Why Believe In Jesus?

Christianity is the name of the religion which declares that Jesus was who he said he was - the Son of God. Followers of Christianity are called Christians and though Christian attitudes can vary slightly from person to person, the fundamental beliefs are always the same. These beliefs are summed up in declarations called Creeds (from the Latin word credo meaning "I believe"). There are three main Creeds: Nicene, Athanasian, and the Apostle's Creed (which is given below).

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again.

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

The holy catholic* church,

The communion of saints,

The forgiveness of sins,

The resurrection of the body,

And the life everlasting.

Amen.

 

*This means "all-embracing". It is not referring to the Roman Catholic Church.

Jesus' love and teachings are as real now as they were when he walked the earth. His message is a very serious one and needs to be considered by us all. Since none of us knows when we're going to die, we must address this issue now! If Jesus was telling the truth, great things lie in store, but Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) We cannot buy our way into heaven with good deeds or anything else. You just have to believe that Jesus was exactly who he said he was and died to save you. Simple.

No one can forever sit on the fence and just observe religion until something somewhere is proven because the point of Christianity is faith. We can only be sure of the facts once we've died, by which time it's too late to declare your faith! We have to make a clear-cut decision in this life!

This decision in life applies to every single person. No one else can save you. You have to make the decision for yourself whether or not you believe what Jesus said was true.

You are not necessarily a Christian if:

• You've been to church
• You've been baptized as a baby
• You have Christian relatives or friends
• You've read some or all of the Bible
• You believe in God
• You have been a "good" person

Christians may do all these things, but that's not what makes them a Christian in the first place.

Jesus is the only way. He is the only key that will fit into the lock on heaven's door. Only you can declare your trust in Christ. No one else can do it for you. God will know if you genuinely believe Jesus died to save you. God knows your heart.

Often people reject Christianity assuming Christians have to always be good, live a boring life without any fun, and then they just die and go sit on a cloud playing a harp in a world where everything's white. I can't speak for you, but that's not my idea of heaven at all! We get these images and ideas from medieval times and they are often not helped by today's media.

Christians are no better than anyone else but they try to see where they've made mistakes and can then rectify them with God and whomever they've wronged. God doesn't keep a score of wrongs once a person has sought forgiveness from Him and so a Christian doesn't need to dwell on the past. Being forgiven is like having the freedom to have a fresh start. You don't even have to earn your forgiveness or beg for it - God is only too willing to forgive anyone who truly seeks it.

Christianity certainly doesn't have to be boring! There's nothing immoral about having fun - in fact you can enjoy life more if you know what you're living for and view every day as a God-given gift. God wants us to enjoy ourselves and be happy but not at others' expense - that's all.

Views on the afterlife are often grossly misrepresented in today's culture. It makes me very sad to hear people saying things like, "Oh, well, I'd rather die and go to hell where you can socialise with other bad people and have a good time rather than spend eternity playing the harp for God," or similar. Hell is the grim reality of rejecting God. It is not a nice place by any stretch of the imagination. Whatever you hate, fear or avoid will be there in hell but a million times worse. Those looking forward to socialising in hell will find nothing but loneliness. Basically, hell is the complete separation from God. Even if you reject God in this world, it doesn't stop Him being there and you are still benefiting from His generosity, but in hell He's just not there. There is nothing good about hell!

Unlike hell, heaven is a wonderful place to be. It is a place of joy and happiness with no more grief, pain or suffering. And there's no reason to believe that it's all white. Nor is it right to assume that once you've died you sit on clouds, earn yourself a halo, play harps, become an angel, or meet a nice old man with a long, fluffy white beard called God. You can still enjoy all the good things that you currently take pleasure in on earth, but without the related problems. Socialisers will find their social lives are in heaven, not hell. Since time won't exist as we know it, there'll be no rush to do anything in heaven. It is a fantastic place run by God who knows us best and, like He wants us to enjoy this life, He also wants us to enjoy the next one so why should anyone have any reason to think heaven will be boring in any way? Any Christian friends or family you have will also be there to share the fun and enjoyment with! Nice!