A Firm Foundation - What do we even believe?

As we start ‘Why We Believe’, there is no better place to start than with Romans 10:9.

Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

As humans, it is so hard to keep focussed and motivated 24/7 and we all go through times where we struggle. As Christians, this is no different; there have been so many times in my life when I have doubted my own sense of identity and have questioned whether Christianity is even true and worth pursuing. During this coronavirus pandemic surely all of us are questioning life to some extent; nothing seems to make sense at the moment! But what I have found is that whenever I am going through a rocky time as far as my faith is concerned, Romans 10:9 is what really helps to reassert what it means to be a Christian.

This is my favourite bible verse and it sums up what it is to be a Christian; this is the firm foundation of the Christian faith and the Christian life. I just hope that if you are a Christian, you will find Romans 10:9 as helpful as I do to help to reground your faith when you are struggling; and if you are not a Christian then my hope is that you will look at this verse and you will reach some understanding of the simplicity and the beauty in what it means to be a Christian.

This verse contains the 3 key elements of the Christian faith that all Christians believe:

1. Jesus is Lord

2. Jesus died on the cross for our sins

3. Jesus resurrected from the dead defeating death

1. JESUS IS LORD:

One of the most significant beliefs of a Christian and a belief that is unique to Christianity is that God Himself came down to earth; He did this in order to save us, experience life on earth and all the troubles and suffering that we all experience and to provide us with an example to live by. Jesus is a historical figure and, while on earth, He claimed countless times to be God (eg. Mark 14:61-62, John 19:7) so the question is, do you believe Him? Because of who He was and what He did to demonstrate that He is indeed God, I have no doubt in my mind that He was telling the truth.

2. JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS FOR OUR SINS

More than just coming to earth, Jesus died to save us from our sins. This is where Christianity is so radically different from any other religion that exists. Whereas every other religion requires its followers to live a quote, unquote “good life” to gain the favour of God, get a golden ticket to heaven and make it to eternal life, Christianity is vastly different. God is powerful, holy and perfect and, consequently, it is impossible that humans could ever reach the levels of perfection of God. I know that there is nothing that I could ever do to even get close to the standards of God, but God knew this – and because of His abundant, remarkable, unconditional love, He made provision for this. Romans 5:8 says: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God knew that every single one of us is broken but ultimately, He did something about it!

Because of His total justice, He cannot simply overlook our wrongs and allow us into eternal life with Him; the wrongs and imperfections that we carry around with us wouldn’t have been dealt with. So, God intends to deal with any imperfection justly. But, because of His great love, He doesn’t want to see us punished. This is where Jesus comes in. God came down to earth as Jesus and lived a human life and took the punishment that we deserved when He died on the cross for us all. Jesus is the sacrifice that saves us all, making us righteous and perfect in God’s sight. And all that we need to do is to accept His sacrifice and believe. God is just so good! And it always puts a smile on my face when I think about what Jesus has done for me!

“That Jesus was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be…” -John Dominic Crossan, non-Christian scholar

3. JESUS RESURRECTED FROM THE DEAD DEFEATING DEATH

Such is the importance and central nature of the resurrection to Christianity, in the New Testament, Paul, says: “…if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:14). And he says in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The reason that Jesus (God in flesh) came to earth was not simply to be a great moral teacher, to show us how to live and experience life on earth but it was to save us all from our sins to make everyone right with God.

By rising again from the dead, Jesus showed that He has power over death and is therefore able to be the substitute for us. If Jesus had just remained dead, then He wouldn’t have power over death, so us humans, when we die, would also just face eternal death (separation from God; Romans 6:4 says: “…Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, [in order that] we too may live a new life.”). This was the only way for God’s salvation plan (His plan to save us, humans, despite our wrongs because of His unconditional, unfathomable love for us) to make sense. Salvation is not dependent on us but solely on God and what He has done for us. The only thing that we have to do is accept Jesus’ sacrifice for us and repent of our sins.

In a couple of weeks on 'Why We Believe', we will be looking at the evidence for Jesus' resurrection in more depth so join with us then!

“The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religion. It’s outstandingly different in quality and quantity.” -Antony Flew, atheist philosopher

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I love Romans 10:9 and, whenever I am feeling down, I always come back to this verse which is what I base my life on; simply Jesus and what he has done for me. As I hope I have explained, because of the historical evidence that Jesus’ claims about Himself being God, Jesus’ death and his resurrection is well evidenced, I am reminded that all it means to be a Christian is to believe these three aspects. These are, at the core, Christianity in a nutshell!

Jesus Christ is the culmination and expression of God’s unshakable, unconditional and overwhelming love for us. I can’t thank God enough for that and whenever I am struggling in my faith, it is Romans 10:9 which is the reminder of God’s love and His sacrifice which is the firm foundation upon which both Maddie and I are building our lives. If you are a Christian and reading this, then I hope that you have been encouraged for when you are feeling like your faith is on rocky ground and if you are a non-Christian, then I hope that I have been able to provide an insight into the beautiful, fundamental beliefs of Christianity and why it is a firm foundation to base your life on. This is what I believe, and this is Why We Believe!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you have any questions or would like to know more about Jesus, then please do email whywebelieve2020@gmail.com. Thanks for reading! Let us know what you think!