This is a summary of what I believe as a Christian, written as far as possible in non-religious language which is unintelligible to most ordinary people!
Being a Christian is:
What could be more exciting than that?All we have to do is follow Jesus – oh, and let Him radically transform us into who we were meant to be all along. |
Transcendence – Life is more than meets the eye!
I believe that reality transcends time and space, and that all that exists has been created by a loving, conscious, infinite, intelligent God who is One. I believe that Life and the universe consists of far more than what we can perceive through our senses – there is a whole lot to reality which is vast and unknown to us, even with the amazing advances of science.
Ancient truths
Humanity has always been aware of God. I believe that humans were created with free will and a knowledge of right and wrong. Individually and collectively we have become estranged from God by our desire for power, wealth and self gratification. However, from the very beginning and down through many ages, God has sought to restore humanity to a right relationship with God’s self, with each other and with the rest of creation. This has been through many avenues but particularly through a promise made to an ancient people in the Middle East through whom God worked the salvation of the human race.
These ancient people are the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites, the Jewish people, whose scriptures foretold for thousands of years that God would provide a way back to wholeness and healing from the brokenness which results in so much pain and suffering. Although they were a rebellious people who repeatedly strayed from their God, God kept the promise and provided the solution – by becoming human and living amongst us.
God of grace and love
Jesus Christ was conceived and born in mysterious circumstances. He lived in a remote corner of the Roman empire some 2000 years ago and changed the world. His teachings of love and forgiveness are universally respected – he is said to have healed the sick, raised the dead, fed thousands from nothing and walked on water. And then he was betrayed by a friend and executed in the most barbarous and cruel way (crucifixion) by the ruling elite. I believe that Jesus was God in human form – both fully human and fully God – and that he rose physically from death and continues to live, although not currently in this physical realm.
I believe that in his death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the ancient promise to bring us back to God’s self. Jesus took upon himself all the pain and suffering of humanity – God suffered for God’s own creation out of love for it, and thereby broke the ancient curse which humanity had brought upon itself. That curse is death – I believe that what God did on the cross broke the curse and provides a way for us to be resurrected to life after death, as Jesus was.
The word ‘grace’ means the free and unmerited gift of God, given to us in love. To each of us. None of us deserve it – we can never earn it. It is not a question of doing enough good to outweigh our failings – that is not how the curse is undone. God – through Jesus – who was (and is) both fully human and fully God, did all that was necessary, once and for all, to break the curse. All we need to do is accept this gift of grace, by faith.
A Book of love and the Word of God
I believe that the Bible is God’s gift to humanity through which God’s nature and work in the world is revealed. It has been written over thousands of years by human hands and minds, inspired by God. It contains history, law, poetry, allegory, correspondence and visionary literature written by many people with amazing consistency.
I believe that the Bible contains all that is needed to guide us in living faithful lives, even in today’s world. We need to interpret the Bible carefully though, without bending it to our own purposes. Principally the Bible reveals a living God to us – the Bible speaks of Jesus being God’s living Word (The Gospel of John, Chapter 1).
The Bible tells the story of how God has worked in love through the ages to break the curse of death and give us LIFE. I believe that it is good to immerse ourselves in scripture, to learn to treasure it and let it infuse our lives.
Living a life of faith
What Jesus says to us, as recorded in the New Testament in the Bible, is that we need to follow him. We need to learn what he taught and then do what he taught in our lives, day by day. More than just doing what he teaches, we need to put our faith in him – that he is God and that he is alive. We need to communicate with him (it is called prayer!)
Jesus summed up all his own teaching (and the teachings of the Jewish scriptures), in two all-encompassing teachings – we must love God with all our hearts, minds and strength; and we must love all other people as we love ourselves.
Living a life of faith means putting Jesus in the centre of our lives – being a Christian is not the same as being a member of a club – it is not something we ‘do’, it is who we are.
Living a life of service
Jesus said “Why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but don’t do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46) Living a life of faith is an active life where we need to be ‘doers of the teachings of the Bible, and not just listeners’ (James 1:22). Having appropriated God’s grace for ourselves (see above), we are freed from living lives which are centred on ourselves and are able to serve others – whether that is at work, with our families, in the community or at church.
Many people become aware that they are attracted or feel drawn to serve God in some specific way through the church or through some other form of service to meet the needs of people – we should be open to the prompting of God’s Spirit in our lives.
The Church, ‘religion’, doctrine and stuff
The Church is not a building – it is the community of those who believe in and follow Jesus. It is often thought of as the ‘body of Christ’. As believers, Christians should be active members of a church where they are able to worship God, learn more about the faith and how to live faithful lives, and serve others both inside and outside the church.
Being a Christian does not mean being ‘religious’. Whilst some people find great comfort in religious things and church tradition, we are meant to live as ‘salt and light’ in the world, rather than being withdrawn from it in our own pious little enclaves.
Doctrine is the set of detailed beliefs we hold about the nature of God, about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the church, ethics and morality, how we should live in the world etc.. Whilst the basic core of the Christian faith is very simple, understanding an infinite loving being is filled with mystery, about which people have thought, studied and debated through the ages, and still continue to do so today.
Everyone!
One last thing – I don’t believe that Jesus excludes anyone from his love – no one – irrespective of their colour, race, economic background, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, or any other label we might be tempted to attach!
If it is not Good News FOR all,
Then it is not Good News AT all!
