“I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen: not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else,”according to C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), a prolific Irish author who wrote the book “Mere Christianity” in 1952.
Today is December 24, the Christmas Eve! We have barely 8 hours to usher in the Christmas Day – a red-letter day the world over. And as a Christian adherent to the bone, I deem it a divine honour to unravel the mystery behind the Christian Faith. But first of all, the religious brouhaha over the existence of God, where atheists vehemently expound that there is no God, is an acclaimed bigotry. This conflicts with Christianity’s belief that there is God, the Almighty Creator of the whole universe. But the fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).
However, Patrick Fynn, a writing mentor to Sir Article and a renowned creative writer, wrote in opposition, saying, “You (atheists) refuse to accept the creation as a proof of the creator, but you believe in naturism, forgetting that nature itself is the creation and always testifies to its creator. Just as the artist reveals his work to the world, the world unveils itself in the work of its creator.” Again, the sacred dynamics of Christianity in recent decades have brought about overwhelming progress – though some Pharisaic folks pooh-poohed the holy faith when it had begun to expand and spread like wildfire.
For according to a clear-cut statistic on npr.org, “As of 2010, Christianity was by far the world’s largest *[religion] with an estimated 2.2 billion adherents, nearly a third (31 percent) of all 6.9 billion people on Earth – the Pew report says.” Good Heavens, this is just a statistical revelation, but the spiritual buildout of the Christian Faith is absolutely unspeakable! In fact, Christianity will continue to transcend predetermined barriers and boundaries; for it is the interminable light of the world – I dare not hold my tongue on this incredible reality.
(1) Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship with God and the Kingdom of God!
Many unbelievers ruthlessly deny this pure truth, which they construe as a crude propaganda by Christians to win lost souls for Christ. For the eminent missionary, Apostle Paul did not mince words when he revealed that: God our Father has delivered us from the power of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:13). Note that he did not claim that we have been enrolled in a predefined religion, but rather a divine kingdom.
Moreover, “Christianity is not about signing up for religion. Christianity is about being born into the family of God (John 3:3). It is a relationship,” according to a biblical declaration on GotQuestions.org. Alright, in Christianity, we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and a peculiar people, who have been called out of darkness into God’s marvelous light, that we may pronounce His praises (1 Peter 2:9).
Dear unbelievers, the old dictum “Seeing is believing” should not be your dissenting stance since these flawless truths about Christianity can only be comprehended by faith and faith only, not by any error-prone empirical proof! “Ed Young Jr. [an American clergyman] noted that the world religions are different from Christianity when it comes to salvation, their history and claims,” according to ChristianPost.com. After all, for as many of us who believed and received the Lord Jesus Christ, he gave us the power to become the Sons of God our Father (John 1:12).
(2) The Divine Personality of Jesus Christ:
So who is Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is God! Yes, you heard me right – He is not a god or like God; He is God! Really? Yes, I will make no bones about it because it is the holiest of all truths, and Matthew 1:23 even attests to that. And in Hebrews 1:8, God our Father addressed His Son, Jesus Christ as God, adding that His (Christ) Throne would last forever and ever. Remember, Christians do not serve three Gods: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, making it a so called Trinity. For our God is not three in one, but one in three – God is not three in unity; God is one in diversity, that is, one God who manifests as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Also, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man comes to God the Father except through Him (John 14:6). The only Messiah, who was born by a virgin through the Holy Spirit, had a ministry which exceedingly impacted his generation, the next generations till this generation, by way of unprecedented healings and miracles, unthinkable teachings and divinely good works (Matthew 4:23-25). Above all, at the mention of the name “Jesus,” every knew shall bow on earth, in heaven and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). Need I say more?
(3) The Gospel:
The Gospel is the God-inspired good news centered on the entire personality of our Lord Jesus Christ – in fact, the whole caboodle: His birth, life, death and resurrection. That is all about the Gospel!
For the Gospel is the holy channel through which the unsaved are acquainted with the rudiments of the Kingdom of God. Indeed, we all as believers of Christ are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ since it is the Salvation of God to man (Romans 1:16).
(4) Salvation by Grace through Faith:
Yea, Salvation is the most precious thing any homo sapien can ever get as a gift, but by Grace through Faith. For it is by Grace that we are saved, but through Faith – this does not proceed from us; it is the gift of God, not our works, so that any man can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Folks, “The grace-based relationship between God and man is the foundation of Christianity and the antithesis of religion,” according to GotQuestions.org. Grace; God’s unmerited favour bestowed on sinners through their Faith in Christ still functions unabated – we now live in the dispensation of Grace though.
(5) The Born Again Experience:
Are you born again? Ha-ha, in Christianity, no one outside the Kingdom of God is considered as a bag egg. Well, all earthly religions may claim all or part of the preceding four mysteries behind the Christian Faith; but not the Born Again Experience, which they dare not claim!
Our Lord Jesus Christ declared that: No one can see [or enter] the Kingdom of God unless he is born again (John 3:3). For you can only be born again by professing to accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour through a faith-confession. Then you will receive the Righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
(6) The Resurrection of Christ:
We care less when anti-Christians run down our God, Jesus Christ and throw dust into the eyes of the unbelieving, proclaiming that our Lord is damn dead; he did not resurrect. I tell you, God our Father raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion!
For if Christ did not resurrect, then our preaching and faith are futile and useless (1 Corinthians 15:14). But thank God our Father that Christ triumphed over death – for he is alive today and will forever be. And all the dead in Christ shall be resurrected on the Day of Christ.
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Source: sirarticle.blogspot.com