Most religions have a beginning, a person, who spent their life creating or defining that religion. Before this person, the religion did not exist. The focus of most of these religions is "how to have a better life". Religion, all religions, are primarily about how to live here, now, in this world. Sometimes the goal of this living is to be worthy of heaven, or find a better place in heaven. Even so... the focus is on how to live here, not heaven.
Christianity (being "like christ") is fundamentally different from religion on both of these points.
First, Jesus did not start christianity. He did not spend his life creating a system of living, rules, beliefs, etc. He actually didnt start" anything. Instead, he came for one purpose and stayed focused on that purpose all his life. He came to die... to live a perfect life and die in our place, paying the price that each of us earned as a result of our own sin. He came to die so that we can live. Back in the beginning, it was decared "the wages of sin is death"... "if you eat of it, you will surely die". It is death that we deserve. BUT... god had mercy He allowed a substitute for us. Jesus came as a man, lived as a god (perfect and sinless) but still died willingly under the curse of man. He did not deserve death, he could have lived forever, but he chose to die to pay our debt of his own free will.
All the other things jesus did, the miracles, the healings, were out of his own compassion. He had compasion on the people that were so sick and suffering and offered them health, wisdom, advice, etc. Unlike the prophets of other religions, Jesus did not set out to create a sstem of living here, on earth. He focused on making it possible for us to attain heaven. Not by the deluded notion that we can ever be "good enough" to earn heaven on our own, but rather by paying the debt owed that legally seperated us from god.
Secondly, JEsus teachings focused much more on how heaven works than on anything pertaining to this earth. He focused his listeners on heaven itself, not a better life on earth. Unlike all the prophets of other religions, he was not focused on the "rules" nor the life of people. He knew that only through his payment for their sins would thye have any chance... so he focused on showing us what heaven is. His kindgom truly was not of this earth, as religion is.. his kingdom is of heaven where he invites us now.
So a fundamental difference between christiantiy and religion is that christianity is a drive from the inside out to be "like christ" and accept what he did as enough to get us back to God. We then have a desire to act as he did here on earth. Religion tries to force man to save himself... live better, be better, in order to please god. They are, truly , opposite notions.
Jesus came that we might live in heaven instead of die for our sins... his compassion led him to give a better life here, but that was never the focus. The focus is on his kingdom, heaven. Never let the substitute of religion, rules, self power, decieve you into thinking that you can find your own way to heaven... nor that this life is the most important thing you have. It isnt. The most important thing is accepting jesus payment for our sins so that we can live forever with God, AFTER this life is over. And yes, in the mean time, life here gets better and better... but again, that is not hte focus. Keep your eyes on the prize... life forever with our creator...
