. We don’t know who taught him/her about that, that’s why it is clear that our ancestors’ sin is hereditary through the blood into us. According to the Bible, Adam committed sin by disobeying God and God cursed him and Eve because of their sinning nature, and from ancestor Adam’s sin we all are punished with sin and the penalty for this is hell.[6] If from one person’s disobedience sin came into us then from one holy and divine person’s obedience and sacrifice life will come into us. And that most holy and Lamb of God for sacrifice is Jesus Christ. Because of His righteousness we all are saved and become righteous (Rom 5:17-21).

On a biblical basis, the Reality of Sin is that the Bible depicts sin as a real condition of fallen creatures, both human and angelic, and makes no attempt to gloss over this ugly fact and the Universality of Sin is “‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes’” (Rom. 3:10-18). According to the bible, two basic kinds of Sin are there. They are;

Sins of commission: Acting against God’s principles or character: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).

Sins of omission: Not doing what one ought to do: “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (Jas. 4:17).

And there are three basic categories of sin.

Lust of the eyes
Lust of the flesh
The pride of life

“For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:16).

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen. 3:6). Note: Adam’s sin was disobedience (Rom. 5:19), not lust.[7]

Christ was also tempted in every category that we are tempted: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as weare, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).

While all sin is condemnable; yet not all sins are equal. There are degrees of sin and its punishment.

“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (Jas 2:10).
“Jesus answered, ‘You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.’” (John 19:11).
“You have neglected the weightier matters of the law” (Mt. 23:23).
There are seven sins that are particularly offensive to God. Proverbs 6:16-19 says: “These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.”

And the names of sin are sin, trespass, iniquity, evil, wickedness, etc. and Paul uses over 41 different names and descriptions of sin in Rom. 1 to describe the pagan world. These include godlessness, sinful desires, shameful lusts, unnatural, indecent acts, perversion, depraved mind, greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, insolent, arrogant, disobedient to parents, senseless, faithless, etc.

In relation to God sin as unbelief: “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23), “He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18), sin as rebellion: The sin of rebellion is a direct challenge to the authority of God. “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king” (1 Sam. 15:23) and Sin as transgression: Transgression is sin against God’s Law.[8] It is going against the known. “Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come” (Rom. 5:14; cf. 1 John 3:3 and Psa. 51:4).

Avoiding sin is impossible: It is claimed that it is irrational to expect mortal human beings to live up to such a perfect standard of righteousness as demanded by God’s moral perfection. Punishment for what cannot be avoided would be unjust.

First, Adam before his fall was able to live up to God’s standard. His trial did not involve moral evil, but his obedience to God. He fell because he chose a lesser good.

Second, God is willing by His grace to enable His creatures to do what He commands (Phil. 2:13). Ultimately, God has made provision for our moral perfection in Christ and it is obtained by that which all are capable – faith (Heb. 11:6).

Therefore, we all need Jesus to be saved from sin i.e. salvation.

How can we get salvation?

Every man on earth should get salvation for eternal life in heaven. But the question is that will you be able to get it or not. From the perspective of Hindus, we can earn salvation by doing good deeds i.e. Punya and they also believe that worshipping the idols and animals like; cow, dog, crow, etc. Actually, they believe that cow will help them enter the heaven after their death. In Hinduism belief in salvation or Mukti comes from these three ways which is they are applying in their life time.

Karma Marga (the way of work): The work Karma is connected with root Kri which we find the English word “create” and “creation” the law of karma is the extension of this physical law to the realm of the Spirit and to life, past present and future. Hindu are following these ways therefore they dose the works in the life time. They have different karma marga which is related to cast system.[9] We can see it here

Brahmin: They came from the mouth of Brahma they dose mediator of god and worship the gods. They control all people by their religion. They are holy people. Therefore, they are doing priestly works in the temples.

Kshatriya: They came from the arm of Brahma. This cast is a worrier so they rule the nation and fight to other people. For example; king and Army.

Vaisya: They came from Brahma thighs. They are doing business and potter work. This is karma.

Sudra: They came from Brahma feet. They are low cast and they can do low works and helps to three high cast. They can do shoes maker, make weapon,s and clean toilets.

When a man doses his work joyfully this constitutes a step to freedom from the bandage of the soul. Because of his joyful work within his cast, his soul is in harmony, so he can go beyond desire to renunciation, which leads him to a religion supreme which is beyond earthly action.[10] This is karma. Every people must do that their works by good heart and knowledge. This is central of Karma Marga for people.

Jana Marga (the path of knowledge): In Hinduism the Jnanamarga is one of the ways for salvation (Moksha). Most Hinduism and religious leaders emphasize the path of knowledge. Their belief without knowledge or wisdom they cannot find out the God. So they read religious books (Gita, Ramayana, and Vedaect) or listen. What they read and listen they must apply this teaching in their life time. In the religious book, the Bhagavad Gita also emphasized the Jnanamarga is the way of salvation (mukti).

But do not perform duties in and through their lives will be reborn or reincarnate into a lower animal form like that of dogs, bird or insects The Bhagavad Gita says, the man cut all doubts with the sword of knowledge and whosoever knows the mystic truth of God’s nature is freed from rebirth and goes to God.[11]This is important way (marga) for them. Now this teaching also popular in Hinduism, therefore, they are reading the book of religion and listened every morning in their home, temple, and recording tap (radio and you tube).

Bhakti Marga (the way of devotion or meditation): Bhati Maraga means Love of God. They are submitting themselves to their life to god and doing medication for control mind. This way of devotion or bhakti Marga is recognize by the Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharata which were composed over a period of eight hundred years. Therefore, Hindu Dhavamony Guru (priest) says, Bhakti, being love of god, signifies both the highest realization of god and the highest means of realizing him.[12]This is the main goal, aim and supreme end of the human life. Mind is the source of bandage and the source of liberation. If they have a desire of samsara they will rebirth in the Word sothey can cut worldly desire from the Bhakti marga (devotion and meditation). If they do that they will meet Bharama or they will find Mukti or Moksha (salvation).

In Christianity through the biblical perspective, we get salvation by completing following points;

Faith
Justification
Sanctification
Glorification

According to bible,”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.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) It is clear that to get salvation faith is necessary and grace of God is abundant for everyone. While we go through all remaining 3 stages i.e. justification, sanctification and glorification we must have faith over everything.

First of all, anyone who should be saved must have accept the gospel of Christ and believed Him as savior. According to Romans 1:16, ” For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” And Paul defined the gospel as, “I declare to you the gospel…. by which you are saved…. that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scripture, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.[13] ” Gospel must contain these three aspects, they are;

Salvation from the penalty of sin (Justification) – past (I was saved)
Salvation from the power of sin (sanctification)—present (I am being saved)
Salvation from the presence of sin (glorification) – future (I will be saved)

To fulfill these three stages, we need to know and follow 14 essential doctrines or simply essentials which are described in an understandable manner below;

Essentials to justification:

Human depravity: According to Romans 3:10-23, there is no not even one righteous people who understand words of God and fear the Lord before their eyes and every man is sinner and fall short of the glory of God. Their condition is extremely poor due to sin committing nature which should be purged by the grace of God.
Mary’s virginity: Most of the people from Nepal and around the world deny the Virginity of Mary who conceived the Jesus from Holy Spirit and gave birth to Him. According the books of gospel and especially according Matthew 1:18-23, Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit and An angel said the she would give birth to a son, and give him name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophets.
Christ’s purity: According to 1 Peter 2:22, Jesus committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth, Hebrew 4:15: Jesus was tempted in every way but yet He was without sin and many bible verses are there to prove Jesus’s purity like 1 Peter 3:18, 2 Corinthians 5:21 and 1 Peter 1:19.
Christ’s deity: Many bible verses like; Matthew 16:1, John 1:1, Colossian 2:9, Hebrew 1:8, John 8:58, 20:28, Jesus son of the Living God and was since the beginning of creation as word of God and no dwelling into us.
Christ’s humanity: Many peoples from Hindu background deny the humanity of Jesus but Christ’s humanity was in existence before 2000 years and here are the bible verses which prove the humanity of Jesus. Like; John 1:14, 1 John 4:2, 1 Timothy 2:5, Philippians 2:7-8 and Hebrew 2:14, the word of God became flesh in form Jesus the man with human likeness.
God’s unity: In Christianity unlike in Hinduism, there is only one God in 3 persons; God Himself, Jesus the son and Holy Spirit. This means unity of God. Many bible verses like; Deuteronomy 6:4, Exodus 20:2-3, Isaiah 43:10-11, Matthew 22:30, 1 Timothy 2:5 and 1 Corinthians 8:4, there is only one Almighty God and no other gods.
God’s tri-unity: As I have already mentioned that there exists tri-unity of God i.e. the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Many times, Jesus Himself and bible verses prove God’s tri-unity. Like; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14.
The necessity of God’s grace: Human himself is not able to get salvation or justify himself but the God’s grace is necessary. According to John 15:5, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5-7 and Romans 9:16, by the grace and presence of God, we are saved and because of His righteousness and mercy, we get salvation.
The necessity of our Faith: The gift of salvation given by the grace of God must be received with our faith over Him. Faith is most important necessity which we should have. According to bible verses; Genesis 15:6, Hebrew 11:6, Romans 4:5, 1:17, it is impossible to please God and justify ourselves.
Christ’s atoning death: Jesus died on cross to defeat the power of sin and darkness to free us from our sin as ransom and God made Him sin for us though he had no sin. Christ died for our sins, bore our sins and got victorious over the kingdom of darkness. Many bible verses like; Mark 10:45, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 3:18, 2:24 shows Christ’s atoning death.
Christ’s bodily resurrection: Finally, Christ resurrected in His own body after getting victory over the kingdom of darkness. The bodily resurrection of Christ was denied by many peoples but recently medical scientific researches and historical evidence proved that Jesus was resurrected with His own body and appeared to more than 500 peoples and had meal and touched by His disciples. Many bible verses like; Romans 4:25, 10:9, 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, 14-19 and Luke 24:39 clearly proves His resurrection in very own flesh and bones on the third day. This is most important basis of the Christian faith.

Essentials to sanctification:

Christ’s bodily ascension: After resurrection from the death, Jesus spends 40 days with disciples and loved ones. Then, He was ascended into heaven in front of the very eyes of disciples and loved ones with His human body. Jesus ascended after fulfilling all the prophecies over Him and the covenant of God for salvation and redemption. Many peoples criticized and questioned about Christ’s bodily ascension but here are bible verses which clearly proves this fact. They are; John 16:7, Luke 24:50-51 and Acts 1:9-11.
Christ’s priestly session: Jesus was son of God with all the authorities over peoples of God. Jesus is king of majesty in heaven and Lion of Judah. Jesus is holiest priest from God and claimed as Melchizedek from God. These all indicates that son of God was able to forgive sinners and purge them and speaks to the Father in our defense because Jesus is only one righteous person. Many bibles verses like; Hebrew 1:3, 4:15, 7:25 and 1 John 2:1 proves Christ’s priestly session.
Essential to glorification:
Christ’s bodily return: In future, Christ is coming with His majesty and all the powers with all the glories. As Jesus promised, He would return to take us into heaven after preparing place for us in heaven. (John 14:1-3) Jesus will definitely return with justice He judges. He will separate and reward His righteous people to heaven where there will be no more death and mourning or crying or pain and we will see face to face. (Rev. 21:4 & 1 Cor. 13:12).

But for the sinner, the punishment is hell after judgment. According to 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, Revelation 20:11-14, Jesus will punish those who do not know God and they will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power. Anyone whose name won’t found written in book of life, will thrown into the lake of fire i.e. hell.

Conclusion:

Therefore, Jesus is the only way, truth, and the life (John 14:6) and He is the only son of the living God who gives salvation to us. Jesus was crucified on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. So, we should understand that according to the Hindu perspective Mukti is earned by doing Punya, and giving many sacrifices of innocent animals is not enough to get salvation. According to Hebrew 10, Jesus’s sacrifice for sin saved us. Jesus is true God and mediator to save us from eternal death. I have tried to go depth into this field and clarify the perspectives of Hindu and Christian about salvation. And it is clearly understood that one can’t get salvation by doing good deeds and can’t earn it but by accepting Jesus as savior and following the stages of justification, sanctification, and glorification one will be saved.

[1] Dr. Norman L. Geisler, Christ: The Theme of the Bible, 2012th ed. (USA: Bastion Books, n.d.), 40.

[2] Mangal Man Maharjan, Comparative Study of Hinduism and Christianity in Nepal (Kathmandu: Ekta Books, 2002), 95.

[3] Ibid., 41.

[4] Ibid., 45.

[5] Ibid., 61.

[6] Norman Geisler, To Understand the Bible Look for Jesus: The Bible Student’s Guide to the Bible’s Central Theme (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002), 111.

[7] James Van Praagh, Talking to Heaven (New York: Signet, 1997), 42–43.

[8] H.L. Haywood, Great Teachings of Masonry (Kingsport, NT: Southern Publishers, 1923), 140.

[9] Betty Radice.ed, The Bhagavad Gita, Translated by Juan Mascaro (England: Penguin Book, 1962), 31–33.

[10] Ibid., 119.

[11] Harikrishnadas Goyandaka, Ishadi Non Nine Upanishad (Gorkhapur: Gita Press.n.d, n.d.), 31.

[12] Dhavamony, ClassicalHindusm, n.d., 484.

[13] Norman L. Geisler Douglas E. Potter, Doctrine of the Bible, 2015th ed. (USA: Bastion Books, n.d.), 17–19.

About the Author

Devaki Jirel is a Nepalese Christian who completed her Bachelor of Arts and is currently working on her Master of Divinity. She worked as a teacher for three years and currently teaches women and youth in her church. Devaki enjoys reading, biblical research, singing, dancing, traveling, exploring nature, and meeting new people. Devaki is excited to see what God has in store for her in the future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dhavamony. Classical Hinduism, n.d.

Potter, Douglas E., and Norman L. Geisler. Doctrine of the Bible. 2015th ed. USA: Bastion Books, n.d.

Geisler, Norman L. Christ: The Theme of the Bible. 2012th ed. USA: Bastion Books, n.d.

Geisler, Norman. To Understand the Bible Look for Jesus: The Bible Student’s Guide to the Bible’s Central Theme. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002.

Goyandaka, Harikrishnadas. Ishadi Non Nine Upanishad. Gorkhapur: Gita Press.n.d, n.d.

Haywood, H.L. Great Teachings of Masonry. Kingsport , NT: Southern Publishers, 1923.

Maharjan, Mangal Man. Comparative Study of Hinduism and Christianity in Nepal. Kathmandu: Ekta Books, 2002.

Praagh, James Van. Talking to Heaven. New York: Signet, 1997.

Radice, Betty, ed. The Bhagavad Gita. Translated by Juan Mascaro. England: Penguin Book, 1962.