What do we believe?

What do we believe? How many of us can succinctly state what we believe. I, for one, find myself just rambling on; repeating key words and phrases that have truth in them but have become nothing more than clichés. So what do I believe?

I believe:

• That God is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.


• That God is unique but not singular and has always existed in a relationship with himself.


• That God created the world. (I’m still not sure how?)


• That the world that God created was perfect; without spot or blemish
.

• Man was in perfect relationship with God but that through free will man chose to distance himself from God by not obeying him.


• That God was angry with man (but still loved him, hence clothing him).


• That God is just and must see wrong punished, that he can not abide the presence of sin.


• That from the first man to now everyone (except one) has fallen short of the perfect standard of God (and this inadequacy separates us from God).


• Man can not mend the relationship with God (as he can not make himself perfect while his past wrongs still stand)


• God loved man so much that, even though we were entirely at fault, he made a way for the relationship to be mended.


• God sent his only son Jesus (who was himself God) to earth to die and face the punishment that justice demands that our wrongs deserve.


• That through Jesus’ death on the cross we were cleansed and made new.


• That everyone who accepts this free gift of God is made pure and spotless but that those who reject it remain slaves to sin and further alienate themselves from God.


• That three days after his death Jesus came back to life and that to those who believe eternal life is also granted.


• That Jesus later ascended to heaven and now sits at the right hand of God.


• That there will be a new heaven and earth on which God will reign.


• That there will be a day when God will come to judge the living and the dead and that those who are without sin (clothed in Christ’s robes) will live eternally on a new perfect earth and reign with Christ in perfect relationship once more, and the rest will be cast in to the depths.


• That the Bible is the only true inerrant word of God, is a historical document and teaches us how to live as imitators of Christ.

I find this absolutely amazing. Whilst trying to write this I kept thinking of more and more points to write. However I have tried to keep this as concise as possible and it has certainly helped me see the big picture, an overview if you like, of what I believe. Looking using a wide lense rather than at each aspect individually is the only way I can see if everything I believe is logically consistent and ties together or whether my understanding of something is incomplete or wrong.

If you have time, I’d recommend that you give it a try. Write down what you believe, try and give some detail but don’t end up writing a thesis. Also if possible try and avoid clichés. This will mean that it is indeed what you believe and not what you are ‘supposed’ to believe. It would be nice to hear how you get on, and if this was helpful at all.