CHRISTIAN
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A
CHRISTIAN
What We Believe
We believe Jesus Christ lived, died, rose to life again and ascended into heaven to save us from sin and death. Anyone who believes in Him will have eternal life by God's grace.
What is our only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own, but belong-- body and soul, in life and in death-- to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
What does that mean?
In the beginning, God created all things good. Human beings were created in God's image with a mandate to rule over the creation.
Tragically, the first two humans both disobeyed the only command God gave. They suddenly ran to hide from God and put blame elsewhere for their own sin. Ever since that time, sin has brought death to all life and alienation from God. All of the problems in the world are because of the sin that estranges us from God, who is the source of life and everything good. God gave us commands for us to walk in his ways of life, but instead of embracing them, we by nature resent them. Instead of admitting our sin, we by nature make excuses or blame others for our own wrongdoing.
God did not leave us in our miserable condition. Instead, God the Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ. This Jesus was fully God and fully human except for sin. Jesus demonstrated his divine power by calming storms, healing sicknesses, giving sight to those blind, and even raising the dead. Then, according to his own plan, Jesus was arrested and crucified for us and our salvation. He died and was buried, but on the third day he rose to life again. After appearing to many of his followers, he gave them the mandate to go and make disciples of all nations. Then he ascended into heaven. God then sent the Holy Spirit to fill all believers and equip them for making disciples.
All who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be cleansed from all their sins and inherit eternal life by the free gift of God's grace. They will have the Holy Spirit dwell within them, become repulsed at their sinful ways and seek to emulate Jesus Christ in every part of life. They will look forward to the day when Jesus Christ returns to earth. He will put an end to all wrongs and judge all evil with divine wisdom. Believers will then inherit a new heavens and earth where they reign with Christ over all creation in perfect blessedness for all eternity.
Want to learn more?
The Heidelberg Catechism is a set of questions and answers that help believers examine and confess their faith.
If you are interested in learning more about the Christian Reformed Church you can download the whole Heidelberg Catechism here.