What is the Christian faith?

Christians believe in God. He reveals Himself to people in His Word, the Bible. It says that He created us ‘in His image’.

You also read how He wants all people to live. This is shown, for example, through stories about people who lived in Bible times, but also because God gave people commandments. They received ten beautiful rules to live by. These are the Ten Commandments. They are about our relationship with God and with the people around us. Jesus, God’s Son, summarized this: Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. This command applies to all people, at all times, and in all places.

Sin

In practice, however, things are difficult; there is no one who (always and completely) keeps these rules for living. That is because—since the first people consciously went against God—all humanity has been trapped in the power of sin. Sin means: missing the mark. Our thinking, speaking, doing, and not doing are no longer as God made and intended us to be. Many are not aware of this. And if we do think about it, we often feel that we’re not so bad. After all, we do our best, right? And a lot does go well, doesn’t it? But that’s not how God looks at us. He holds us responsible for everything we do and don’t do; even for mistakes and shortcomings that seem small or insignificant in our own eyes.

Grace

Fortunately, it doesn’t end here. God knows that we, by ourselves, can no longer keep these commandments. We humans sometimes turn a blind eye when someone makes a mistake. God is not like that. He cannot overlook sin. He is completely good; even the smallest injustice He cannot tolerate. And that is why He sent His Son: Jesus Christ. He came as a human but remained God. He lived as God intended: perfectly good and without any sin. To save people, He took our sins upon Himself. God placed the sins, as it were, on the shoulders of His Son. In this way, He could pay the debt we owe to God. That’s why He allowed Himself to be killed on the cross voluntarily. But He also rose from the dead. Because of everything Jesus has done, there is grace. Grace means you receive something you have not earned yourself. In this case: forgiveness of all your sins and restoration of your relationship with God. This is only possible through Jesus. Only through Him can the broken relationship between God and man be restored. And only through Him can and will God forgive sins. Jesus bore the punishment for all who believe in Him and has conquered death for them. Undeserved. By grace. ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’ (from the Bible, John 3 verse 16).

What does it mean to believe in God?

‘To believe’ and ‘faith’ are words that are used in different ways in daily life. For example, if someone asks you whether you turned off the light before you left home, you might answer: ‘I think so’. You think you did, but you’re not completely sure. Some people look at Christians in the same way: they believe that God exists, but are not sure. But that’s not what Christians mean when they say they believe in God. An example: you have been traveling for a long time and called your family to say you will arrive at the airport tomorrow morning. Your father is so happy that you are coming back that he spontaneously offers to pick you up. So you cancel the taxi you had ordered. After all, you have no doubt that your father will really be at the airport tomorrow to welcome you and bring you home. You know and trust him and are therefore sure that he will carry out his intention. You believe him at his word.

This is much more like the way Christians believe in God. They have come to know and trust Him. They experience it again and again: God does what He promises! Believing in God means that you are convinced that what is written in the Bible is true, because it is God’s Word. But even more than that: it also means that you are convinced that you cannot free yourself from sin. Only God can do that. And He wants to do it. That He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, for that purpose—to suffer and to die. And that Jesus rose from the dead and thus conquered death for all who belong to Him. This joyful message of salvation and forgiveness is also for you. Whoever you are, wherever you come from, and whatever you have done: everyone who believes in Him will receive eternal life.