Christianity - Basics

Why would I want to become a Christian?

Think of all the things that are really important to you. How many of them are totally secure? Christians believe in basing their lives on something that will never change - the love of God. Other things like relationships, security, family, friends, house, money are all very important, but none are guaranteed for life, let alone beyond.

Isn't the Bible full of rules and really boring?

The Bible does have rules, and yes, some of it is boring! Insurance documents have rules and are boring - doesn't mean they're not important though!

Much of the Bible contains stories about people who knew God and how He affected their lives. The most important thing to most people is our relationships. The Bible is about God's relationships with people, ordinary people. Because of this we can learn what God is like. We can also be helped through the challenging times in our lives by seeing how God helped the people in the Bible.

Can I know God right now?

To be a Christian you need a heart and a brain. Becoming a Christian is really just responding to God prompting you to join His family. God uses the things that happen in life, sometimes events, people, the Bible, could be anything. You will know. You will feel him through your emotions. Things that previously made no sense will become clear. God wants you to join his family today, so, yes you can know God now.

What is this 'sin' thing?

Sin is a word that just means 'selfishness'. If you think about all the problems in your life, all the problems of those around you and all the problems in the world, it all comes down to people putting themselves first. Its really important to understand what this means.

We don't go to jail for very small offences, but it doesn't mean they're not wrong. Every crime has to be dealt with, otherwise lawlessness is the result. But God loves us and wants to forgive us. Instead of punishing us for what we do, He became a person himself and took the punishment on our behalf. This is why Jesus, the world's only totally unselfish person, died on the cross.

Jesus death has wiped our slate clean. All we need to do now is accept this fact and ask God if we can join his family. If we ask with an honest heart He will always accept us. The Bible talks about something called 'Grace'. Grace is how God forgives us no matter what we have done. God's grace is much bigger than our worst sins.

I'm not good enough to be a Christian!

True, but then neither is anyone, One of the hardest things for some people to accept is that God has done everything necessary for us to have a relationship with Him. There are no tests, no score sheets with black marks and no standards to measure up to. The fantastic news for Christians is that they can love God because God already loves them, not because they are trying to get Him to love them.

Is God really interested in me?

There are 6 billion individuals in the world of which you are just one. But God is very big and He really does know everything about you personally and really wants you to get to know him.

Can I pray before becoming a Christian?

Yes. Just talk to God and tell Him what you think and how you are feeling. He knows anyway so don't be afraid of being honest. Ask Him to show himself to you. Ask Him into your life. Ask Him to send someone to help you.

I want to know more, what do I do?

You could go on an Alpha course (lots in the UK, check their site for other countries). Alpha courses are designed to help people find out about becoming a Christian in a 'non-pushy' way. They normally last several weeks and include video, discussion and (often) free food. Loads of different churches from many denominations run Alpha courses.

Find a good church near you. Now, one church can be quite a lot different to another. God has the church for you so ask Him to show it to you. Don't give up.

Get a modern version of the Bible. These will be called something like NIV, CEV, Good News. You can also just get the New Testament, or even just one of the books - (called) Matthew, Mark, Luke or John (these are the names of the people who wrote them). Any one will be fine. Read it, think about what is happening, and ask God to make clear things you don't understand. Keep going and don't think you have to understand it all - you'll be no different from anyone else.

Links

See our Christian links page.