What do Christians believe?

"What is the meaning of life?" It seems there are as many different answers to that question as there are people asking it.

But why do we even ask the question? If all we are is just intelligent apes, why should it make any difference whether there is an over-riding "meaning" or not? This raises a string of other awkward questions. If we are just animals, why do we need a sense of purpose to get us through life? Why do we have such a strong sense of right and wrong? Why do we appreciate things like love and beauty, often valuing them above life itself?

We are all created in the image of God

Christians find the answers to all these questions in the collection of books called the Bible. The first book, Genesis, says that men and women were created "in the image of God". That means that all of the best characteristics of humanity - love, justice, creativity and so on - are ours because we were made to resemble our creator, who is perfect.

So why is the world in the state it is?

Good question. Genesis says that when God made the first people he didn't make them robots; he made them free to make their own choices, including the choice to disobey him. The Bible calls disobeying God sin. Given the choice, the first people God created chose to disobey him. A relationship that was perfect and beautiful was broken. Mankind was cut off from God. Because God is the source of life, the consequence of mankind's rebellion was death.

That's why the world can seem, on the one hand, to be a place of love, hope and beauty and on the other hand to be torn apart by hatred, violence and death. We are living in a world made perfect by God but corrupted by sin. The trouble is that when we examine ourselves honestly, we find that sin isn't so much something that we do as the way that we are.

So where do we go from here?

The punishment for sin is separation from God. The bad news is that if God is perfectly just then we have no way of bridging that divide; we will always be imperfect in his sight. So what can we do? Christians believe that it's not so much what we can do to re-unite ourselves with God, as what he has already done to re-unite himself with us:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

John 3 v. 16

Jesus Christ, the son of God, was born as a man in order to live the perfect life that none of us can live and die the death that all of us deserve. Jesus death satisified the justice of God perfectly. At the same time, it was the most amazing act of unconditional love. The reason God can forgive our sins and we can be re-united with him is that Jesus has already borne the punishment due for them.

When Jesus rose from the dead on the first Easter Sunday, he brought the hope of new life and the opportunity to be re-united with God. God is not remote. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection you can speak to him here and now. By trusting in Jesus you can escape the punishment due for your sin. You can experience the love of God today - and it will transform your life.

How do I become a Christian?

• Firstly, you need to ADMIT that you are living a life of disobedience and deserve God's punishment. You need to tell God that you are sorry for having lived this way and consciously turn away from sin.
• Secondly, COMMIT yourself to Christ, trusting in who he is. Take his promise of forgiveness and new life personally.
• Thirdly, SUBMIT your life to Him, day by day. He wants to change you into the person he wants you to be.

To learn more about what it means to be a Christian, please contact us. You can find out more about Christianity through informal talks and discussions by attending an Alpha Course.

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