What is My Religion?

Religion is a divisive subject these days, but it doesn’t need to be.  Everybody has a religious view, even atheists; their view is just that they don’t believe in religion for themselves.  For those of you that know me, hopefully you know that I accept you as you are.  You are my friends, and it doesn’t matter to me what your religious view is; our friendship is not determined by that.  So why am I writing this?  Because I want to set the record straight, especially for those of you who might be confused by the things I say from time to time.

I am a religious person, and most of you probably know this about me to some extent.  But what is my religion?  I will tell you, and I will be very forward about my beliefs, but first a few caveats.  It is not my intention to list references or sources for the things I am going to say.  I am going to make statements that represent my knowledge on religion.  If you have doubts or disagree with my assertions, feel free to look things up for yourselves.  If any of my assertions about a particular religion are wrong, feel free to point out my errors using references.  That being said, it is not my intent to discuss all religions here.  My focus will be on what I believe; but to explain that, some clarification will be included about some other beliefs.  So what do I believe?

I am a Christian, but that term is too vague to accurately describe my religious beliefs.  The term Christian means different things to different people.  Lots of people say they are Christians, but they believe very different things.  In its simplest form, a Christian is a follower of Christ (Jesus).  Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Mormonism, and many other faiths will classify themselves as Christians.  I am a Christian, but I am not a Catholic, or a Mormon.  So what am I, what’s the difference, and why does it matter?  Well, I will tell you; and it doesn’t really matter, unless these things are important to you and you want to know.

I believe in God, which makes me a theist.  I believe in one God, which makes me a monotheist.  I believe in the God of the Bible (Old and New Testaments).  I believe that He created us (humans).  I believe that God is perfect, holy, righteous, and just; I also believe that He is loving, merciful, gracious, and patient.  I believe that I am a sinner.  What is this word “sin” and why does it matter?  When I say that I am a sinner, that means that I do things that are wrong according to the moral standards set by God.  I am a sinner.  God is perfect, and just, and must judge sin.  Why?  Let me explain.  Our society has established courts of justice to judge those who are guilty of crimes against society and individuals.  Why?  Well, isn't the answer to that self-evident?  To right the wrongs, to hold people accountable for their actions, to punish the wicked, to maintain order in society, to deter others from similar behavior, etc.  Our society sets rules, and if those rules are broken, then the courts judge people.  Would it be fair for tax evaders to not be held accountable to pay taxes like everyone else?  Would it be fair for thieves to steal what others have worked hard to obtain and not be held accountable?  Would it be fair for someone to assault or kill someone else for any reason they want and not be held accountable?  No, it would not.  The truth is, we want our courts to hold criminals accountable for their actions; it satisfies us when we feel that justice has been served.  God is just, and holy, and righteous, and perfect.  God has established a code of conduct for His creation.  What would we say about a judge who doesn’t hold criminals accountable?  Why would we expect God to be different?  I have broken God’s code of conduct; in fact, I continue to do so on a daily basis.  I am worthy of judgment.

But, God is loving, and merciful, and gracious, and patient.  How can He be both merciful and just?  To understand, one must become familiar with the concept of redemption.  Another way to explain this is restitution.  Oftentimes, our courts will consider justice to be served if the guilty party pays a fine, or accepts a term of punishment, like community service or jail time.  I am guilty of breaking God’s law, and responsible to pay the price for my violations.  But God, in His mercy, has provided a way for payment to be made on my behalf.  Just as if a generous benefactor were to pay my fine with the court, Jesus has paid my fine to God.  Let’s talk for a moment about my beliefs regarding the Man named Jesus.

I say I am a Christian because I believe in Christ.  "Christ" is the English translation of the Greek word "Christos," which is a translation of the Hebrew word "Messiah," which means many things, one of which is savior.  Christ is not the last name of Jesus, but rather, it is His title.  He is my Savior.  What is He saving me from?  He saves me from the punishment I deserve because of my moral violation of God’s laws.  How?  Because He took my punishment upon Himself; He paid the price for my sin to the court of God!  How?  By dying on a Roman cross almost two-thousand years ago.  How could He do this?  Here is what I believe.

I believe that Jesus is a man, a human man, who literally lived in Israel around two thousand years ago.  Most people will agree with this.  But here’s where I go off the deep end (watch for it, because this is the part where I tell you my religion):

I believe Jesus is the Son of God.  Most Christians will agree.  But what does this mean?  I believe Jesus was born to Mary, as a human male child.  He is fully human.  In fact, He must be in order to be my human substitute, or pay the price required of me in God’s court.  I believe He was born to Mary while she was yet a virgin.  Catholicism will agree on this point.  How could Mary conceive a child while being a virgin?  I believe the conception was a miracle of God.  Just to be clear—I do not believe that God had any kind of physical relations with Mary, as some religions have taught in the past; I believe the conception was a miracle.

I believe Jesus is God in human flesh.  I cannot explain how Jesus can be both God and man.  I cannot explain how God caused a miraculous conception of a human child in Mary’s womb which contained the fullness of His being (essence).  But I believe it, nonetheless.  In fact, I believe Jesus had to be God, or else His death on the cross would only pay the price for one man.  One man can take the punishment for one man.  God in human form can take the punishment for all humans.  This concept of Jesus being fully God and fully man is what is known theologically as the deity of Christ.  It is also part of the theological concept of the Trinity.  Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and most Protestant denominations agree with this.  Mormonism does not.

I believe Jesus lived a perfect life, free from any act of sin.  As God, He could not sin.  As a man, He could; and I believe He endured temptation as all men do.  I cannot explain this, but I believe it.  But He did not sin.  As such, He did not fall under the judgment of God’s law.  This means that He was not guilty of death.  What do I mean by this?  I will explain.  When God created mankind, He created us not to die.  In fact, we all have a desire to live forever, although this desire can be quenched by infirmity and suffering (which were not part of His original creation for us either).  But humanity broke God’s law, and incurred His judgment, which included physical death and spiritual separation from a holy, perfect, righteous, and just God.  But Jesus didn’t sin, and didn’t deserve death.  But God, in His love, grace, and mercy, chose to provide a way for the righteous requirement of His law to be satisfied in order that sinful humanity could escape His judgment through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus, who is both God in human flesh and the Son of God.  In essence, God took the punishment I deserve upon Himself.  He paid the price to redeem me from His court of justice.  But it doesn’t end there.

I believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead after His crucifixion.  I believe His body physically died on the cross, and was buried in a tomb, and that He came back to life!  I believe His physical body was revived from death on the third day after His crucifixion.  He defeated death, and His victory over death paved the way for those saved by Him to be resurrected again one day as well.  Let me say this again, because it is the core of what I believe: Jesus physically died on the cross, was buried and was physically dead for a period of about three days, and was physically revived from death.  Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe this.  This act makes possible my salvation from the judgment of God.

I believe in salvation by God’s grace through faith alone, and not as a result of any work or effort on my part.  This means that the salvation made possible through Jesus’ work is appropriated (received) by me and others through believing in Him (Jesus) and what He did.  I cannot earn or add to my salvation through any work of my own.  In fact, attempting to do so would demonstrate a lack of understanding about God’s work of salvation.  Catholicism and Mormonism do not agree, and both require some sort of effort or work on the part of mankind in order to be saved.  Even the belief, or faith, that I have is given to me by God and not a result of my own effort to believe.

What is salvation for me?  Salvation for me is the ability to have a spiritual relationship with God, eventual physical resurrection from death, and an eternity spent in God’s presence after this life that I am currently living.  For me, to die means my spirit (or soul, or consciousness), the real essence of who I am, will separate from my body and go to be with God.  Then, I will eventually be reunited with a resurrected and transformed physical body, one which is perfect (free from infirmity) and eternal (free from future death), and I will live with God and others who have accepted His salvation for all eternity in the new heavens and new earth, which will be remade by God at some future point.  This new heaven and new earth, as well as the concept of eternity, as well as this new body and its abilities, are incomprehensible to me fully at this point, given my limited knowledge at present.  But this lack of complete knowledge does not prohibit me from believing.  After all, I believe in a great many things without having a complete understanding of them.  Salvation, to my understanding, for Catholicism involves going to purgatory after death, and requires human work to eventually be freed from purgatory and go to heaven.  Salvation, to my understanding, for Mormonism involves three distinct levels of heaven: the Telestial, Terrestrial, and Celestial Kingdoms; the highest level of which (the Celestial) contains multiple levels within itself.  My understanding, again, is that within the Celestial Kingdom, it is possible for mankind to become like God, since Mormon doctrine teaches that God was once like we are presently.  I do not believe God was ever like we are, nor do I believe we can ever become like Him.  He is the creator and we are His creation.  I believe we will be glorified, but we will not become divine.  Salvation, for some Protestants, no longer even involves a literal heaven and hell, or judgment for sin, therefore there really is nothing to be saved from.

As one can see, the term Christian can be confusing because people who call themselves Christians believe so many different things.  I call myself a Christian, but I believe in a different God, a different Jesus, a different path to salvation, and a different afterlife than what is officially taught to varying degrees by Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, the Watchtower Society, and even some denominations of Protestantism.  But I have now stated what I believe.  These beliefs are my religion, just for the record; in case you are ever curious.