Multiple sources tell us that there are somewhere around 4,000 religions in the world. Most sources list the five largest and most influential religions as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

One 2024 pie chart I found provided the following percentages of world religions:

At the same time, and whether we are talking about 4,000 religions of the big 5, we can also suggest that there are really only two religions in the entire world.

Erwin Lutzer, Pastor Emeritus of Moody Church in Chicago tells of an experience he had while traveling:

“One time I was with a man on a plane and he said, “You know, there are just a lot of religions in the world.” And I said, “Yeah, but fundamentally only two. Let’s take a piece of paper and on one side you write down all the religions that believe that you have to be a good person to get to heaven, and that’s the way to become a good person – that you have to work your way to heaven. Let’s put all of the religions of the world that believe that in some form on this side of the paper. Over here all those who believe that salvation is a free gift and those who humble themselves and receive it, let’s put all of them on that side of the paper.”

Well you know that only Christianity was on that side. And it has to be a free gift. Think about it. We do not have the righteousness that God requires. Christ is the only one who has it. We cannot cooperate and add to His righteousness and make it better, so we simply humble ourselves and we receive that gift. And that’s what makes Christianity so unique. But its uniqueness is its stumbling block because unconverted people say, “I want to work at it,” or “I can just accept Jesus and live as I like.” They have no notion of the radical change God brings about when people are saved.”

In the same sermon in which he shared the above illustration Pastor Lutzer expanded on his earlier thought by sharing another illustration:

“In the country of India there was a missionary who made friends with a Hindu pearl diver. And they became good friends, and the Hindu was a very loving man. And one day he gave the missionary one of the most beautiful exquisite pearls that one could possibly even imagine. And the missionary said to him, “I need to pay you for this. I can’t accept it as a free gift.” And the pearl diver said, “Absolutely not.” He said, “You must accept it. You cannot pay me because I need to tell you that this pearl was retrieved by my only son who drowned and died in the process. If you were to pay me it would be an insult for the life of my son.”

And the missionary said, “Do you realize what you’ve just said? You have had such a hard time with this whole idea that salvation is a free gift. You thought that you had to go to Delhi on your knees, and so forth. You thought it was so hard, but don’t you understand that the reason you can’t pay for it is because God sent His only Son and gives us a pearl – a gift – that is so priceless, it is an insult to think that you can buy it.” And the pearl diver understood the wonder of the Gospel and believed.”

Then to encourage his listeners, Pastor Lutzer offered the following:

“What a marvelous message! Let’s give our lives to proclaim it around the world. And to those who are listening here in this church, or are listening by radio, let me tell you that through Christ there is a gift that you cannot buy. And it’s the message that we want to give to the entire world.”

The above was excerpted from a sermon Pastor Lutzer preached to the Moody Church congregation October 17, 1999 called The Lie That God Is Obligated To Save Followers Of Other Religions. You can click the link to listen to the complete sermon, and also find links to the entire sermon series at Ten Lies About God | Sermon Series | Moody Church Media. You can also find the book with the same title at Amazon.com and other Christian book retailers.

Be Blessed!