A. CREATION
God made everything
He made the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), He made the sun, the moon, the stars, the lands and the seas. He made the birds, the animals, every moving creature on earth, the trees, the plants and the flowers. God made humankind in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), He created both male and female in His image. No other creature was created in God’s image. Therefore, humankind is distinctly different from all other earthly creatures and both the first man and woman – Adam and Eve were blessed by God and both were told to exercise dominion over earthly creation (Genesis 1:28).
God loved Adam and Eve and related with them
The Bible tells us that He loves humanity (Jeremiah 31:3) because love is in God’s nature. God is love (1 John 4:8). He also loves us because He made us. What maker of a great product does not love the product he made? In the same way, God our Creator, loves us abundantly and zealously because we are His workmanship. He loved Adam and Eve and related with them.
B. FALL
Humanity fell
Adam and Eve were tempted by the scheme of the devil (Genesis 3:1-19) and chose to disobey God. As a result, humanity fell. Sin was introduced into all of humanity. Since that fall, there is no part of humanity that is not stained with sin (Romans 3:23). And because of sin, humanity could no longer relate intimately with God, unless something is done to rectify the problem.
THE PREDICAMENT: GOD MADE HUMANITY AND STILL LOVES US DESPITE OUR SIN, BUT BECAUSE HE IS HOLY AND PERFECT, OUR SIN HAS SEPARATED US FROM HIM. HUMANITY CAN NO LONGER RELATE TO GOD THE SAME WAY ADAM AND EVE DID PRIOR TO THE FALL.
C. REDEMPTION
God sent Jesus Christ
To address the predicament, God sent His one and only true Son, Jesus Christ, to earth (Romans 5:8; John 1:1,14; John 3:16; Philippians 2:6,7).
His identity: While Jesus is the Son of God, He too is fully God. And when Jesus lived on earth, He was fully man.
The Bible makes it unequivocally clear that there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4) in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.This is known as the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and is one of the greatest mysteries of Christianity. It is a mystery because this truth is not easily comprehensible by the human mind.
(Why believe in a god who is so small that we can understand him completely?? It has to be noted at this point that if there is truly a Creator God in Whom we should believe, then we must humbly acknowledge that there are truths about this God that we will not understand unless God reveals them to us. And the fact is, God has revealed to us what is needed for our relationship with Him to be restored. And this revelation is the Bible.)
The Bible asserts that the Father is God (Matthew 6:8-13; Galatians 1:1), the Son is God (John 1:1-18; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9) and that the Holy Spirit is divine too (Mark 3:29; 2 Corinthians 3:17). No one and nothing else is described as divine in the Bible. Thus the doctrine of the Holy Trinity was developed and accepted.
Therefore the descend of Jesus from heaven to earth is also a descend of God from heaven to earth. God became man and lived amongst us.
Jesus lived an earthly life, He was tempted in every way like we are, yet He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). He taught people everywhere He went, about how a person can be reconciled to God and live a life pleasing to God (Matthew 5:1 – 7:28). Then He died on the cross, bearing upon Himself the sins of the world (Luke 23:34; Hebrews 9:26,28). He was not guilty of the charges against Him, yet the people wanted Him crucified. His death on the cross was necessary for our salvation. It was a demonstration of the voluntary death (Matthew 27:50,54; Mark 15:37-39; Luke 23:46-47; John 19:30) of the One who came to set us free from the bondage of sin. In the death of Jesus on the cross, God satisfied His own wrath against sin.
The story does not end there, Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day (Luke 24:1-7; Acts 2:24) by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11). Forty days later, He ascended into heaven right before the eyes of His disciples (Luke 24:51,52). In like manner, believers in Christ will one day rise from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12-14,20-22) and live eternally in the wonderful presence of God. Death has lost its sting, and the grave is no longer victorious over those who believe in Jesus (1 Corinthians 16:54-56).
Faith in Jesus Christ
Those who believe in what Jesus did on the cross and who acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior can now relate intimately with God once again (Ephesians 2:13; Hebrews 4:16) for Jesus has paid the price of our sin. When God looks at believers of Jesus Christ, He does not see our sins but the righteousness of Jesus.
Acknowledging Jesus as Savior simply means to remember and accept that He died for our sin so that we need not pay the price of our sin ourselves. He has therefore saved us from God’s wrath. And we trust Him alone for our salvation (Romans 6:23).
Acknowledging Jesus as Lord means to live the rest of our lives in obedience to Him and His Word (the Bible). His Lordship is not an oppresive one, but one that is filled with love and protection. Therefore we obey Him with joy in our hearts.
At the same time, the Word of God tells us to be watchful of the schemes of the devil (1 Peter 5:8) so that we might not abandon our faith in Jesus.
D. FINAL HOPE AND JUDGMENT
Jesus will come again (Hebrews 9:28) and establish His Kingdom on earth (Revelation 21). Those who persevere in their faith in Jesus to the end (1 Peter 5:8-11), resisting the temptations and lies of the devil, will rule and reign with Him (Revelation 20:4-6), while those who do not believe in Him to the end will suffer eternal death in the lake of fire with the devil and his fallen angels (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:7-15).
IF ALL THESE MAKES SENSE TO YOU, AND YOU WANT TO BE A BELIEVER OF JESUS CHRIST, PLEASE PRAY THE PRAYER IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH.
How to start believing?
To begin a life as a believer of Jesus Christ, one has to confess his or her sins to God and repent of them (Acts 2:37-38). Then, proceed to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior by praying: “Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner. I acknowledge that You died on the cross for my sin and You rose again and is now alive forevermore. I am grateful for Your love. Please forgive me my sin and help me to live a life of obedience to Your will and Your Word from this day onwards. Protect me from the temptations and lies of the evil one and fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I might be empowered to live a life truly pleasing to You. In Your name I pray, Amen.” (John 1:12; John 3:16; 1 John 1:9; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
If you have just prayed that prayer (known as the sinner’s prayer), please leave a comment on this page so that we may rejoice with you. You should then proceed to join a community of believers to grow as a Christian. You are most welcome to join us at Cairnhill Methodist Church, 10am every Sunday, level 4 auditorium, Anglo-Chinese School Junior, Peck Hay Road.
IMPORTANT FOR YOUR GROWTH AS A CHRISTIAN:
1. Daily Bible reading (you may start by reading and reflecting on the Bible passages above)
2. Daily prayer ( conversing with God, just talk to Him as you would talk to any person)
3. Daily worship (singing and speaking words of adoration and thanks to God; it also means living each day in obedience to God)
4. Regular corporate worship (worshipping God with a community of believers)
5. Fellowship (spending quality time with like-minded believers to encourage each other in life and faith)
6. Service (to serve God’s people with the gifts and talents God has given you)
7. Witness (communicating the good news of Jesus Christ to non-believers)
