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Basics of Christianity

I'd like to start out with saying that this is an attempt to describe pure Christianity, not Christianity as we see in the media, nor Christianity as we have inherited it, nor Christianity as a culture. This attempt is to present it as I believe Jesus Christ wanted us to view it.

Christianity is primarily a body of people who accept what the Bible says about Jesus and sin, and through Jesus have established a relationship with God. Let me define sin as any act or thought that violates God's laws. In a similar way that every adult citizen of the United States has violated one of its laws at some time in their life, every person in mankind has violated some (if not endless) laws of God, so every person has sinned. Because of God's perfect and pure nature, He cannot accept anyone who has sinned, who has violated His laws. In the same way that a person who has violated the U.S laws has a debt to pay, each person has a debt to God. The penalty for sin is separation from God, also known as eternal death. Since God desires friendship with man, He provided a way of forgiveness, and that is through Jesus. The single most important purpose for Jesus to have been on Earth is to provide a method for forgiveness. Jesus died for us, so we do not have to face eternal death. It was Jesus' gift to each of us. As any gift, though, it must be accepted for the gift to be enjoyed. Many choose not to become a Christian, choosing not to accept Jesus' gift. Christianity is made up of people who have accepted Jesus' gift. For you to accept the gift, you acknowledge you have sinned, you turn or regret those sins ("repent"), you acknowledge that Jesus is the way for your sin debt to be paid, and you accept Him into your life to obey and follow Him (i.e make Him "Lord" of your life).

As a Christian, you become a "saint", meaning "true believer". At least that is how the Bible uses the term "saint". It has obviously come to mean much more in the established church than the Bible intended for it to mean. Let me share a story I've heard told by Dr. James Kennedy:
Years ago there was a man named Tifton who was very wealthy. On occassion he would give a gift of a large sum of money to people he felt it appropriate to receive it. Over the years, there became a number of Tifton gift recipients. They learned of each other's existence, so they would meet once a year to celebrate Tifton's birthday. The celebration caught one, and many people would join in the festivities, even though they had never received the gift. They would yell "Merry Tifton!", and claim to be a follower of Tifton. But the real Tifton recipients were saddened, because few really knew of His gift.
The obvious analogy is that is does not matter who claims to be a Christian, only the "true believers", the ones who have accepted the gift, are the ones who have the fellowship with God.

It is fairly simple to accept Jesus' gift, yet not so, in that you turn over control of your life to Him. Christians still sin, but their intention is to obey and follow Jesus.

As a Christian, the first thing God asks you to do is to step up and declare it to others, and that is through baptism. As you read through the New Testament in the Bible, the book of Acts shows us that immediately after each conversion the new follower is baptized. Once baptized, the new Christian is ready to be a "disciple" (meaning "learner") of Jesus. This person starts to learn more about who Jesus is, and what Jesus asks of him/her. As a learner, you see what Jesus asks of you, and as a follower, you try to obey.

A relationship with God through Jesus is similar to any relationship -- the more you cultivate it, the more it grows. As any friendship, the more time you spend with a person, the better you know each other. Through prayer and reading the Bible, a Christian gets to know God better, and you establish a strong relationship with Him.