Basic Christian Beliefs
What is The Bible?
The Holy Spirit inspired human authors to write the books of the Bible. Every
word of scripture is chosen by God himself. The Bible is God’s love letter to
all of humanity and is the final authority in every issue it communicates. It is
complete truth, and we can trust it for all matters in this life and eternity.
(Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalm 19:7-10;
119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36; Matthew 5:17-18;
22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11;
Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2
Peter 1:19-21)
Who is God?
Many people have differing ideas about the nature of God. Most of those ideas
have one thing in common – they are the product of human intellect! When it
comes to our Creator, it matters very little who we think God is. The Bible is
the only trustworthy source for understanding Him. Scripture teaches that God
created everything we can see -- and even everything we can’t see -- out of
nothing. Although it might be difficult for the human mind to comprehend, the
Bible teaches that He is one yet has existed since the beginning of time as
three distinct and equal persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
(Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2;
Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8;
Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John
4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6;
Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6;
12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7)
Who is the Holy
Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is a full and equal part of the Trinity. He works in the world
to make all people understand their need for Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit lives
inside every follower of Jesus from the moment they decide to follow Him. The
Spirit is our power source for life, ministry and spiritual growth. To tap into
that power, we must continually yield to the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:2; Judges
14:6; Job 26:13; Psalm 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew
1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13;
12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31;
5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans
8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6;
Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2
Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation
1:10; 22:17)
Who is Man?
Man is the pinnacle of God’s creation and the only being on the earth whom God
made in His own spiritual image, with the moral ability to choose right from
wrong. Every person, although endowed with the image of God, inherited a
disobedient heart from Adam, the very first man. This attitude of disobedience
(called sin in the Bible) – unless rectified through Christ – forever keeps man
from forming a relationship with his Creator. This attitude also keeps us from
being the kind of person God created us to be. (Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3;
9:6; Psalm 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26;
Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29;
1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22;
3:9-11)
What is Salvation?
Our disobedient nature has eternally separated us from our Creator. No matter
how hard we try, we can never earn our way back into God’s presence. Our only
hope is to trust Jesus as God’s provision for our disobedience. Whenever you
make that decision, you step into the eternal and abundant life Jesus promises
for all believers. (Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17;
16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24;
10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32;
Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13;
13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20;
Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians
2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12;
Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1
Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5)
How
do Christians grow closer to God?
God has set us apart (sanctified us) for the purpose of growing us to become
more like His Son. Through our faith in the Bible and the transforming work of
the Holy Spirit, God changes our heart in order to change our character and
actions. God’s promise is that when we reach heaven, He will complete the
process of making every believer like Jesus.
(Deuteronomy 4:1,5,9,14; 6:1-10; 31:12-13; Nehemiah 8:1-8; Job 28:28; Psalm
19:7ff.; 119:11; Proverbs 3:13ff.; 4:1-10; 8:1-7,11; 15:14; Ecclesiastes 7:19;
Matthew 5:2; 7:24ff.; 28:19-20; Luke 2:40; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Ephesians
4:11-16; Philippians 4:8; Colossians 2:3,8-9; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 2 Timothy 2:15;
3:14-17; Hebrews 5:12-6:3; James 1:5; 3:17)
What is the church?
The Bible tells us that the church is the body of Christ in the world today. The
New Testament tells us the church is a local body of baptized believers. The
head of the church is Jesus Christ. The biblical purposes of the church are
things like worship, evangelism, fellowship, discipleship and ministry to
others.
What is the second coming
of Jesus?
God, in His own time and
in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His
promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth;
the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness.
(Isaiah 2:4; 11:9;
Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38;
9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11;
17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10;
Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; 2
Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews
9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18;
3:11; 20:1-22:13)
What is Christianity?
Christianity is a
religion based upon the teachings and miracles of Jesus. Jesus is the Christ.
The word "christ" means anointed one. Christ is not Jesus' last name. Jesus is
the anointed one from God the Father who came to this world, fulfilled the Old
Testament laws and prophecies, died on the cross, and rose from the dead
physically. He performed many miracles which were recorded in the Gospels by the
eyewitnesses. He is divine in nature as well as human. Thus, He has two
natures and is worthy of worship and prayer.
Christianity teaches that there is only one God in all existence, that God
made the universe, the Earth, and created Adam and Eve. God created man in His
image. This does not mean that God has a body of flesh and bones. Image means
the likeness of God's character, rationality, etc. Because we are made in the
image of God, every person is worthy of respect and honor. Furthermore, this
means that we did not evolve through random processes from a single celled
organism into rational, emotion beings.
God created Adam and Eve and put them in the garden of Eden and gave them
the freedom to choose between right and wrong. They chose to sin. Sin is doing
that which is contrary to the nature and will of God. God cannot lie.
Therefore, lying is sin. The sin of Adam and Eve resulted in them being
expelled from the Garden of Eden as well as suffering the effect of death.
As a result of their sin, their children and all of us inherited a sinful
nature. In other words, our offspring are not perfect in nature -- we don't
have to teach children to be selfish. They know it naturally. That which is
sinful cannot produce that which is not sinful.
Christianity teaches that
God is a Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), that Jesus Christ is second
person of the Trinity, that Jesus died on the cross and rose for the dead
physically, that all people are under the righteous judgment of God because all
people have sinned against God. It teaches that Jesus is the only way be saved
from the coming judgment and that salvation is received by faith in the work of
Christ on the cross and not by anything that we can do to please God.
Where all other religions in the world teach that we must do some sort of
good in cooperation with God in order to achieve the right to be in God's
pretense, Christianity is the only religion that teaches salvation by grace.
This means that we are not made right before God by our efforts, sincerity, or
works. Instead, we are made right before God faith in what Christ did on the
cross. This way, God gets all the glory.
Christianity further teaches that once a person is "born again" (becomes
saved) that the Holy Spirit lives in that person and the person is changed:
"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed
away; behold, new things have come," (2 Cor. 5:17). This means that God
actually lives in the person and the Christian then experiences a true and
living relationship with God.
Therefore, "What is Christianity?" is best answered by saying that it is a
relationship with the true and living God through the person of Jesus Christ by
whom we are forgiven of our sins and escape the righteous judgment of God.
Who is God?
The question "Who is
God?" is a good question. It is better than asking "What is God?" This is
because God exists, created us, loves us, is concerned for our being, desires to
provide for us, and sent the Son to redeem us. If we were to ask "What is God?"
we might be tempted to say that God is the infinite being, the creator, a
presence, or something like that. In some respect, this would be true. But the
first question brings us closer to understanding more of who God really is in
His character and His love for us as revealed in the Bible.
The Bible teaches us that in all existence, from all eternity, there has
been and always will be only one God. God was never created, is completely
loving, completely just, completely holy, completely merciful, and that He
desires the best for us. God is holy and He can have nothing to do with sin as
the Bible says, "His eyes are too pure to look upon evil," (Hab.
1:13). This does not mean that God cannot see what someone does that is
wrong. It is a way of describing how holy God is. God cannot sin. He is
perfect.
In Christianity, God is a Trinity. This means that God is three persons,
not three gods. Technically, the doctrine of the Trinity states that in the one
God is the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each is not the
same person is the other; yet there are not three gods but one. This is similar
in analogy to the nature of time. Time is past, present, and future. The past is
not the same as the present, which is not the same as the future. But, there are
not three times. There is only one thing called time.
The reason the word "person" is used in describing the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit is because each exhibits attributes of personhood -- not in a
body of flesh and bones, but in personality. In other words, each has a will,
loves, speaks, is aware of others, communicates with others, etc. These are
attributes of personhood and we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
each demonstrate these qualities.
Because of the Trinity, God can become flesh in the form of the Son, and
still exist in such a way so that He can run the universe. Therefore, the Son
can communicate to us on our level.
Following are a couple verses that hint at the Trinity.
The Bible says there is only
one God: "I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God," (Isaiah
45:5). Yet, the Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are
each called God.
Below is a very brief chart that shows that each of the persons in
the Trinity share the same attributes that only God shares. But remember, the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have wills, and speak, etc. Therefore, we say
there are are three persons.
|
|
FATHER |
SON |
HOLY SPIRIT |
|
Called God |
|||
|
Creator |
|||
|
Everywhere |
|||
|
All knowing |
|||
|
A Will |
|||
|
Speaks |
If you want more information on the trinity, then see the doctrine section on carm.
Who is Jesus?
Jesus is the central figure of Christianity. He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me," (John 14:6). Also, Jesus claimed to be God in flesh. If you compare what God said to Moses in Exodus 3:14 ("And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”) with what Jesus said in John 8:58 (Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am,"), then you quickly see that Jesus was claiming to be God. In fact, others testified that He was divine as well:
Jesus is the second
person of the
Trinity. He is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2
He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among
us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full
of grace and truth," (John
1:1-2,14).
Because the word was with God and was God and became flesh, we then state that
Jesus has two natures: divine and human. Therefore, Christianity teaches that
Jesus is both God and man at the same time. The reason that he is God in flesh
is because only God can atone for our sins; we can't do it on our own since we
are finite sinful beings and cannot please and infinitely holy God. Anyway,
Jesus had to be a man to be able to die for humanity. This means that Jesus
took our place on the cross; that is, He took our place and suffered the wrath
of God the Father. If you trust in what Christ has done, then you will be saved
from the righteous judgment of God. More on that next.
God is infinitely holy, sinless, and just. When we sin, when we do
something contrary to God's will, then we have offended God. Since He is
infinite, our offense against Him takes on an infinite quality -- because of
who we have offended: an infinite God. Since no person can please an
infinite God (because we are finite and sinners) then the only one left to
remove our sins is God Himself. Therefore, Jesus is God in flesh, the one who
died on the cross, bore our sin in his body (1
Pet. 2:24), and physically rose from the dead.
Right now, in heaven, Jesus is still in the form of a man: "For there is
one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," (1
Tim. 2:5). Jesus rose from the dead in the same body he died in: "Jesus
answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple, and in
three days I will raise it up.' 20 The Jews therefore said,
'It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three
days?' 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22
When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He
said this; and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had
spoken," (John
2:19-21). Also, He retained the wounds of His crucifixion after He rose
from the dead: "Then He said t0 Thomas, “Reach here
your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My
side; and be not unbelieving, but believing,” (John
20:25). Forty days after His resurrection He ascended into heaven bodily:
"And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking
on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight," (Acts
1:9). He will return again from the heavens, and will judge the world and
all people: "This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will
come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven," (Acts
1:11). Yet, at the same time, He is still divine, "For in Him all the
fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form," (Col.
2:9).
Jesus never did anything wrong. He performed many miracles such as healing,
casting out demons, walking on water, calming a storm with the command, raising
people from the dead, and rising from the dead himself. Though there have been
many great teachers throughout history, none of them have performed such
miracles and claimed to be divine as Jesus claimed. This is why we can believe
Him when He says, "I am the way, and the truth, and
the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me," (John
14:6).
We trust what Jesus said. Therefore...
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