What do Christians Believe?

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines belief as “to accept something as true, genuine, or real.” Another of its definitions is “to have a firm or wholehearted religious conviction or persuasion: to regard the existence of God as a fact.”

When we, as Christians, use the word believe, we think of the second definition, the idea that we have a firm conviction that God is real and that he has revealed himself through the Bible and through the life and death of his son, Jesus.

Because all humans are made in the image of God, we long for a connection to Him. We long for that connection because each one of us understands, at some level, that our sin has separated us from the God of creation. As Christians we believe that we are able to make that connection, not by our own actions, but what Jesus did for us on a Roman cross 2000 years ago.

This sacrificial gift of God’s son had been foreshadowed by the blood sacrifice of an unblemished lamb by Israelite priests each year on the Day of Atonement. This sacrifice of the lamb or goat, symbolically transferred the guilt of the people to the innocent creature underscoring the gravity of sin and the need for a substitute to bear the consequences.

Just as the sacrificial animals bore the sins of the Israelites, Jesus bore the sins of humanity. His death on the cross was a once-and-for-all sacrifice, offering redemption for all who believe. In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29). This title connects Him directly to the Passover lamb, whose blood protected the Israelites from the angel of death in Egypt.

Just as Old Testament sacrifices had to be without blemish or defect (Leviticus 1:3). Jesus, being sinless, was the perfect and final sacrifice, fulfilling the law’s requirements. The sacrifices of the Old Testament were part of the what is called the Mosaic Covenant, pointing to the need for a new and better covenant.
Christians believe that Jesus established this New Covenant through His death and resurrection, as prophesied by Jeremiah 600 years earlier:

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Jeremiah 31:31-34

Christians believe that they receive a full pardon for their sins because Jesus paid the price for those sins on the cross. They have faith that when they die, they will be brought into the presence of God to enjoy an eternity free of the guilt, pain, suffering, fear, and heartache that plague our fallen world.
This is the belief system that is clearly spelled out in the Apostles’ Creed, among the oldest recorded statements of the beliefs of Christians. Through the centuries it has been clarified and translated into every known language used by Christians worldwide. It provides a standardized system of beliefs against which heresies can be evaluated. It describes what people ought to believe if they call themselves Christians. If you would like to join God’s family, please read our post: How Can I Become a Christian?

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.