Christianity in One Minute
A one-minute guide to the heart of Christian belief.
Christians believe there is one God in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is called the Trinity. God created us, loves us and made us for relationship with him.
Christians believe Jesus is God the Son, fully divine and fully human. He lived among us, revealed what God is like and showed us how to live.
Human beings have turned away from God. Christians call this sin. Sin brings guilt, damages us and our relationships, and separates us from God. We cannot repair that separation simply by becoming better people or doing enough good deeds.
Though innocent, Jesus willingly died on the cross, bearing the judgement our sin deserves, in our place, so that we could be forgiven and restored to God.
Jesus then rose bodily from the dead. Christians believe his resurrection shows that death is not the end and reveals the future resurrection and eternal life promised to those who belong to him.
Forgiveness and salvation are gifts of God’s grace. They cannot be bought or earned. We receive them by turning to God, trusting Jesus and accepting that, because of his death on the cross, our sins are truly forgiven.
Christians do not follow Jesus perfectly. They still falter, fail and need forgiveness. Jesus does not ask us to make ourselves perfect before coming to him; he asks us to trust him, turn back to him when we fail and continue learning to follow him.
The Christian life is a journey of knowing God, being changed by the Holy Spirit, loving others, receiving forgiveness and sharing in the resurrection and eternal life given through Jesus Christ.