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What's a Christian Then?

A lot of people have strange ideas about Christianity. They think that being a Christian is the same as being a good person, or that if you were "christened" as a baby, that makes you a Christian, or that if your parents are Christians, that makes you a Christian. All of these ideas are just wrong. Christianity is about relationship with God and nothing else. Not rules to get into heaven, not being a nice person, not being from the right place, not even "going to Church". Either you have the Christian relationship with God or you don't.

Many people don't really know what Christians mean when we talk about having a "personal relationship with God" or a "personal relationship with Jesus". The Bible says that Christians can call God father. In the original language, the word used was abba which is the equivalent of daddy. We can relate to God in the same way as we would relate to our dad, if he were perfect. I can talk to God about anything that's on my mind whenever I want. God talks back to me in various ways as well.

So how does Christianity Work?

In the beginning, everything was perfect because God made it that way. God and the first humans (Adam and Eve) had the best relationship it was possible to have. But then we broke that trust and rebelled against God. Since then, every human ever born (except Jesus, but we'll get to that in a bit) has been naturally opposed to God. The Bible puts it like this: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3.23). None of us are perfect enough to get into heaven on our own merits.

Now that sounds like bad news, but it's only the set-up to the really good news. Although we cannot become perfect, God can do something about it. The most famous verse in the Bible says: God loved the world so much that He gave his one and only son [that's Jesus, folks] so that anyone who believes in him shall not die, but instead shall have eternal life (John 3.16). Because Jesus was God (that's what the famous phrase the son of God means), He was perfect - and never did anything wrong, and had a perfect relationship with God. Because Jesus was crucified (still the most horrific form of execution ever invented) and rose from the dead, God considers us to be as perfect as Jesus was.

However, this isn't just a cheap handout to everyone. When the first generation of Christians went around the Roman Empire preaching this good news, they pointed out several things that were important to us getting there.

• Belief. This means trusting that Jesus' death is enough to save you personally from the sins that have kept you from God.
• Repentance. This means more than saying sorry. In the Roman Army, the word repent was used to command an about turn. It means a genuine desire and commitment to live your life in a way that pleases God, rather than one that pleases whatever desires you have.
• Baptism. Few, if any, Christians believe that not being baptised before you die will send you to Hell. However, it is frequently mentioned in the Bible as something that was done as soon as possible after somebody became a Christian. It is a public sign of a Christian's commitment to their faith and of joining the Church. It also symbolises dying to your old self, and being raised to life as a new person dedicated to God.
• Being Filled (or 'Baptised') with the Holy Spirit. This is something that Christians have hotly debated over the last few decades. The first Christians seemed to believe that this was something that should happen at the start of your Christian experience - though there are examples in the Bible of people who were Christians before experiencing it. In practical terms, being filled with the Holy Spirit gives you the ability to live your faith more effectively, and to use things called spiritual gifts - though that's a subject for another page.
• Joining a Church. In the Bible, being a Christian and belonging to a local church were the same thing. Christianity is, at most, a shadow unless it is lived in a community of believers. The support, encouragement, and time worshipping God as a community that you get from a good local Church is worth all the gold in Fort Knox, and a lot more.

Once you have all those things, then you're up, up, and away. Life may not be a piece of cake - it may even get harder - but you know that you've got God on your side. You can ask Him to help you deal with your problems. Sometimes, He'll pull off a miracle, sometimes (probably most of the time) He'll use bad times to improve your character and bring you closer to Him. He will consistently give you a sense of peace and joy which you cannot get any other way (the nearest is probably through drugs - but they wear off, leave you addicted, and have bad side effects).

Best of all, you have hope for the future. The Bible says that Jesus is coming back to Earth. He will judge everybody - if you haven't accepted what Jesus did on the cross, you'll be judged on what you've done in your life - and end up in Hell as a result. If you have accepted Him, then you'll get rewards based on what you've done on top of accepting Christ, and you'll get to spend forever and a day with God on a new Earth, which is every bit as perfect as the one God originally created.