What We Believe

What is Biblical Christianity and what are our Essential Beliefs?

ANSWER

The core beliefs of Christianity are summarised in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Jesus died for our sins, was buried, was resurrected, and thereby offers salvation to all who will receive Him by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone. Unique among all other faiths, Biblical Christianity is about a relationship with our heavenly Father, rather than religious practices. Instead of adhering to a list of “do’s and donts,” the goal of a Christian is to cultivate a close fellowship with God. This relationship is made possible because of the work of Yeshua the Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Yeshua said, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

• John 10:24-29 BSB [24] So the Jews gathered around Him and demanded, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” [25] “I already told you,” Jesus replied, “but you did not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name testify on My behalf. [26] But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe. [27] My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. [29] My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

• Psalm 95:4-10 NASB [4] In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are also His. [5] The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. [6] Come, let’s worship and bow down, Let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker. [7] For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice, [8] Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, As on the day of Massah in the wilderness, [9] “When your fathers put Me to the test, They tested Me, though they had seen My work. [10] “For forty years I was disgusted with that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways.

Beyond these core beliefs, there are many other items that are, or at least should be, indicative of what Christianity is and what Christians believe. The Bible (Scripture) is the inspired, “God-breathed” Word of God and that its teaching is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21). True Bible believing Christians, believe in one God that exists in three persons—the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. These three make the one true God.

Man-kind was created specifically to have a RELATIONSHIP with God, but sin separates all men from God (Romans 3:23; 5:12). (Sin is not just something you do, its the very power that is in you that causes you to do it). The Word of God teaches that Yeshua the Christ walked this earth, fully God, and yet fully man (Philippians 2:6-11), and died on the cross.

• John 1:1-3,14,16,18 BSB’ In the beginning was the Word (Yeshua), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. [14] The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. [16] From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. [18] No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

True Christians know and believe that after His death, Christ was buried, He rose again, and now lives at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for the believers forever (Hebrews 7:25). True Christianity proclaims that Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient to completely pay the sin debt owed by all men, and this is what restores the broken relationship between God and man (Hebrews 9:11-14; 10:10; Romans 5:8; 6:23).

The Word (Yeshua) teaches that in order to be saved and be granted entrance into heaven after death, one must place one’s faith entirely in the finished work of Christ on the cross. (Like the thief on the cross) If we believe that Christ died in our place and paid the price of our own sins, and rose again, then we are saved forever. There is nothing that anyone can do to earn salvation. We cannot be “good enough” to please God on our own, because we are all sinners (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6-7). There is nothing more to be done, because Christ has done all the work! When He was on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), meaning that the work of redemption was completed.

The truth is, salvation is freedom from the old sin nature and receiving a new nature that gives you freedom to pursue a right relationship with God. Where we were once slaves to sin, we are now slaves to Christ (Romans 6:15-22). As long as believers live on this earth in their sinful bodies, they will engage in a constant struggle with sin. However, Christians can have victory in the struggle with sin by studying and applying God’s Word in their lives and being controlled by the Holy Spirit—that is, submitting to the Spirit’s leading in everyday circumstances.

So, while many religious systems require that a person do or not do certain things, Christianity is about believing that Christ died on the cross as payment for our own sins and rose again. Our sin debt is paid and we can have fellowship with God. We can have victory over our sin nature and walk in fellowship and obedience with God. That is true biblical Christianity.