The Christian Faith​
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” —James 1:6
“Every single thing He has ever or will ever say is true. The simplicity of faith is this: taking God’s Word for it.”
Christians believe in one God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These are the three ‘persons’ (or modes of being) of God. They are the ways in which God has revealed himself to human minds.
God is our Father in that He brought the universe into existence (Genesis 1:1), so we depend for our existence on Him, and He cares for us (1 John 4:16). Although God is referred to as ‘Him’, God is neither male nor female: ‘He’ is without material existence; ‘He’ is spirit (John 4:24).
God the Son took human form in Jesus of Nazareth who is called the ‘Son of God’ (Mark 1:11) and ‘Christ’. ‘Christ’ means ‘Anointed’.
Jesus was born of Mary in about 4 BCE (Matthew 1:18). He lived most of his life in Nazareth in Galilee, which was a district of Palestine under Roman administration.
Following his baptism (Matthew 3:13), he gathered together twelve disciples and, at the age of about thirty, began his ministry of teaching and healing mainly around Galilee (Matthew 4:23).
The nub of his teaching is that we should turn away from evil (Mark 1:15) and love God and our fellow human beings (Mark 12:29-31) just as God loves us.
The Jewish authorities saw Jesus as a threat to their authority, so they paid one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, to hand him over to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to be put to death. He was crucified and buried, just outside Jerusalem, in about AD 33 (Mark 14:43-15:47).
The Holy Spirit is the active power and presence of God (Acts 1:8).
Jesus called the Holy Spirit a ‘Counsellor’, which means ‘one called alongside to help’ (John 14:16-17). ‘He’ helps people to live in accordance with God’s will as shown to us through the teachings of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit was active in the creation of the universe and in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus; and is still active today in the lives of those who are true followers of Jesus. We call the Holy Spirit ‘He’ because we can know and experience His power and presence ‘personally’.
Christians believe that God raised Jesus from death (Acts 2:32).
Three days after Jesus’ burial his tomb was found to be empty (Luke 24:1-3) and later the risen Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:10-18) and to the remaining disciples (Matthew 28:16-20, Luke 24:13-39, John 20:24-28 & 21:1-14).
These appearances lasted for forty days (Acts 1:3) until God took him into his presence at what Christians refer to as the ‘Ascension’ (Acts 1:9).
Christians believe that, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God “saves us from our sin”.
Sin is disobedience to God’s will as revealed in the Bible. The evil that exists in the world is a consequence of sin (Mark 7:21-22). It disrupts the relationship between human beings and God. ‘Salvation’ is the restoration of that relationship, which only God can accomplish.
He did so through Jesus Christ (John 3:16). By taking human form and suffering death by crucifixion, God accomplished this in a way that was consistent with his just and loving nature.
It was just in that a human being (his ‘Son’) ‘paid the price of sin’ and it was loving in that God enabled that ‘price’ to be paid instead of humanity itself (2 Corinthians 5:19). People are ‘saved’ (their relationship with God is restored) by turning away from sin and having faith in what God has done through Jesus (John 3:16). Salvation is a process: we have been saved, are being saved, and when Jesus returns our salvation will be complete.
The last words of Jesus as he died on the Cross were “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) and “It is finished” (John 19:30). They show that Jesus experienced the separation from God caused by sin and that the price of sin had been paid.
Christians believe in ‘life after death’ (Romans 8:11).
The exact nature of ‘life after death’ is beyond human understanding. The apostle Paul described it in terms of the transformation of our earthly body into a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). It is life in God’s presence where there is “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17) and no more suffering (Revelation 21:4).
Christians are followers of Jesus Christ.
Human reasoning cannot either prove or disprove the existence of God. Belief, or faith, goes beyond reason, but is not unreasonable (Hebrews 11:1). Christians believe that God has revealed himself in the existence and design of the universe, in the human consciousness of good and evil, in personal experience and in Jesus Christ.
The Bible is an account of God’s self-revelation as experienced and written down by human beings (2 Timothy 3:16). To have faith is to trust in God’s self-revelation. A person’s faith is shown by his actions (James 2:17).
Christians try to live according to the teaching of Jesus Christ. The Church is a community (or body) of Christians (the body of Christ). The word ‘church’ comes from the Greek word ‘kurios’, which means Lord (or master).
The early followers of Jesus used that word when they spoke about Jesus. The place where they met was known as the ‘Lord’s house’ (kuriakon doma).
As the number of followers increased they built special meeting places which we know as ‘churches’.Christians believe that God raised Jesus from death (Acts 2:32).
Three days after Jesus’ burial his tomb was found to be empty (Luke 24:1-3) and later the risen Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:10-18) and to the remaining disciples (Matthew 28:16-20, Luke 24:13-39, John 20:24-28 & 21:1-14). These appearances lasted for forty days (Acts 1:3) until God took him into his presence at what Christians refer to as the ‘Ascension’ (Acts 1:9).
Christians believe that, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God “saves us from our sin”.
Sin is disobedience to God’s will as revealed in the Bible. The evil that exists in the world is a consequence of sin (Mark 7:21-22). It disrupts the relationship between human beings and God. ‘Salvation’ is the restoration of that relationship, which only God can accomplish.
He did so through Jesus Christ (John 3:16). By taking human form and suffering death by crucifixion, God accomplished this in a way that was consistent with his just and loving nature.
It was just in that a human being (his ‘Son’) ‘paid the price of sin’ and it was loving in that God enabled that ‘price’ to be paid instead of humanity itself (2 Corinthians 5:19). People are ‘saved’ (their relationship with God is restored) by turning away from sin and having faith in what God has done through Jesus (John 3:16). Salvation is a process: we have been saved, are being saved, and when Jesus returns our salvation will be complete.
The last words of Jesus as he died on the Cross were “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) and “It is finished” (John 19:30). They show that Jesus experienced the separation from God caused by sin and that the price of sin had been paid.
Christians believe in ‘life after death’ (Romans 8:11).
The exact nature of ‘life after death’ is beyond human understanding. The apostle Paul described it in terms of the transformation of our earthly body into a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). It is life in God’s presence where there is “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17) and no more suffering (Revelation 21:4).
Christians are followers of Jesus Christ.
Human reasoning cannot either prove or disprove the existence of God. Belief, or faith, goes beyond reason, but is not unreasonable (Hebrews 11:1). Christians believe that God has revealed himself in the existence and design of the universe, in the human consciousness of good and evil, in personal experience and in Jesus Christ.
The Bible is an account of God’s self-revelation as experienced and written down by human beings (2 Timothy 3:16). To have faith is to trust in God’s self-revelation. A person’s faith is shown by his actions (James 2:17).
Christians try to live according to the teaching of Jesus Christ. The Church is a community (or body) of Christians (the body of Christ). The word ‘church’ comes from the Greek word ‘kurios’, which means Lord (or master).
The early followers of Jesus used that word when they spoke about Jesus. The place where they met was known as the ‘Lord’s house’ (kuriakon doma). As the number of followers increased they built special meeting places which we know as ‘churches’.