The Bible
We believe in the authority and accuracy of the Bible.
Historians have more ancient manuscripts of the Bible than any other historic document, and its historical accuracy is verifiable.
The Bible is different from ancient documents from other ancient religions. It is a story of God and particularly of God's interaction with people. In the Bible, there is a lot of narrative and it is filled with historic events from real places, all of which align with archaeology and other historic documents. There aren't any historic events from the Bible which have been proven to be untrue. These attributes make the Bible unique and very different from the ancient documents of all other religions.
The content of the Bible is also unique. Consider the uniqueness and impact of what Jesus said below, which is in stark contrast with other religions whose scripture incites hatred and acts of violence. You can find violence in the Bible but it is never something that we are taught we should be doing now, rather observe the teaching of Jesus below.
Matthew chapter 5 verses 43 to 48:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
The Bible also has books that are poetic, musical, and full of feeling where people are facing both the harsh realities of life, or rejoicing in the good times of life like the Psalms, romantic like the Song of Solomon (Song of Songs), or full of wisdom sayings like the Proverbs. Some Bible books contain apocalyptic visions which show past or future events but shroud them in symbolism, like Revelation. Much of the Old Testament recounts the life events of the people of Israel and records how God responded through his prophets. Much of the New Testament consists of an account of the life of Jesus and the early church and letters written to early churches to guide them.
The Bible has two parts, the Old Testament, and the New Testament. The Old Testament deals with Creation and God's work with the people of God, particularly the nation of Israel up to the time preceding the coming of the Saviour, the Messiah who was promised by their prophets. The New Testament deals with the coming of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the work of God in and through his people after Jesus.
Check the Bible out for yourself!
You can read the Bible online at http://www.esvbible.org/ or you can watch the story of Jesus from the Gospel of John in the Bible online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hexhw3wWmE
The Bible contains 66 books, written by different authors under the inspiration of God. They combine to form a consistent whole. The Old Testament and New Testament are clear sections of the Bible but within each testament the books are not grouped in historic order, rather they are grouped by literary type. So if you want to read through in historic order, you would need to know the order in which to read them.
The Bible in relation to culture and science
Western culture for a long time has been very much linked to Christian values and culture which is drawn from the Bible, but many western countries are in the process of departing from Christian values and culture.
Modern science is built on a foundation of Christian scientists who believed in God and the Bible (eg Copernicus, Bacon, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Pascal, Newton, Boyle, Faraday, Mendel, Kelvin, Planck), but many scientists today use pseudo-science to reject the idea of God, and unlike the past, there is strong discrimination against scientists who believe in God in educational and academic institutions.
Modern science is built on a foundation of Christian scientists who believed in God and the Bible (eg Copernicus, Bacon, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Pascal, Newton, Boyle, Faraday, Mendel, Kelvin, Planck), but many scientists today use pseudo-science to reject the idea of God, and unlike the past, there is strong discrimination against scientists who believe in God in educational and academic institutions.
Some people don't like the Bible
People who don't like the Bible often don't like it for the fact that it establishes God as our creator which gives him position as king and authority over us - the Bible declares we are made by God and we need to take heed of what God says!
People don't like being told what to do and want to continue exploiting other people for their own wealth or pleasure and so they reject God and the Bible, and they create scientific-sounding reasons to excuse their rejection of God.
Church pastor Ian Garrett once had a evening with Cambridge University undergraduates looking at the question of "Did Jesus rise again and what does it matter?" At the end, the most honest (and also top of the class student) said "I think there is more evidence for what you believe about God and Jesus than for all of the scientific theories that I believe! But I don't want to take it any further because I want to keep getting drunk and sleeping with my girlfriend."
The underlying motivation for rejecting God for many people isn't scientific at all, rather it is moral, so they build or choose a belief system designed to let them do what they really want to do and they put faith in that.
People don't like being told what to do and want to continue exploiting other people for their own wealth or pleasure and so they reject God and the Bible, and they create scientific-sounding reasons to excuse their rejection of God.
Church pastor Ian Garrett once had a evening with Cambridge University undergraduates looking at the question of "Did Jesus rise again and what does it matter?" At the end, the most honest (and also top of the class student) said "I think there is more evidence for what you believe about God and Jesus than for all of the scientific theories that I believe! But I don't want to take it any further because I want to keep getting drunk and sleeping with my girlfriend."
The underlying motivation for rejecting God for many people isn't scientific at all, rather it is moral, so they build or choose a belief system designed to let them do what they really want to do and they put faith in that.
GodChristians worship one God, and yet God is revealed in the Bible as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is a unique being, a relational being within himself, and enjoys loving fellowship within himself. Love and relationship are thus intrinsic parts of who God is.
A pattern established in the Bible is that the Father works through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Son obeys the Father and the does his work by the power of the Spirit. God has always existed. There was never a time when he did not exist, and there will never be a time that he will not exist. It can be confusing for us to think of an eternal being like God with no beginning and no end, but that is how the Bible tells us that he is. Basically he exists outside of time and space, so time has no control on him. The Bible tells us that to God, 1000 years is like 1 day. However, he created time and space, and he acts within time and space. Even if you don't trust the Bible, then what about time and space - have they always existed? Why? Ultimately you have to believe something has always existed. The Bible shows us that God created all things, and knows all things. When we look at our world, we see order and design and beauty in it. These things reflect the artistic skill of the designer, God. Some people believe that everything is here by evolution and chance, but that really is a completely laughable idea because it doesn't fit at all with the order and beauty that we see in creation. The design and complexity is quite clear, even down to the microscopic single-cell mechanisms for copying DNA. Each living cell has a microscopic motor to drive the DNA strand copying process at cell reproduction. To say this all created itself as a product of chance is at an even more ridiculous level as saying that the Sydney Opera House created itself. Having faith in God as creator is very reasonable, and in fact the observable creation itself in effect testifies that it was indeed designed and God made it. Evolutionists believe that things that are absurdly improbably becomes possible given long periods of time, but that has never been proven, and it cannot be proven without the same lengths of time, so it is not science, it is faith. The Bible reveals God to be completely perfect, righteous and pure, completely loving and yet completely just. God is completely loving and yet he does hate. He hates evil and wickedness. He hates sin, but he loves sinners. God is HOLY - he is different from us, and he is very pure and righteous. In understanding God, knowing that he is HOLY is very important, because when we see God in his holiness, then we start to understand and see our own darkness. |
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People
People were made by God and are not at all a product of mere chance. God made us in his image and we have life because he gives it. He is the source of life. In fact all things are held together by him.
God has given people an eternal soul that will outlive their body. Our lives in our bodies are short in comparison with eternity.
We all are guilty of having rejected God in one way or another by choosing to go our own way and not submit to his authority. People have rebelled against God who made them, even though he loves them and wants the best for them.
In our society we see the result of what rejection of God does. Our society is on a slippery slope of moral decline as people proudly live their lives in a way that is against God. The awful news that we hear on the television every day is evidence our society sliding down that slippery slope.
In his complete righteousness, God must punish all wickedness. Consider Hitler, then consider yourself... if God fails to punish wickedness then he wouldn't be a just judge.
However he will punish wickedness, but right now there is a reprieve, a time when people can seek forgiveness through an amnesty God has declared where Jesus Christ suffers our punishment for us in our place. Jesus' suffering on the cross was sufficient to cover the sins of all people of all time.
The punishment the Bible speaks of for sinners is separation from God in a place of fiery suffering called hell. The Bible commands us to run to Jesus Christ and be saved from that place of horrors.
God has given people an eternal soul that will outlive their body. Our lives in our bodies are short in comparison with eternity.
We all are guilty of having rejected God in one way or another by choosing to go our own way and not submit to his authority. People have rebelled against God who made them, even though he loves them and wants the best for them.
In our society we see the result of what rejection of God does. Our society is on a slippery slope of moral decline as people proudly live their lives in a way that is against God. The awful news that we hear on the television every day is evidence our society sliding down that slippery slope.
In his complete righteousness, God must punish all wickedness. Consider Hitler, then consider yourself... if God fails to punish wickedness then he wouldn't be a just judge.
However he will punish wickedness, but right now there is a reprieve, a time when people can seek forgiveness through an amnesty God has declared where Jesus Christ suffers our punishment for us in our place. Jesus' suffering on the cross was sufficient to cover the sins of all people of all time.
The punishment the Bible speaks of for sinners is separation from God in a place of fiery suffering called hell. The Bible commands us to run to Jesus Christ and be saved from that place of horrors.
Hope
Jesus Christ, the son of God, was born into this world as the saviour, to save people from punishment that is due to them because of their rebellion.
His coming was foretold by Bible prophets over a long period. God calls all people to reach out to Jesus Christ in faith to receive free forgiveness, becoming part of God's family, being freely given eternal life with God forever.
The way Jesus saves people is that he exchanges our guilt because of wrongdoing with his righteousness. Jesus was perfectly good. When we believe him (faith) and belong to him, we get his righteousness credited to our account and we get eternal life and blessing. He gets our guilt credited to his account and he suffers and dies for it because of his great love for us. God was willing to do that for us. That demonstrates such love.
There is now an amnesty declared that people can come to God in faith and be accepted by him, never because of our own goodness, but because of what Jesus has done.
When a person has faith in God, and becomes a member of God's spiritual family, God gives them wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit who is God living and working within his them to show them what is right and wrong and to lead and guide them through life.
A person who wants to take up God's offer of hope in this way should:
A person who follows Jesus gets wonderful blessings from God, but there is a cost:
Some things that can really help personally are:
His coming was foretold by Bible prophets over a long period. God calls all people to reach out to Jesus Christ in faith to receive free forgiveness, becoming part of God's family, being freely given eternal life with God forever.
The way Jesus saves people is that he exchanges our guilt because of wrongdoing with his righteousness. Jesus was perfectly good. When we believe him (faith) and belong to him, we get his righteousness credited to our account and we get eternal life and blessing. He gets our guilt credited to his account and he suffers and dies for it because of his great love for us. God was willing to do that for us. That demonstrates such love.
There is now an amnesty declared that people can come to God in faith and be accepted by him, never because of our own goodness, but because of what Jesus has done.
When a person has faith in God, and becomes a member of God's spiritual family, God gives them wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit who is God living and working within his them to show them what is right and wrong and to lead and guide them through life.
A person who wants to take up God's offer of hope in this way should:
- Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ - that he is the Son of God, that he loves you, that he can save you, that he died for your sins, that he rose again from the dead
- Admit wrongdoing to God and ask for forgiveness
- Turn away from wrongdoing
- Turn to God
- Perform actions aligned with turning away from wrongdoing and turning to God, knowing that our actions don't merit God's approval, and knowing that God is ready to forgive when we fail
- Continue to believe and relate to God in this way, strong in faith and trust in God
A person who follows Jesus gets wonderful blessings from God, but there is a cost:
- Being God's person doesn't mean he liberates us from all suffering. Instead, he uses suffering for our good. In fact we may or may not end up with more suffering as a result of such a decision
- Friends, colleagues, or family may reject us
- Our life becomes not our own. It becomes God's. God's spirit works in us to direct us towards having him as king and as part of having him as king, he may guide us to give up personal wants
- But in all this, we have a joy that is found nowhere else
Some things that can really help personally are:
- Taking time to pray to God and nurture a close daily time where you read the Bible and think about him
- Finding a church where you meet with other believers
What is a Christian?
A Christian is a person who understands and admits that they rightly and fairly deserve God's anger because of their wrongdoing and clings to Jesus Christ as their only hope for eternity.
For a person to really understand and do this, God must have already been doing his gracious and secret work in that person's heart.
Such a person escapes God's just anger against sin and evil only by the mercy shown through the amnesty God provided in Jesus Christ.
A Christian has given up on the idea of being good enough on their own before God, putting away the whole idea of self-righteousness, putting away pride in their own goodness, putting away wrong thoughts of God weighing up good deeds against bad deeds as some sort of justification of why they should be considered right and good in their own merits, and freely admitting their own spiritual bankruptcy as a poor sinner saved only by the undeserved kindness and righteousness of Jesus Christ which is given to us without cost.
Christians don't have or need high self-esteem because they know that they are very flawed. But Christians also know that they are very loved by God, despite their flaws, and they know that God will never leave them or forsake them. They find their value in knowing that they are loved by God, and then they can reach out in love for others because of the love that they have received.
Christians have a heart-felt desire to be like Jesus, and are led by God's Holy Spirit who has taken up residence in them personally, affecting from the inside who they are and what they like.
By the sheer mercy of God, the Christian gives allegiance to God alone as king of kings.
A Christian is a person who "glories in Christ Jesus and has no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3)
For a person to really understand and do this, God must have already been doing his gracious and secret work in that person's heart.
Such a person escapes God's just anger against sin and evil only by the mercy shown through the amnesty God provided in Jesus Christ.
A Christian has given up on the idea of being good enough on their own before God, putting away the whole idea of self-righteousness, putting away pride in their own goodness, putting away wrong thoughts of God weighing up good deeds against bad deeds as some sort of justification of why they should be considered right and good in their own merits, and freely admitting their own spiritual bankruptcy as a poor sinner saved only by the undeserved kindness and righteousness of Jesus Christ which is given to us without cost.
Christians don't have or need high self-esteem because they know that they are very flawed. But Christians also know that they are very loved by God, despite their flaws, and they know that God will never leave them or forsake them. They find their value in knowing that they are loved by God, and then they can reach out in love for others because of the love that they have received.
Christians have a heart-felt desire to be like Jesus, and are led by God's Holy Spirit who has taken up residence in them personally, affecting from the inside who they are and what they like.
By the sheer mercy of God, the Christian gives allegiance to God alone as king of kings.
A Christian is a person who "glories in Christ Jesus and has no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3)
What is prayer?
Prayer is talking to God, and our first prayer should be a calling out to God to reveal himself to us so that we can come to know him.
Prayer is how we start a relationship with God. Prayer is also how we continue our relationship with God. Prayer is how we ask God to help others. Prayer is how we ask God to help us.
God is not selfish, he wants us to pray to him and to come before him with requests.
However it is important that we come to know and understand God through the Bible so that when we're praying, we know the character and nature of the God to whom we are praying.
Prayer is how we start a relationship with God. Prayer is also how we continue our relationship with God. Prayer is how we ask God to help others. Prayer is how we ask God to help us.
God is not selfish, he wants us to pray to him and to come before him with requests.
However it is important that we come to know and understand God through the Bible so that when we're praying, we know the character and nature of the God to whom we are praying.
God works through his people
There's a lot of detail above about what God and what Christians believe, but Christianity isn't only about belief. It is very important to believe what is right, but Jesus indicated that genuine Christians will be known by their fruit, ie the righteous acts that accompany true faith, that are a result of God working in them.
A person who is genuinely Christian will be so affected that their life and actions will be impacted by their belief. In fact, the practical outworking of their belief is evidence that their faith is in fact real.
Having said that, it is important to note that these actions that accompany faith are not things that make a follower of Jesus to be a Christian, that is through faith alone, but rather, the actions are the result of having true faith, because when a person has true faith, God is at work in them through the Holy Spirit.
A person who is genuinely Christian will be so affected that their life and actions will be impacted by their belief. In fact, the practical outworking of their belief is evidence that their faith is in fact real.
Having said that, it is important to note that these actions that accompany faith are not things that make a follower of Jesus to be a Christian, that is through faith alone, but rather, the actions are the result of having true faith, because when a person has true faith, God is at work in them through the Holy Spirit.
