What is a Christian?
Who Is Jesus?
Jesus was a Jew who lived 2000 years ago in Israel, and he is the person at the centre of Christianity. That is why, to understand Christianity better, you should read an eyewitness account on Jesus. Pick up a Bible and read The Gospel of Mark for example – a historical account of the life of Jesus written in the 1st century. Jesus was the son of a carpenter. He never became a powerful ruler. He never led an army. In fact, he died young, in a brutal way, nailed to a cross. But today, millions of people all around the world worship him.
Why did he come?
Jesus’ death was not an accident. He told his followers he would die. In fact, he said he had come to die. He taught people that they had turned away from God and therefore they were separated from God. Jesus said that mankind deserved to be punished for their rebellion against God, they deserved to be eternal separated from God.
But the Bible teaches that Jesus, the Son of God, died in our place. He was perfect and he didn’t deserve death – but he chose to die instead of us. Jesus paid for our rebellion against God and so through his death he saved us from being punished by God. We know for sure that Jesus’ payment was accepted by God. We know for certain that the things Jesus said were true. We know beyond any doubt Jesus lives today. How can we say all these things with such confidence? Because Jesus literally was resurrected from the dead, three days after he was executed.
What does it mean to follow him?
Because Jesus died and took the punishment mankind deserved, those who follow Jesus can now have a real relationship with God. Though we have rebelled against God and not lived for him, if we have faith that Jesus’ death was in our place God forgives us our rebellion. This means we can be friends with God. That friendship begins when you trust Jesus and means that after you die, you go to be with him forever.
Jesus Christ died for our sins, he was raised on the third day and finally he returned spectacularly to God in heaven. Following Jesus really means two things. You know him as your rescuer and you lovingly obey him as your ruler. He said he came to rule and he wants to lovingly rule our lives.
A relationship with Jesus means we follow him everyday. As you talk to God in prayer, as you listen to God by reading the Bible your relationship will grow stronger.
What next?
I’m sure you’ve a lot more questions so allow us to give some suggestions as to how we can help.
- Get a copy of the Bible and start reading Mark’s Gospel. If you don’t have a Bible come and ask us for a copy and we will give you one free of charge.
- In all of our church services we open up the Bible, read it and try to understand what it says, means and how it applies to us today. Why not start coming?
- Give William, Andrew or Wilma a call or drop them an e-mail – they will be very happy to hear from you.
- Come to Christianity Explored.
Christianity Explored
Christianity Explored does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a series of talks exploring the basics of Christianity. It gives you time and space to consider the big questions of life and to explore the life of the person at the heart of the Christian faith – Jesus Christ.
- You don’t need to know anything about the Bible
- You won’t be asked to read aloud, pray or sing
- You can ask any question you want, or just listen
Everyone is welcome – from the most sympathetic Sunday schooler to the convinced atheist. Our aim is to help people investigate Christianity in a relaxed and accessible way, and we encourage guests to come with all of their questions. In just a few weeks we won’t be able to cover everything, but many people have found the course to be a good introduction to the big issues.
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