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THE
BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?
EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?
GOD
- MAN
Is Jesus really God?
RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?
SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?
TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.
SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.
FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?
GUIDANCE
How does God guide?
REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.
BORN
AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?
SAVING
FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven
ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?
TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?
MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.
THE
CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the
new millennium.
PURPOSE
How
can I find a great purpose for living?
IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of
God.
SELF-ESTEEM
How
can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.
LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.
THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.
Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.
The kind of commitment it asks of its members
C. S. Lewis once said:
The moment a man seriously accepts a deity, his interest in "religion" is at an end. He's got something else to think about.
The "something else" that Lewis is referring to is actually encountering this God, and all that this implies, rather than merely adopting certain religious practices. This is certainly true of Christianity when rightly understood. The ultimate question we face in dealing with the God that Christians proclaim is not whether we can believe the truths about him, or live by the standards he demands, or want to practise certain religious observances, but whether or not we want to get involved with him - to really meet him. Christianity has its doctrines and code of ethics, but basically being a Christian means living in a relationship with the risen Lord.
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"The
moment a man seriously accepts a deity, his interest in religion
is at an end"
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When we accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, then the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead,* literally comes to live in our human bodies. As Paul puts it, "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit" (I Corinthians 6:19). One of the ways this is described in the New Testament is being "born again" or "born of the Spirit". Without this we can neither enter nor see the kingdom of God (John 3:3,5). Sometimes this is spoken of as receiving Christ ((John 1:12), opening the door of our lives to Christ (Revelation 3:20), or as Christ coming to live in us (Colossians 1:27).
In this relationship he is the Lord or Senior Partner and he asks for unconditional surrender to his leadership. To grow in the relationship we must continue to exercise trust and obedience. Jesus said, "If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me" (Luke 9:23). In other words, because he died for us, he asks us to die to our own selfish desires and ambitions and to give him the central place in our lives. In response to his love for us, shown supremely through his death on the cross, we offer our lives in humble gratitude to him.
Sadly, it is possible to adopt Christian beliefs, seek to live by Christian standards, take part in Christian religious observances, and still not be really Christian! The heart of Christianity is commitment to a Person and enjoying a living relationship with that Person. If we took Buddha out of Buddhism, or Mohammed out of Islam, or the founder of any other religion out of that religion, and could still receive their teaching from some other source, little would be changed. But if we took Christ out of Christianity there would be nothing left because Christianity begins by entering into a relationship with the living Christ and receiving the gift of eternal life from him.
*I have sought to explain the Christian understanding of the Trinity - God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit - in the booklet, Understanding the Trinity: A Look At the God Revealed in Jesus Christ.
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With so many Religions, why Christianity?
The character of its founder, Jesus
The analysis of our real problem
The way by which we see forgiveness
A victory over evil and death which has already been won
The kind of commitment it asks of its members
