He Bridged the Gap Between God and Man

What's New

On our home page, an article called Silence Is Golden, about my experience with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Full-length Hymn Midis These are distinct from the midis included with the hymn lyrics files, which are quite short.

What Christians Believe A series of articles about the basics of our faith.

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Help for New Christians

from Jesus Is the Bridge

Basic Christian Beliefs

Key to interpreting Scripture references: The name of the book appears first. The first number is the chapter. If a colon follows the chapter number, then the following numbers represent verses within that chapter. A hyphen indicates a range of verses, either in the same chapter or continuing into a later chapter. When the words "through" or "and" appear, the numbers refer to entire chapters, or a passage that extends through a particular verse in another chapter.

The Trinity This is perhaps the most difficult concept to grasp in all of Christian belief. Early pagans thought that Christians actually worshipped three separate gods. Since they worshipped many gods, this seemed a bit strange to them, but not outrageous. The idea that God is both three persons and a single person was very difficult to accept. Christian theologians and apologists through the ages have attempted various analogies to explain the idea, but with limited success at best. Some said the three persons of the Trinity are just various aspects of God's personality, as when a man is a son, or a father, or a brother, depending on the context of the relationship described. Others described the Trinity as analogous to the sides of a pyramid, which come together at the corners and encompass the same mass. I have sometimes pictured the idea as the separate fingers of a hand; each moves individually, and is distinct, but is joined with all of the others as part of the hand. The long and short of it is that no one, no matter how learned, can explain the idea. It is one of those articles of faith we accept because the Bible teaches it. Understanding it will have to wait for a face to face conversation with God. When we say God is all powerful (omnipotent), all knowing (omniscient) and present everywhere (omnipresent), we are referring to the Trinity, which is not divisible.

God the Father: The Father is the ultimate source of authority and power of the Godhead (another term for the Trinity). Jesus said repeatedly that he did only what the Father told him to do, and that he spoke the words that the Father gave him. He also said that he is one with the Father, affirming the idea of the Trinity. The Father delegated his power to the Son for the duration of the battle with Satan; at the end of that battle, the authority will revert to him. It is because of the Father's love that Jesus came into the world, through the Father's mercy that our sins are forgiven, and by the Father's righteous judgment that those who refuse to accept Christ are condemned to Hell.

God the Son: The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the creative force in the Universe. It is by and though him, the Bible affirms, that everything is made that was made. His power sustains his creation, and his blood redeems it from Sin. His role was to restore the equilibrium destroyed by sin and rebellion. The plan of redemption, or buying back Man and the rest of Creation from the power of sin and death, was made at the beginning, before anything was ever made. Jesus is Savior, Lord, Coming King, and Mighty Conqueror. Without him, there is no hope of reaching the Father, no hope of deliverance from Sin and Death. All history pointed forward to his Coming before he was born, and all history since then points forward to his coming again.

God the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is God's continuing presence in the world. His role is to complete the redemptive work of Christ. He is the lifeblood of the church, the teacher and counselor for individual Christians and congregations, and the guarantee that all of God's promises are true. He always directs worship, adoration, praise and obedience toward Christ, not toward himself. He is, in fact, the spirit of Christ. He pricks our hearts with the awareness of sin, provides the faith necessary to believe in Christ as Lord and Savior, and empowers the church to carry out its charge. He cleanese with the blood of Christ, but his presence in us is a fountain of living water. He can be grieved, or offended, but also can bring joy and peace into our lives.

The Nature of Man: Since the fall of Adam, the first man, every human being has been born into sin (Romans 3:23).  The sin nature is part of us. We are not, as humanists teach, inherently good, and always pointed toward getting better. Instead, the Bible says that we are all sinners, and that not one of us is righteous. Since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), all of us are spiritually dead and separated from God. Left to our own devices, and our own best efforsts, all of us deserve nothing more than eternal punishment in Hell.

The Second Birth: God did not leave us in our predicament. He sent Christ to overcome the old sin nature in us, and provide a way for us to be reconciled to him. Since we are dead in our sins, we can't have a relationship with God until we are given new life, free from the deadening power of sin. Jesus told Nicodemus specifically that he must be born again to find eternal life. We are no different. When we accept Christ as our Savior, Paul says, we are a "new creation" (II Corinthians 5:17). Unfortunately, the old dead part of us, which Scripture calls "the Flesh," lingers on even after we are reborn. For the rest of our lives in this flesh, we have to fight against that part of our nature that wants to drag us down where we were again.

Godly Habits

Famous Scripture Passages

The Roman Road

Much of the battle of leading someone else to Christ lies in overcoming our own fear. There are many good books and courses which cover the "how to's" of personal evangelism, but one of the tried and successful methods is called the Roman Road. To save someone, many pastors will tell you, you first have to get him or her lost, or help them realize that they, like all of us, are sinners. The first Scriptures which we point out and read to prospective Christians are those which describe man's sinful state, and the consequences. We then look at passages which describe how to be saved, and the assurance of the believer. The Scriptures given are only a framework, but they do provide an effective means of leading someone through the steps to salvation.

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