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An International Student Asks - What Do Christians Believe?
By Nell Magee
Reader's note: Throughout this pamphlet the Holy Bible, which is the sacred writings of Christians, is quoted and referenced. The letters NASB, which means New American Stand Bible, refers to a particular translation of the Bible.
As an international student you will have many encounters that will broaden your education and hopefully your appreciation of life. While in the United States you will encounter a different culture, a different people, a different type of food, perhaps a different language, and a different religion. You will meet many people who are followers of a religion founded by Jesus of Nazareth. This religion is called Christianity.
A WORLDWIDE SEARCH
Jesus was born into a world that was looking for answers to spiritual questions. The Greeks and Romans had developed complicated families of gods. The Hindu religion encompassed a multitude of beliefs concerning life, death, and the afterlife. Gautama Buddha was born in the midst of Hinduism. The Buddha saw the futility of life and sought the meaning of human existence. This prince left wealth and protection to become a beggar so that he might find truth. About the same time as Gautama Buddha, a man was born in China named K'ung Fu-tse (Confucius). Like Gautama, Confucius sought truth, and like Gautama, much was revealed to him.
One of the oldest living religions in the world is said to be Zoroastrianism. Some scholars set the birth of Spitana Zoroaster at about 660 B.C. Zoroaster taught that a great star would appear and that this star would be the sign of a great king. In the religion of Judaism there were many prophecies concerning the coming of a Messiah or Christ. The Greek word Christ is a translation from the Hebrew Messiah. It means anointed one or king. When the star appeared, spiritual beings called angels told shepherds, who were followers of Judaism, to go to Bethlehem and worship the new born king. When the priestly tribe of Zoroaster, the Magi, saw the star they went searching for a new born king. Some of these wise men from Persia happened to Jerusalem. The teachers of the religion of Judaism told them that their prophets said a great king would be born in Bethlehem. These wise men from the East brought gifts and worshiped the infant Jesus.
GOD'S REVELATION: THE BIBLE
As men have sought God, so God has sought to reveal Himself to man. Christians believe that God chose to reveal Himself in a special way to the Hebrew people, commonly called Jews. Christians accept the prophecies and teachings of Judaism as sacred and include them along with accounts of the life of Jesus, the history of the beginnings of Christianity, and early Christian letters. This collection of writings is called the Bible. Although Christians do not worship the Bible, they believe it is God's way of revealing Himself in history. They also believe the Bible was preserved for mankind for the purpose of teaching, correction, and training. The writings of Judaism (Old Testament) are especially important in that they predict and prepare the world for the coming of Jesus, called the Christ. The Bible reaches that Jesus Christ was actually God come to earth to reveal Himself to mankind. This claim Jesus made about Himself distinguishes Him from all other teachers and prophets who proceeded Him. In all other religions we find men seeking God and truth, but in Jesus, God is seeking men.
GOD'S NATURE: LOVE
In these writings God reveals that He is Spirit. It also says that "God is love" (see 1 John 4:8). The Bible reveals that He has always existed and will always exist. He is the only one who has not been created. He is the Creator of all things. His very special creation is mankind. The Bible says we were created in the image of God, and that we are loved by God (see Genesis 1:27 and John 3:16).
THE PURPOSE OF LIFE
Mankind was created with a will. We do not live merely by instinct. We ask questions and make decisions. This distinction has made us search for a higher good or supreme being. Even man's primitive mind, in seeing the sun rise and set, knew there must be a supreme organizer to this world. Likewise, the advanced mind studies the complexity of a cell and knows there must be a supreme organizer to this world. Christians believe that God created us with a will so that we might choose to share life with Him (see John 17:3).
If God had created us so that we could not choose, we would be less than what He intended-mere robots
MANKIND'S PROBLEM:SIN
or puppets. The Bible says that mankind was created in God's image. This means that we are a reflection of God. We are not just a physical creation but also a spiritual creation. Being physical means we will someday die. Being spiritual means we have the capacity to live forever. It is God's will that we live forever, sharing life with Him (see 1 Timothy 2:4).
Our choices affect us spiritually as well as physically. We may choose to not eat and starve ourselves to death. Physical death happens when our body ceases functioning. Spiritual death happens when we no longer carry on a relationship with God. Generation after generation, mankind has chosen to disobey God which has resulted in a severing of our relationship with Him. The Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (see Romans 3:23, NASB). Sin means missing the target, choosing to do wrong. The frustrated, unhappy lives of many people indicate that they have missed the purpose of life.
GOD'S SOLUTION: JESUS CHRIST
God's love for His creation surpasses what we can understand (see Ephesians 3:19). God left heaven and everything it held to become a man. Jesus was the expression of God as man (see John 1:1,14). Jesus taught and exemplified the love of God and in an ultimate display of love, died upon a cross as a sacrifice for our sin. The Bible says, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit" (see 1 Peter 3:18, NASB).
The Bible has four accounts of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These accounts are the first four books of the New Testament. These historical accounts show that Jesus rose from the dead, proving that He is victorious over death. He then ascended to heaven and promised He would return in a like manner at the conclusion of history. He left His Holy Spirit to be with believers convicting them of wrong and comforting them in times of sorrow.
There are many other things Jesus taught about Himself and how we should live. You are encouraged to learn of His teachings and miracles by reading the Bible starting with the Gospel of Matthew.
HOW DO PEOPLE BECOME CHRISTIANS? FAITH
.Christianity is more than a set of moral codes or general knowledge. It requires faith. Jesus's claims are sometimes considered radical. But it's only through believing in Jesus Christ that we can have a relationship with God.
You can become a Christian by:
1. Realizing you need a Savior.
Without Jesus we are separated from God. Remember this separation is spiritual death. Like everyone else, your efforts at being good have failed.
2. Asking God for forgiveness.
Our sins are sometimes against mankind, but they are always against God. When we fail to achieve His purpose for us (sharing life with Him) we sin. He will forgive us and cleanse us (see I John 1:9).
3. Being willing to turn from sin.
The word repentance means to turn. Repentance is an act as well as an attitude. Jesus gives you the power to turn from sin when He is in your life.
4. Believing that Jesus Christ died for you and invite Him to come into your life.
Jesus died the death we deserved so that we might have eternal life. Jesus wants to be Lord of your life. The word Christian means, like Christ, following His examples for living.
5. Realizing and accept His love.
God makes His love known to us (see John 3:16 and 1 John 4:9-10).
6. Professing Him as your Savior to others.
Jesus said, "Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven" (see Matthew 10:32, NASB). We cannot be secret Christians. We will want to tell others about Christ and His great love and life.
First John 5:11-13 says, "And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things have I written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life" (NASB).
After reading this brochure, you may still have unanswered questions. Discuss with a Christian friend, the director of Baptist student ministries on your campus, or the pastor of a local church. All are eager to talk to you about Jesus Christ, about Christianity.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright (9) The Lockman Foundation, 1960,1962,1963,1971, 1972,1973,1975,1977. Used by permission.
Issued by the Student Ministry Department
A Southern Baptist Convention Program
Charles H. Johnson, director
127 Ninth Avenue, North
Nashville, TN 37234
(last updated 04-11-99)