Title:  A Unique Faith

A Unique Faith

Introduction

   
Matt 11:4,5    Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

  
This is a short and concise page about the uniqueness of the Christian Faith.

People struggle with belief. We live in an age where cynicism reigns, because so many times people in authority have let us down and we are no longer sure if there is anyone out there we can trust. If I suggest trusting in God, I sometimes hear people say, “Well surely all religious beliefs are the same aren't they? Who should we believe?”  My answer, as gently as possible, is, “Actually no. I don't want to speak about any other religion but if you examine the Christian faith you will find it is unique and, moreover, it provides a basis for life that IS verifiable. It just needs checking.”

  
Let me repeat that claim that is outrageous in today's world, but it does stand and is worth checking: the Christian faith is unique. Let me list for you the things in it that stand out as unique. These are the claims of the Christian faith:  

  
1. The Bible

 
We may take it for granted but the Old and New Testaments of the Bible reveal to us, over a two thousand year period of history, workings of God. Contrary to popular opinion it is not full of contradictions and anyone who will take the time will find that its origins are thoroughly trustworthy. The Christian faith declares it is inspired by God; He prompted people to write the 66 books that go to make it one harmonious whole. Nowhere else in the world do you find such a resource. 

  
2. God

  
Now the Bible, again contrary to much popular opinion, is very specific about God and shows ‘Him' as a unique being who is the Creator of all we know, who is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-wise - and perfect.   More importantly for us, He is utterly good and utterly loving. This is not the place to justify those statements but they can be checked both in the Bible and in the experience of millions down through the last two thousand years.

3. Jesus Christ

   
In the historical person of Jesus Christ, the Bible (and the Christian Faith) claims that he was and is unique in a whole variety of ways:

•  He was and is God in human form; he came down from heaven where he had existed in eternity, being born in the form of a baby at Bethlehem, and we refer to him as the Son of God.

•  He lived a normal human life for about thirty years and then went about the countryside, teaching about God as his Father, and performing all kinds of wonderful miracles (see the summary verse above) 

•  After three years of this, (and the records are there in the four Gospels in the New Testament) he allowed himself to be arrested by the authorities, falsely tried, condemned to death and executed.

•  After three days, he was seen alive again, i.e. He rose from the dead, and met with his followers for a number of weeks before returning to heaven. 

•  The Bible teaches that his death was him, as the Son of God, dying to take the punishment that is due to each of us for the things we do wrong. 

      
4. Christian Believers

Remember, these are simply the beliefs or claims of Christianity, originating in the Bible and verified over the last two thousand years by millions of people. The Christian experience includes the following:

•  Surrender to God, confessing our failure, asking for his forgiveness on the basis of what Jesus has done for us.

•  By the working of His own Spirit, He empowers us and new believers are so often heard to declare, “I feel like I am a new person”, which is exactly what has happened; hence the  expression that comes from John's Gospel in the New Testament, of ‘being born again'. It means starting life all over again with a wonderful new relationship with God, knowing His love, His power, His guidance and direction.

•  When we do this, God forgives us and declares us righteous and His children.

   
Now you may not understand all this and you may challenge it (and it does stand challenging) but this is what makes the Christian Faith unique. NO WHERE else in the world, will you find any claims from any other belief system that come anywhere near this.

This is not to denigrate believers of those other world religions, simply to acknowledge the fact that we don't all believe the same things, and it is both silly and disrespectful to suggest otherwise. We should not be afraid of having different beliefs – politicians do it all the time – and having a different belief system does not disrespect others who have different beliefs.

These are the claims and they are worth investigating, and as millions have found, they are life transforming. Goodness and love become the new currency and the new experience.