Another reason Masons give as to why Freemasonry cannot be considered a religion is because "it offers no system of salvation" In other words, they say Freemasonry has no teaching about how a man can go to heaven. But is this true!
    Every candidate who enters the Blue Lodge is told again during the first three degrees of Masonry that God will reward those who do good deeds.
    This can be documented by examining any Masonic manual that contains the Ritual of the first three degrees. In the manual under explanation of the symbol of the "All-Seeing Eye"-one of the symbols for God-you will find these words: The "All-Seeing Eye {God}...beholds {or "pervades"} the inner most recesses of the human heart, and will reward us according to our works".
    What is the reward Masonry teaches man will get because of his good works? Masonry Teaches that God will reward man with eternal life in the "Celestial Lodge Above." This can be documented in the Masonic Ritual and Monitor under the explanation concerning the lambskin, or white linen apron. There he says, " He who wears the lambskin as a badge of a Mason is thereby continually reminded of purity of life and conduct which is essentially necessary to his gaining admission into that celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the universe presides."
    Now does this sound to you like Freemasonry is teaching a way of salvation? If you were to hear this taught in the lodge, wouldn’t you think that Freemasonry is saying that you can go to the "Celestial Lodge Above" if you live in a pure and honest life? Isn’t that religion?
    If you’re a Christian, when the Lodge teaches a man that by his good life and by his good deeds God will admit him into heaven, isn’t that contrary to biblical teaching? Doesn’t the Bible clearly teach that salvation is not by a man’s work-salvation is only by God’s gracious provision through Jesus Christ? Ephesians 2:8,9 (NIV) very plainly says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast."
    But if you are still not persuaded that Masonry is presenting a way to heaven, you should listen to Masonic authority Henry Wilson Coil, who writes the following about one of Freemasonry’s religious services. In his encyclopedia he argues:
 

"Freemasonry has a religious service to commit the body of a deceased brother to the dust whence it came, and to speed the liberated spirit back to the Great Source of Light. Many Freemasons make this flight with no other guarantee of a safe landing than their belief in the religion of Freemasonry."
 

    Noticed he says, "religion of Freemasonry." From this evidence, all must conclude that Freemasonry is a religion because it does offer religious instruction and promises of how a man may get to heaven. In brief, Freemasonry is a religion because it presents its own plan of salvation.
    So we have now seen that Freemasonry fits the definition of religion as given by Webster, and we’ve seen that it does offer its own plan of salvation-how a man can go to heaven.
 

John Ankerberg & John Weldon