Summary of the Christian faith

Dear readers,

In the coming posts, I will undertake an in-depth study of the book of John, one of the four gospels in the bible.

Through the book of John, I think we can learn a great deal about the nature and character of Jesus Christ, whom, according to the bible, paid the price for our sins through his death on the cross.

However, before that, I think it's important to step back and look at the overall message of the bible, the fundamental tenants of the Christian faith. Accordingly, in this post, I will attempt to summarize what I believe are the core principles of the Christian faith.

Core beliefs of the Christian faithI believe that the Christian faith can be summarized in seven key principles. These are:

• God is eternal (Genesis 1:1)
• God created the whole world (Genesis 1&2)
• God made man and put him in charge of the whole world (Genesis 1&2)
• Man rebelled against god (Genesis 3)
• God became angry with man (Genesis 3)
• Though angry, god loved man and sent his son to pay the price for the sin of man (John 3:16)
• Those who believe in Jesus are forgiven and pardoned of their sins (John 3:16) and are assured of a place in heaven after death

Now, lets look at each of these key points in turn:


(1) God is eternal.

The very first words of the bible read, "In the beginning, God.." (Genesis 1:1)

The bible asserts that, before the beginning of time, before the world as we know it came into existence, god, the creator of mankind, already existed. God's existence predates the universe, he existed before the beginning of time as we know it.

In fact, he did not have a beginning. He has always existed and always will exist. He is eternal - he had no beginning and will have no end.

This is a difficult concept for us to believe or comprehend. Everything we know is finite - it has a beginning and an end. We are conditioned to think in terms of the finite and are not comfortable with the concept of infinity, or eternality. It is just not a concept we can grasp easily.

However, the bible indeed states that god is eternal. He literally had no beginning and will have no end. He will always exist.


(2) God created the universe.

The bible clearly identifies god as the creator of the universe.

In point (1) above, I mentioned the first passage of the bible, Genesis 1:1. The full text of that passage reads "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

The above passage clearly and unambiguously identifies god as the creator. The remainder of chapter Genesis Chapter 1 then goes on to describe the process by which god created the world.
Christians believe that god is the author of all life as we know it.

Everything, absolutely everything, including the heavens, the earth, all living plants, animals, and all other features of the universe were made by the craftsmanship of god – our wonderful and magnificent creator.


(3) God made man in his own image.

Chapter 1 and 2 of the book of Genesis describe how, after he had created the universe and made all the plants and the animals, god made man.

However, there are several key features about the creation of man which distinguish us from either plants or animals.

Firstly, man was created in the image of God. The glory of god himself was meant to be reflected in mankind. We were made to radiate the pure greatness and wonderfulness of our father.

Secondly, man was put in charge of the entire earth, which we were intended to rule.

I liken this to an owner/manager relationship. God, who created and owned the earth, appointed man to manage and rule the earth on his behalf.

His role was creator and owner of the earth, our role was manager, accountable only to him.

Thirdly, man was told to be fruitful and increase in number. (Genesis 1:28) God made man to be productive, constructive and successful. Man was not only made to manage, he was made to achieve results. Moreover, mankind was given a mandate for unlimited expansion of its species.

Man was not like plants or animals. Man was given special status by god.


(4) Man rebelled against god.

But there was a problem - mankind did not follow the plan and rebelled against god.

The first act of rebellion came in the Garden of Eden, a story told in Chapter 3 of Genesis. God placed Adam and Eve (the first people) in the garden, and told them they could eat from any tree, except one particular tree - that of knowledge of good and evil.

However, after being deceived by the devil, they proceeded to eat from the forbidden tree. This was an act of defiance, a form of rebellion against god. Man was, in effect, turning away from god and going his own way.

The original sin was committed by only two people. However, at the time, they represented the entire population of mankind, and their actions represented actions performed on behalf of the human race.

Moreover, their actions set a precedent, and the bible says that all people have turned away from god at some point in their lives. No matter how good we may try to be, each and every one of us, at some point, has turned away from god.


(5) God became angry with man.

God had created mankind and made him ruler over the earth. Yet man, god’s own creation, had deliberately gone against his plan like a disobedient child.

The lord burned with anger. He himself is perfect, and he cannot, with his character, tolerate any form of sin or rebellion against him.

He could not simply overlook this and pretend that everything was OK.

As a consequence, the relationship between god and mankind was broken, and our relationship with him suffered a deep split. We had fallen from the grace in his eyes. He could no longer share a relationship of integrity with us. From a spiritual viewpoint, we were cut off from him.

A wide range of adverse consequences resulted, including death, disease, starvation, war and many other forms of suffering.

But, most importantly, man was denied eternal life, meaning that our final destiny changed from heaven to hell.

Before sin came into the world, our destiny was eternal life with god. We were meant for a perfect relationship with our creator that literally had no ending. But as a consequence of our sin, our days became numbered. Moreover, rather than being destined for eternal life in heaven after death, our destiny changed and each of us became destined, literally, for eternal punishment in hell.


(6) God sent his son to pay the price for the sin of man. (John 3:16)

God was outraged beyond comprehension at the rebellion of man.

However, he is so merciful that his ever-abundant, perfect love for mankind remained.

Man was broken. We could do nothing to heal our relationship with god. Only god could do that - and through his great mercy, he provided a way for our relationship with him to be restored.

His solution was to offer mankind a peace deal, under which God provided Jesus, his one and only son, as a sacrifice for our sin.

For those who accept the deal, Jesus, effectively becomes our substitute. Instead of us having to bear the cost of our sin, (which would have involved eternal punishment from god in hell) the entire cost of our sin was poured out upon Jesus, who suffered a painstakingly horrific death on the cross.

Jesus has effectively taken the punishment for our sins in our place. As a result, those who accept god’s peace deal are spared his anger and are destined for an eternal, perfect relationship with our creator in heaven after death.


(7) Those who believe in Jesus are forgiven and pardoned of their sins.

Who benefits from god’s great sacrifice? Does everyone qualify? What do we have to do to receive god’s forgiveness?

The bible says that all we have to do is accept god’s peace deal. Those who accept god’s peace deal are assured of forgiveness from their sins and an eternal place in heaven upon their death.

How, then, do we accept god’s peace deal?

Simply by putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. It means having absolute faith that the through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus on the cross, your sins have been fully forgiven.

Those who have such faith have accepted god’s peace deal and have had their sins fully forgiven by the lord, and will be free to enjoy everlasting eternal life in a perfect relationship with our creator in heaven.

What about those who do not believe?

This is where the Christian message becomes highly controversial. Unfortunately, the bible says that those who do not have faith in Christ have not accepted god’s peace deal. Nor, have they had their sins forgiven.

Accordingly, upon death, non-believers will be subject to the full wrath of god. Being permanently cut off from god, they will suffer eternal punishment in hell. Although this is unpleasant to talk about, it is what the bible says.

But for those who accept god’s peace deal and put their faith in the death and resurrection of
Christ Jesus, the bible says that our sins have been entirely forgiven by our wonderful and merciful god. Upon leaving this earth, we will share eternal relationship with our glorious father in heaven.

Let me stress, this is not because of anything special that believers in Christ have done. Rather it’s because of the wonderful and merciful character of our eternal creator, that he would make a great sacrifice to pay for the cost of our sins.