Music: "Calvary's Love"
Want to Know More
about Christian Faith?
The basic points
of Christian faith are these:
- The world, the universe and all that are
contained within them result from the work of a personal creator (God) who
has character, emotions, intelligence and personality. The universe and our world are not
self-existent.
- The Creator (God) is greater than that which was
created and has authority over all beings and objects within the universe.
The creator existed prior to creation and can exist without creation, but
the creation can not exist without the creator.
- God is not emotionally distant or
"cold" toward human beings. God has love and compassion toward all men,
women and children. God is also concerned with the well being of society
and the world as a whole. However, God's love is not blind. Individuals,
societies and entire civilizations that ignore God's will have experienced
divine wrath, and sometimes complete destruction.
- God is not silent. Throughout the centuries God has
communicated directly with human beings in various ways. The Spirit of God
communicates with individuals through dreams, visions and special
understandings. God speaks to specific cultures and societies through
prophets who receive a word that they are responsible to pass on to their
people.
- God took the form of a man and entered into
human experience and time in order to communicate clearly with us. This special action of God was
foretold centuries in advance. All past societies heard of this matter,
but the Hebrew prophets received the clearest teaching considering the
future coming of God into human history. God's entrance into human history
is what we Christians celebrate every Christmas--the birth of Jesus
Christ.
- Jesus Christ creates a bridge between us and the
Creator. He
did not come in order to establish a "better religion." Rather,
he came to demonstrate clearly the love and personality of the God who
loves us. The love of God for us was proven by the acts of Jesus
Christ--especially the voluntary enduring of insults, injuries and
physical death on the cross.
- The death of Jesus Christ upon the cross was not
a defeat for God! Some people imagine that only a weak God could be killed by human
beings. That would be true if physical death was the end of everything. Physical
death is not the end! God proved his power through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ three days after his death. Death has no victory over the
giver of life, or in those who through faith and obedience have entered
into a childlike relationship with their Creator.
- Spiritual salvation is the act of coming into
right relationship with the Creator and receiving the promises made to those who do so. From
the human standpoint, salvation is a matter of submitting our own spirit
or "ego" to God. From God's side, there is the expectation that
we honor and respect what God has done for us. How do we do begin a new
life with God? Basically, we start by talking with God. Here is an example
of what one can say to God:
Dear God.
I have heard
about you from many people but have never talked to you. I want to talk with
you now.
I admit that I am
not a religious person and that I have done some rotten things in my life. I
ask that you forgive me for those things now and give me a better way of living.
People say you
are a God of love and that you even love me. They say that you wanted to prove
your love so much that you were born as a baby named Jesus Christ. As Jesus
Christ, you talked about what was right and what was wrong--some people did not
like that so they tried to kill you. They could not kill you, which is why so
many people have come to believe in your love and power.
Dear God, I
believe this story and want to get my life right with you . I want you to come
into my life and forgive me for all the wrong things I have done. I want to
know you.
Dear God, please
give me the good things which you promise to those who believe you.
I say these
things in Jesus name.
Amen.
More Questions? Contact me by email so we can see what should come
next.
Updated August 31, 2004