What We Believe

He is an eternal community of Persons, a Father loving His Son in the joy of the Holy Spirit. And because God is Trinity – one God, forever existing in three Persons – love is at the heart of the universe. Not only is God loving, but He is holy; perfectly holy. The Triune God cannot and will not commit nor approve of evil, for He is eternally good, eternally just, and eternally righteous.

Fall
However, our lives today do not look like this. Instead of living for God, we live for ourselves; we look for love, fulfilment, hope and joy in all the wrong places, because something has gone terribly wrong. Adam and Eve, our original forebears, disobeyed God’s gracious command and chose to go their own way. This act of disobedience towards God – the first sin – brought them, their descendants, and all of the created order under the curse of sin and death (Genesis 3).

Now, human beings are born with a sinful nature, surrounded by sinful people, into a world that is marred by sin (Psalm 51). We are surrounded and suffused by it; we are like fish who do not know they are wet. Because of this, our hearts, our loves, our desires, and our thinking are deformed and disordered. Each and every one of us has followed in our forebears’ footsteps and rebelled, by nature and choice, against our Maker (Romans 1-2).

It’s common in our culture to downplay sin. We use the word “sinful” to describe our eating of an extra slice of chocolate cake; some companies use the word “sinful” to describe their products as indulgent, or as an unnecessary but enjoyable extra. We might think of sin as being a little bit cheeky; perhaps as a cosmic parking ticket; as something we know we shouldn’t do, but we are going to do anyway. But when the Bible talks about sin, regardless of how “big” or “small” we perceive it to be, it’s talking about “cosmic treason” – rebellion against God, the holy, righteous and true King of Kings. Even the slightest sin that a person commits against God or another human being does violence to their Maker’s holiness, glory, and righteousness.

The result of our idolatry and rebellion is dire: a chasm between us and God. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2). Because we’ve decided to go our own way, acting in ways that contravene God’s good design, we find ourselves now severed from the Source of life, fulfilment, and love. As a result of our rebellion, we are justly under the wrath of God – His settled, holy, and just opposition to evil, and will face God’s justice when we die, being held accountable for all that we have done by Him. As it is written, “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement” (Hebrews 9:27).

The Apostle Paul summarises this sorry state of affairs in Ephesians 2:1-3: “and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among who we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Redemption

 “But God…” Despite the bleak outlook, something happened in history to decisively change the trajectory of travel for all those who put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ –  by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

After centuries upon centuries of rebellion, God’s Son – the second Person of the Trinity – became an embryo, a baby, a teenager, a man: Jesus Christ, who was and is fully God, fully man. We could not bridge the chasm that lay between us and God on account of our sin, so God, in His great mercy, took on flesh and came to us. For 33 years, Jesus lived a life of perfect devotion and obedience unto His Heavenly Father, never once falling foul of temptation. Jesus was tempted in every way, just as we are – yet He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus lived the life of complete moral perfection that our forefather Adam failed to live; that Israel failed to live; that you and I have failed to live.

But, Jesus had not simply come to walk amongst fallen humanity and live a perfect life; He came to be “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8), so as to redeem and save His people through His sacrificial death on the cross. Through His perfect life, Christ satisfied the demands of God’s holiness; and through His perfect death, Christ satisfied the demands of God’s justice, making a way for sinners like you and me to be reconciled to our Maker. The Apostle Paul explains it like this: “He [God] made Him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

On the cross, Jesus willingly atoned for the sins of His people by standing in their place and bearing the consequences of their sin as their substitute: suffering the holy and just wrath of God towards sin in their place. Jesus was constituted a sinner – though without any sin of His own – through the imputation of the sins of God’s people to His own person, so that He might bear that sin in His body upon the cross and receive in full the just punishment for those sins. By doing this, Jesus atoned for the sins of all those for whom He died, removing their guilt and providing the basis of forgiveness for their sin.

In other words, on the cross God treated Jesus as if He had lived the sinful life of all those who would ever believe in Him – punishing Him for all of their sin – so that He could treat all those who would ever believe in Christ as if we’d lived Christ’s spotless, perfect life: our sin dealt with perfectly, fully, once and for all. This is the great exchange: Jesus takes our sin upon Himself, suffering and dying a death He did not deserve; we receive the righteousness of Christ as a gift, and are reconciled to God, receiving grace and mercy that we do not deserve.

After Christ’s death, His body was buried in a tomb. But, as He had promised, three days later He was raised to life again, for the power of death could do nothing to suppress the Author of Life Himself. In raising Jesus from the dead, God the Father vindicated His Son, publicly affirming that His sacrifice on the cross had been accepted: a just and complete payment for sin for all those who repent and trust in Him. If on Good Friday the cheque of redemption was signed and sent, it was on Easter Sunday that the cheque cleared. This is immensely good news! It does not matter who you are, or what you have done: there is more mercy in Jesus Christ than there is sin in you. Turn, repent, and believe in Him.

Forty days after His resurrection, having opened the eyes of His disciples so that they might now understand the Scriptures, the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, to sit at the right hand of His Father, the work of atonement and salvation complete. But Jesus did not leave His disciples alone for long. In accordance with what had been promised in the Old Testament, and in keeping with what He had promised Himself, the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit ten days later to “convict the world in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgement” (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit fell upon the Apostles and all those gathered with them, convicting them of their sin, empowering and emboldening them to go and proclaim the good news of what Jesus has done to all those they met, regardless of their ethnicity; whether they were male or female; rich or poor; old or young; this good news was to be shared with everyone.

From that day onwards, the Holy Spirit has been doing the same thing: convicting people of their sin, leading them unto repentance as they hear the gospel, and empowering and emboldening them to live lives of slowly but surely increasing obedience towards their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as part of the Church, which is His Body here on Earth.

For one day, this same Jesus – who died on the cross, rose to life again, ascended into heaven and sits now at the right hand of His Father, interceding for all those who belong to Him – is going to return, to judge the living and the dead. Those who have trusted in Him will receive mercy, for their debt has already been paid in full. Those who have not trusted in Jesus will receive justice, for the wrath of God still abides upon them (John 3:36). The Bible teaches that, when Christ returns, He will restore and remake the world, with God’s redeemed people being those who will inherit the “new heavens and a new earth”; a remade, Edenic world, unmarred by the curse of sin and death. Rather than what is so often portrayed in the media, the Bible makes clear that we will not be floating around playing bugles and harps with chubby angels as disembodied spirits, but rather that we will be, in glorified, physical bodies, running, playing, working, singing, laughing, resting, and exalting in the wonders and love of our good, faithful, and wonderful God.

Response

If Jesus died in our place that we might be reconciled unto God, and was raised to life again that we might be forgiven and made righteous, then what must we do in light of this good news?

1) Firstly, we must turn from our sin. This is what is meant by the word “repentance” – to change your mind and do an about-face; to spin 180 degrees away from living in rebellion for ourselves, and seek to follow after Jesus, apologising to Him for the sin you have committed.

2) Secondly, we must put our trust in Jesus Christ. We are to say “no” to sin, and “yes” to Him, embracing the reality of what He has done for us and His unfailing promise to forgive us when we confess our sin and repent. Trust, or faith, and repentance go hand in hand with one another.

3) “Thirdly, we are to seek to put Jesus Christ first in all aspects of our lives. As we grow in our understanding of the Gospel; grasping what the good news actually means for you and for me; it naturally leads to us seeing our relationship with Jesus as the most precious thing we have, and acting accordingly. That is not to say that putting Jesus first is all plain sailing. For although we’ve been redeemed and, through the gracious work of the Holy Spirit, our desires are being changed and slowly but surely sanctified (made more holy), we do, frustratingly, still continue to sin, desiring to do things our way. Thus, seeking to put Jesus first in all aspects of our lives is a process that takes time and effort, as we learn more and more about what it looks like to live in obedience to Christ and put it into practice, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Our task then, in light of God’s loving-kindness and mercy, is to keep our eyes firmly fixed upon Jesus Christ through the rough and the smooth of this life, and seek to live in accordance with His commands, swiftly repenting and turning when we find ourselves in error. For Jesus is far more than a get-out-of-hell-free pass; He is a living person, our Saviour, Redeemer, and Friend, who we are to follow, worship, cherish, and enjoy forever. It is only through knowing Him that we are restored to having a right relationship with God, for whom we were made in the first place. Through Christ alone we experience the joy of forgiveness; life in all its fullness; the help of the Holy Spirit; and the hope of the world to come.

The Apostle Paul writes that “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). The gospel of Jesus Christ is just as good news today as it was when Paul wrote this, and demands a response today just as it did then too. The question then is this: “Do you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and do you believe in your heart that God raised Him from dead?”

If you would like to speak to someone about the content of this article, or if you have any further questions about what Christians believe, please do feel to get in touch with our Minister: jonstark@herefordbaptist.org.uk

1. The one true God who lives eternally in three persons — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
2. The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.
3. The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God – Fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.
4. The dignity of all people, made male and female in God’s image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement.
5. The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ — born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.
6. The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.
7. The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.
8. The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.
9. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.
10. The Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers—given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit’s gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love.
11. The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.