There are so many Christian churches and denominations that it is easy to get lost. Despite the differences, we do agree on the core of our faith, on what is the heart of what the Bible teaches. And it’s good to focus on that if you want to know more about Christianity. There are so many forms and ways of experiencing that you are distracted from what it is actually about. Christianity is not as complicated as it may seem.
Historical facts
The way to get to the heart of the matter is to concentrate on the historical facts and their meaning. This is how the apostle Paul also worked. He wrote to the church in Corinth, Greece, in his first letter:
I in turn received the most important thing that I passed on to you: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say, that he was buried and rose again the third day, as it is written in the Scriptures, and appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve disciples. Afterwards he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at the same time, some of whom died, but most of whom are still alive. (Chapter 15, verses 3-6)
So Paul mentions three facts here:
- Jesus Christ has died,
- he is buried and
- he was raised on the third day, from the dead.
His death and his resurrection – says Paul – are ‘as stated in the Scriptures’. These are events that have already been talked about in the Bible.
And that he was resurrected is confirmed by witnesses who saw him: Cephas (Peter), the twelve and even once by 500 people at the same time.
Enough witnesses to confirm these facts.
Meaning
But what is the meaning of these facts? So many people have died and in general that (unfortunately) means little. But Jesus Christ didn’t just die. His death was pre-planned by God and had a special purpose.
Jesus Christ died as a perfectly innocent man, the only one whose entire life was devoted to God, without any fault . God himself had said: This is my beloved Son, in him I am well pleased . And therefore he could die in place of people whose lives were not entirely innocent, whose lives were not completely devoted to God, he could take upon himself
my guilt before God. He died for our sins.
He died for everything in which we do not fulfill the purpose for which God created us.
But death was not the end for him! He was resurrected on the third day. And with that, God showed that the sacrifice that Jesus made is completely accepted, that anyone who recognizes his/her own guilt and believes that Jesus died for his/her sins becomes free from those sins: You are justified.
For you
What Jesus did is for everyone, including you, reader. Jesus also died and rose for you. You too can be justified and come to God through His work.