The Christian Story

One God

Christians believe there is one God, who created the universe and gives it life. God is not one object within the universe. He is the source of everything that exists.

Christians know this one God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is called the Trinity. Christians do not believe in three gods, but in one God who eternally exists as three persons. The Trinity will be explained more fully in the next part.

Creation and human purpose

Christians believe creation is good and meaningful. Every human being has dignity because each person is made in the image of God.

This does not mean that people physically resemble God. It means human beings were made for relationship with God and with one another, and were given the capacity for love, responsibility, creativity and moral choice.

Sin and separation from God

The world is not as it should be. Human beings can love and create, but we also deceive, exploit, harm and turn away from what is good.

Christians use the word sin for this rebellion and brokenness. Sin includes particular wrong actions, but it goes deeper. It is the condition in which humanity turns away from God, damages other people and fails to live as God intended.

Because God is perfectly good, sin cannot simply be treated as unimportant. It brings guilt, judgement and separation from God. Christians do not believe every individual suffering is a direct punishment for a particular sin, but they do believe humanity lives in a world damaged by sin and death.

Human beings cannot repair the separation alone

Christianity does not teach that people can make themselves right with God by becoming sufficiently respectable, religious or moral. Good deeds matter, but they cannot erase guilt, undo every wrong or place God in our debt.

The Christian story is therefore not mainly about humanity climbing upwards towards God. It is about God coming towards humanity to do what we could not do for ourselves.

God’s rescue reaches its centre in Jesus

The Bible tells the long story of God seeking humanity, beginning with creation and continuing through Abraham, Moses, the people of Israel and the prophets.

Christians believe this story reaches its centre in Jesus Christ. Jesus is not only a teacher sent by God. Christians believe he is God the Son, who became fully human while remaining fully divine.

Jesus lived without sin, revealed what God is like, and willingly went to the cross. There he bore the judgement and punishment that human sin deserves. Because he acted in our place, those who turn to him do not have to earn forgiveness or bear final condemnation for their sins.

Grace, forgiveness and restored relationship

Christians call God’s freely given love and rescue grace. Forgiveness is not bought through good deeds, religious effort or recompense to God. It is offered because of what Jesus has done.

A person receives this gift by turning towards God and trusting Jesus. Christians call this faith and repentance. Forgiveness removes the guilt that separates a person from God and brings that person into a restored relationship with him.

Jesus rose and showed that death is not the end

Christians believe Jesus truly died, was buried and rose bodily from the dead. His resurrection showed that sin and death had not defeated him.

By rising, Jesus revealed the eternal life he promises to those who belong to him. Christian hope is not only that a person’s influence continues after death, but that God will raise the dead and renew creation.

The whole story in one sentence

The Christian message is that the one God who made us came to rescue us in Jesus Christ, bore our sin on the cross, rose from death and now offers forgiveness, restored relationship and eternal life by grace.