Man and woman 

What does faith in Christ mean. Why Jesus is the only Savior and why faith in Christ is essential for salvation. Scriptures for Further Study

09/07/2014

It is very good when we can talk about Jesus Christ on the day of the breaking of bread. Our eyes and thoughts should be directed to the Lord. David says, “I always saw the Lord before me…” (Psalm 15:8). We must always keep the Lord before us. Not only on this day. We cannot see Him with physical eyes, but we can see Him with spiritual eyes. We can feel Him. He said, "...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). God never leaves us. He wants us to be aware of this, so that we can feel and see Him.

Luke 1:1-4:

“As many have already begun to compose narrations about events that are completely known between us, as they were handed down to us by those who were from the very beginning eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, then it was decided for me, after a careful study of everything from the beginning, to describe to you in order, venerable Theophilus, so that you would know the firm foundation of the doctrine in which he was instructed.

Faith in Jesus Christ is not just faith that He exists. Many people think that believing in Jesus is not denying His existence. People say, “But I believe in Jesus! Here is your cross. Here is a candle for you in front of the icon. God in the soul. What difference does it make how I live? The main thing is that God is in the soul. I believe that there was such a historical figure - Jesus Christ. I was in Israel, I saw all these monuments and places associated with Jesus.” Remember, the apostle James said, “…even the demons believe and tremble” (James 2:19). And when people say that they believe in Jesus, there is nothing surprising in this, because demons also believe. Interestingly, the demons also tremble. Many people believe in Jesus, but do not tremble: they are late for services, they put chewing gum under the seats of church chairs. And the demons tremble, they tremble when they hear the name of Jesus Christ.

I remember praying to the Lord with a Baptist fellow during my military service. Once we were walking, talking about the Lord and wandered into the territory of a lunatic asylum. We did not even know that not far from our military unit there is a place where mentally ill people were brought from all over the region. The roots or cause of such phenomena do not lie in some transferred stress. I think that behind all these illnesses there are unclean spirits, demons. In the look, in the aggressive behavior of these people, a human personality is not visible. You just see an evil spirit that, one might say, took them captive, occupied them. These people are subject to him, they are possessed by the devil. My friend and I were walking there, came closer and saw a grid that encloses the territory, some buildings behind it. Fifty people walked around the territory. We moved closer to the fence - they also came closer to us. We looked at each other through this grid. It was quiet, they were a little grimacing. Suddenly I felt like I was being pushed from the inside to say something to them. And I say, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Satan, I forbid you to torture these people!" As soon as I uttered these words, they all began to howl there, behind the net. The man from the Baptist fraternity who was with me was so frightened that he grabbed me and ran away. I told him: “Wait, take your time. We have power, we have power, because we are believers. These demons just tremble when they hear the name of Jesus Christ.”

I say this so that you will understand what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. This means not only believing that He exists. Today there are many people who say, "We believe in Jesus, we are no longer atheists." Faith in Jesus is something deeper. This is the knowledge of Jesus. The Apostle Paul writes: “... for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for him I have renounced everything”(Philippians 3:8). You see, faith in Jesus is very close to knowing Jesus: when you begin to know Him, you begin to believe in Him. This is how faith comes.

How did you believe in Jesus? By hearing that Jesus Christ can save you from hell. You didn't know this before. But you heard that Jesus Christ can change your life. When you heard, you knew it and immediately believed in Him. When you believed in Him, what you heard about happened. There is a very interesting relationship between knowing Jesus and believing in Him: the more we get to know Jesus Christ, the more faith we will have and feel in our hearts. The more we get to know Jesus, the stronger our faith in Him will become.

First, I read what the apostle Luke writes: “I want to tell you so that you know. We have already heard a little, but I still want to tell you from the very beginning to the end about Jesus Christ. Then you will receive faith and a solid foundation of this teaching. Then you will not be shaken and will be a true Christian.”

We need to begin to know Jesus Christ not superficially - not only realizing that He exists, but also delving a little into what Who is he. I want the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Revelation of John the Theologian to become handbooks for us; so that we begin to study carefully who Jesus is. I repeat: faith in Jesus is not only faith that he exists, but also faith that Who is He .

We know from Scripture that Jesus Christ is, first of all, a Man. In the gospel He often called himself the Son of Man. Being the Son of God, He came into this world and became a man. Having received the revelation that He is a man, our representative, who will remain a Man forever, we realize how much distance God has eliminated because Jesus became a man. He understands in full - absolutely, to the bone - what others do not understand. Jesus knows you because He is a man. He does not sit somewhere up there, at a height, being unable to understand what these people want. He went through this life. He was born from a man, ate like us, walked the earth. In this life, not everything is as important as it seems. What matters is this: God became a man. This is the story of the baby in the manger, the story of God, who took on flesh and took on our image. He became just like you and me. This is what we must deeply understand, and then our relationship with Jesus Christ will become closer.

In addition, Jesus is also the Son of God. He is not just a man, like other people. He is the Only Begotten Son. Even though we are all children of God, Jesus is the only one, the only begotten. We are from the earth, and He is from the Father, from heaven. He did not commit any sin, there was no flattery and lies in His mouth. Everything is created by Him. You must remember this. Everything that exists on earth, micro- and macrocosmos, everything visible and invisible was created by Him - Jesus Christ. He is the living Word that holds up this whole universe. Everything is subject to Him. He is the Word of God.

Jesus said about himself: "I am the way and the truth and the life"(John 14:6). There is not enough time to talk about who Jesus Christ is, what hope He is for this world, and what the name of Jesus means to a believer. But I want you to get an important point. If you want to have a solid foundation, each of you needs to ask yourself the question: “Who am I in the Lord?” You need to start studying the Holy Scriptures - and then the Holy Spirit will begin to show you revelations about Jesus Christ, about Who He really is. If you understand this through revelations, you will see that your whole life will be transformed.

Moreover, faith in Jesus is not only about who He is, but also about what He said to us who believe in Him. His word should become for us what is written about him: "The words that I speak to you are spirit and life"(John 6:63). This should be food for us: “... man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”(Matthew 4:4). We must begin to feed on this word. Do not eat the waste of this world - neither the TV nor the Internet. We must see what richness is contained in this word; to feel what pleasure we get when we taste it and when it dissolves in our heart. The Word of God is a delight to our spirit. Our spirit yearns for the words of Jesus Christ. Our spirit yearns to drink from this pure fountain. God wants the words of Jesus Christ to be our only spiritual comfort.

Are you feeding on the Word of God? What do you do when you hear the Word of God? Do you feel delight in this Word when you open the Bible? Or perhaps it has become dusty and has been replaced by other "troughs" that you drink from, thinking it will satisfy you? No. "Only in God does my soul rest"(Psalm 61:2). Do you believe in it?

God enlightens me through dreams. Once I had a dream in which I was sitting in a rather large room, and on the opposite side of the room, at a distance of sixty meters, some woman was sitting and seemed to be talking to me about the Lord Jesus Christ. I tell her that He is my only comfort and how great a blessing it is for my life. Suddenly, this woman turns into a demon who, with her paw, overcoming such a long distance, approaches me in a split second and shouts: “You mean there is some other consolation besides the TV ?!” I woke up in a cold sweat and realized that Satan - an unclean spirit came to me. I began to reflect on what this demon called out to me and realized how many people find solace in TV instead of Jesus Christ.

It is very important to believe in what He said. Do you not only believe that He exists, but also what He said? How to understand that you believe in His words, in what He said? You carefully meditate on them and want to fulfill them in your life. Jesus said in the great commission: “…go into all the world and preach the gospel”(Mark 16:15). Do you believe His words? To believe His words means to act in accordance with His word, with what He said. Jesus Christ said: “... he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do, and more than these he will do ...”(John 14:12). If you believe His words, are you acting on those words? How to understand that you believe the words of Jesus when you open the Gospel and read what He told us? It is very simple to understand this: you not only feed on this word, but also act in accordance with it. If the words of Jesus are in one place, and your life is in another, this does not speak of your faith in Jesus Christ.

So faith in Jesus Christ is faith in who He is. You have the knowledge of Who Jesus is. Also faith in Jesus Christ is faith in His words with which He speaks to us. You believe in these words, dissolve them in your life and live by this word. The believer lives by the Word of God. The words of God are the building blocks of our spirit. The words of God give us spiritual growth and a position in the spirit world. The words of God are the basis for making everyday decisions. We act according to the Word. The world is screaming at you: “Do it! You only live once." Not! We do not act like this world. We do what the Word of God says.

Jesus Christ is the Living Word. This Word is identified with our life. We walk in the world as He does. It is written that when we do as He does, then we live without fear. Then we are confident in our future, in tomorrow. We are not afraid of death. We are not afraid of what this world is afraid of, because in this world we do as He does. We know that if we do as He does, we will always be justified. If you stand on the Word of God, God will stand for your life.

Faith in Jesus is also faith in what He has done for us.. Faith in how He came into this world and redeemed us. Faith in how Jesus walked down the Via Dolorosa, that ancient street in Jerusalem, carrying His cross. Faith that He carried His cross for you. The belief that when He hung on the nails on the cross, when He shed His blood, that blood became the payment for our sins. Faith that the blood satisfied God's justice, and God has not been angry with you since that day. God accepts you as His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ "by one offering perfected forever those who are sanctified"(Hebrews 10:14). This means that God looks at you and sees you as a righteous and holy person. Despite all your mistakes, ups and downs, He sees you through Jesus Christ. He no longer sees you as a miserable lost sinner. He sees you as His son and daughter. Do you believe in it? Do you believe that righteousness has been given to you, and to that righteousness you cannot add or take anything away from it? Even if you are a believer for fifty or maybe eighty years, or your whole life, you can never become more righteous than the day when Jesus Christ became your Lord.

The righteousness of Jesus Christ is a gift, a gift from God to you. If you believe in this, you will behave differently. You will behave like a righteous man. You will not walk sadly with your head down. If you believe in Jesus Christ in this way, then when you come to church meetings, you will raise your hands and shout, because you have nothing to add to your salvation. If you do not believe in Jesus in this way, you will constantly be tempted by the devil, who will remind you of your past sins, keep you depressed. The devil will constantly tell you that God is not pleased with you. No matter what you do, no matter how you repent, no matter how you pray and fast, God will still be displeased with you. Satan is always trying to bring Christianity on the same level as other religions that behave in this way. All other religions have as their goal the attainment of heaven and God by human powers. And our religion is built on the fact that God in Christ has reached us. And to this we have nothing to add. This is the joy of our salvation! This is the beauty of our religion, the Evangelical faith: nothing depends on you. Everything has been seized by God, everything has been paid for, in Christ Jesus life has flowed like a river! Walk, my soul!

Finally, faith in Jesus Christ is faith in the way He looks at us. This is absolutely true: God looks at you with the greatest love. God sees you as His son and daughter. Every truth is parallel: God looks at us like a parent looks at his child. When we are adopted and adopted by God, when we become children of God, He looks at us differently. Any father and any mother behave in the same way. Whatever my children do, I will never forget them, never reject them. I will never leave them. I will never make any decisions, I will not do any deeds that will give them a reason to be separated from my love. And I'm only human. God is not a man. His love is a million times greater than the love of father and mother. His loyalty is millions of times greater than the loyalty of the most faithful person. Maybe you're a new, little man who's new to God. But know: He looks at you with a tremulous expectation that you will understand something. He is waiting for you to understand what God is to you; when you understand what His words are for your life; when you realize what He has done for you. Because this knowledge will change your life so much that you will become His employee. You will become His friend. You will become His co-worker. You will become His hope, a voice for this world. You will become His conductor to transmit holy radiation to this world.

God sees you as a servant. He sees you as His messenger, an apostle. He sees you as His pastor, prophet, evangelist, and teacher. He sees you as a businessman for the Kingdom of God. He sees you as an ambassador, His representative. His thoughts about you are countless and beautiful. There are more of them than grains of sand on the seashore and stars in heaven. That is why, when we come to know and enter into the thoughts of God, our whole life changes completely. We no longer need human props to feed our dignity and self-worth. What difference does it make what a person says about me? I know what God says about me, and that's enough for me!

One person approached the artist and asked: “What are you painting?” The artist replied: "I'm painting you." He looked at the picture and was surprised: “Is it me?!” "Yes, it's you." - "You believe in me?" - "Yes I believe you". Then the man said: “I will become what you see me!” This is how it happens in life. See God's picture of your life, receive a revelation, penetrate into the depths of God's thoughts about you - and your life will be different!

... As I understand it, faith in Christ is not everywhere.
From this I concluded that people who do not know about this faith go straight to hell. So is it or not?

This is true. People who don't know about Christ go to hell. Because without Christ, salvation is impossible.

A person cannot be saved by his good deeds, because no matter how many good deeds a person does, his nature still remains corrupted by sin, more prone to evil than to good, i.e. hostile to God. Such a person (in such a state) cannot enter Paradise.

And before the coming of Christ, and in the New Testament, salvation is accomplished on the same principle, - only through Christ. The difference is that the ancient righteous, who lived before Christ, who were waiting for His Coming, had time to descend into hell. And already there, in hell, there was a meeting of Christ with them, when Christ brought them out of hell. In the New Testament - the same principle - salvation is only through Christ. The difference is that now a person who believes in Christ, can't go to hell. Encounter with Christ and salvation occurs already here on earth. But, those who, after the Coming of Christ, did not meet Him here on earth and did not believe, are in the same position as the ancient people who did not go out of hell with Christ, because they did not want to know and did not expect Him during their lifetime. .

If yes, who is to blame? And then somehow it's embarrassing. A man was born an aboriginal, say, in the jungle, and he does not know that there is such a Jesus Christ.

The person is to blame.

First, born of Adam, inheriting from Adam a nature corrupted by sin, and he (already by his own will) repeats the path of Adam. That is, he commits personal sins, confirming that. sinful damage to one's nature. For which he is punished by hell.

Thus, all those born of Adam are subject to hell. A person who is born, say, in the jungle and has never heard of Christ, goes to hell simply in justice, for their evil deeds and the evil state of their nature.

Speaking purely of justice, then this explanation can be completed. Because salvation through Christ is no longer by justice. It is beyond justice that God has given us another chance.

Therefore, the question why those who did not know about Christ during their lifetime will not be saved is not a question justice God. In justice, they, like all the descendants of Adam, should not be saved.

But doesn't it contradict mercy God that salvation in Christ does not cover those people who did not receive Baptism without knowing about Christ, i.e., it would seem, according to objective reasons?

The fact is that, arguing in this way, we underestimate the effect of God's Providence. Living in the context of time, we mistakenly project our perception of being onto God. It seems to us that God, if He is merciful, should proceed from this moment to arrange the salvation of any person. Such reasoning does not take into account that God is above time. He does not act on the basis of the given moment and the given situation (as a person), but on the basis of His omniscience. He already knows what choice every person on earth will make. Will he choose salvation, even knowing about Christ. God already knows those who will make the choice of will towards salvation, and those who will choose death. And proceeding from this His knowledge, God determines at what time, in what country, from what parents, in what circumstances this or that person will be born. i.e., those about which God knows, what they choose salvation, He gives such circumstances of birth and life that they could implement your choice, hear about Christ.

As it is said: "Whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son... And whom He predestined, these He also called, and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Rom. 8, 29-30).

And the reason for the death of other people, including those who have not heard about Christ - choosing their own free will. Which God already knew from eternity. Simply, God gave some such circumstances that they nevertheless heard about Christ and rejected Him, that is, they showed their evil choice in reality. And God did not allow the evil choice of the will of others to manifest itself in reality. Which is also a manifestation of His mercy. Because their condemnation will be less.

What is faith? We have all asked this question at least once in our lives. Look at Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." Jesus talks about what believing in miracles can do in Matthew 17:20 – “Because of your unbelief; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, and say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Faith is a gift from God...and to have faith you must have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Just by believing that he is really listening, you will have faith! It is so simple! Faith is very important, because everything that happened in the Bible was from faith, we must look for it day and night, this is very important. Below are a few simple steps that can help you understand a little more about how to have faith.

Steps

    Have a personal relationship with God: sometimes God can do things that strengthen your faith in his mercy, but if you really want to see the magnificence of faith in God.... You must know God personally and you must be ready to follow him to the end. Pray and grow with God and over time your faith will grow as you have more and more experience with Jesus Christ.

    Seek Faith Through God: The Bible is clear in John 14:13, "And if you ask the Father anything in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." If you come to God and ask him with all your heart in the name of faith, he will never leave you.

  1. Be patient and unwavering. As human beings, we tend to want everything at once. It is really difficult, however, we must have patience and wait for God's blessing. Never give up and never despair. While we are waiting, we must always continue to pray to the Lord and must concentrate on the Lord all the time. As you wait, believing that God will give you the faith you've been asking for...you may start to notice...That's what Faith is! Believing.

    • Open yourself to God in everything! Never hide something from him, because he knows everything that was, is and will happen.
    • Be in a godly environment as often as possible, even online.
    • Always remember to go to God for answers and questions, not as a friend. Because this article was written by me and not by God. I really really feel the Holy Spirit burning inside of me as I write... But remember, I'm human, I make mistakes like everyone else, and I'll never even come close to what God is. . Always go to him for answers, ask him what faith is, as this article will only give you a little more understanding of faith.
    • NEVER, the Lord our God will never reject you. Try your best in everything you do, and be sure of God's salvation.
    • Always believe with all your soul, only God can give you faith.

    Warnings

    • Never give up.
    • Know that once you follow Jesus, His Love will make you happy... Prepare for the Joy that awaits you. :) God bless you, friends!
    • Never lose heart for any reason whatsoever. God will always forgive you, no matter how many times you mess up. As in repentance: “For almost a year I sinned against God while going to church ... fornication, drugs and worldly things, and I would continue in the same spirit, but after a year God had mercy on me and forgave me, which changed me completely ".

Only one way.

Bruce Ware.

Today there are three views on whether Christ is the only way to salvation. They can be defined depending on the answer to two fundamental questions: First, is Jesus the only Savior? More specifically, is Christ's sinless life and His redemptive death and resurrection the only way that the penalty of sin is covered and its power overcome? Second, is faith in Christ necessary for salvation? In more detail, is it necessary for a person to realize the truths about Christ's death for sin and His resurrection, and also to believe in Jesus, in order to benefit from His redemptive work and thus receive salvation?

Pluralism answers both questions with "no". A pluralist like John Hick believes that there are many paths to God, and Jesus is just one of them. Because salvation can be found through other religions and religious leaders, people certainly don't have to believe in Christ to be saved.

Inclusivism answers the first question with "yes" and the second with "no". An inclusivist such as Clarke Pinnock argues that although Jesus did the work necessary to bring us back to God, people can still be saved if they respond positively to God's revelation in creation and perhaps in aspects of their own religion. Therefore, even though Christ is the only Savior, people do not need to know about Him or believe in Him to be saved.

exclusivism answers both questions with "yes". An exclusivist, like the late Ronald H. Nash, believes that Scripture affirms both truths: first, only Jesus did the work of redemption necessary for the salvation of sinners, and second, knowledge of Christ and faith in Him are necessary for the salvation of any person. The rest of the article provides a brief overview of some of the main evidence for these two claims.

Jesus is the only Savior

Why assume that Jesus is the only Savior? Among all the people who have lived and will ever live, only Jesus, in His Person and in His work, is considered the one who is able to make atonement for the sin of the whole world. Below are a few truths that show that only Jesus can rightfully claim to be the Savior:

First, only Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a Virgin (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38); therefore only He can be considered the Savior. Why is it important? Only when the Holy Spirit takes the place of the human father in the conception of Jesus can the begotten truly be fully God and fully human. Christ must be both God and man in order to atone for sin (see below), however, for this to happen, He must be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin woman. No one in the history of the world has been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and no one has been born of a virgin mother. Therefore, only Jesus is qualified to be the Savior.

Second, only Christ is God incarnate (John 1:1-18; Heb. 1:1-3; 2:14-18; Phil. 2:5-11; 1 Tim. 2:5-6); therefore only He is considered the Savior. As Anselm argued in the eleventh century, our Savior must be fully human in order to take the place of men and die in their place, and He must be fully God, so that the price of His sacrificial wages will satisfy the requirements of an infinitely holy God. He must be a man, but an ordinary man simply could not make such an endless payment for sin. There is no one in the history of the world who is fully God and fully human. Therefore, only Jesus is qualified to be the Savior.

Third, only Christ lived a sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 7:23-28; 9:13-14; 1 Pet. 2:21-24); therefore only He can be the Savior. As Leviticus clearly states, the animals offered as sin offerings must be without blemish. This became a type of the sacrifice of Christ, who, being sinless, was able to die for the sins of others, and not for himself. However, no one in the history of the world has lived a completely sinless life. Therefore, only Jesus is qualified to be the Savior.

Fourthly, only Christ was punished and His death became a substitute (Is. 53:4-6; Rom. 3:21-26; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:10-14); therefore only He can be the Savior. The penalty for sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Because Christ lived a sinless life, He did not deserve to die. On the contrary, the cause of His death was that the Father imputed our sin to Him. He died in our place. No one else in the history of the world has died because he was punished for the sin of others, but at the same time he was not condemned for his own sin. Therefore, only Jesus is qualified to be the Savior.

Fifthly, only Christ rose from the dead, having triumphed over sin (Acts 2:22-24; Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3-8, 16-23); therefore only He can be the Savior. The Bible shows that only a few people, besides Christ, were raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-24; John 11:38-44), but only Christ rose from the dead, so that he would never die, having triumphed over sin. The penalty for sin is death, and the greatest power of sin lies in death. So, the resurrection of Christ from the dead shows that His atoning death for sin fully paid the penalty for sin and gained complete victory over its greatest power. No one in the history of the world has risen from the dead by triumphing over sin. Therefore, only Jesus is qualified to be the Savior.

The conclusion is clear: only Christ is suitable for the role of the Savior, and only Christ is the Savior. The words of Jesus himself could not have been clearer: “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). The apostle Peter confirms: "... for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). These statements are true of no one else in the history of the world. Of course, only Jesus is the Savior.

Faith in Christ is necessary for salvation

Why think that faith in Christ is necessary for salvation? The teaching of the apostles is clear: the essence of the Gospel now (after the coming of Christ) is focused directly on the atoning death and resurrection of Christ, and through faith in Christ, a person receives the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Check out the passages below that defend the belief that people are saved only if they know Christ and trust Him as their Savior:

First, the teaching of Jesus Himself teaches that nations need to hear and repent in order to be saved (Luke 24:44–49). Jesus commands, “…and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). The people Jesus describes here have not repented and are not saved. To be saved, they must repent. However, in order to repent, they must hear His work proclaimed in the Name of Christ. And this is true for all nations, including the Jews, who did not believe in Christ. Jesus did not introduce "nations" who already have saving revelation. On the contrary, believers must proclaim the message of Christ to all nations so that the representatives of these nations may be saved.

Second, Paul teaches that even godly Jews and everyone else must hear about and believe in Christ in order to be saved (Rom. 10:1-4, 13-15). The desire of his heart and prayer for the salvation of his fellow tribesmen. Despite their zeal for God, they do not know that God's righteousness comes through faith in Christ. Therefore, these Jews are not saved, although they are religious. All who call on the name of Christ (see Rom. 10:9, 13) will be saved. However, this requires someone to tell them. And for this it is necessary that people be sent. Therefore, missionary service is necessary because people must hear the gospel of Christ in order to be saved.

Third, the story of Cornelius shows that even devout Gentiles must hear about and believe in Christ in order to be saved (Acts 10:1–2, 38–43; 11:13–18; 15:7–9). Not having been saved before the coming of Peter (contrary to the opinion of some), Cornelius was a godly (10:2) Gentile who needed to hear about and believe in Christ in order to be saved. When Peter reports on the conversion of the Gentiles, he states that it was only after his sermon that Cornelius heard the message that needed to be heard for “salvation” (Acts 11:14; see also 15:8–9). Despite his religiosity, Cornelius needed to hear the proclamation of the gospel of Christ in order to be saved.

Again, the conclusion is clear: Jesus is the only Savior, and people must know Christ and believe in Him in order to be saved. May you and I honor Christ and the Gospel, and may we show our faithfulness to God's Word by acknowledging both of these truths and demonstrating in our lives our commitment to them.

Ligonier Ministry - Ligonier.org.

Christianity is the most numerous world religion. It is practiced by about a third of the world's inhabitants (more than 2 billion people). Christianity assumes faith in Jesus Christ, who came into the world in the form of a man and died for the sins of all people. He appears in the form of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, inseparable in their divine nature.

Religion is divided into many different currents. The largest and most widespread Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. Catholicism has the largest number, with almost 2.5 billion adherents of this faith around the world. There are differences between the currents that do not affect the basis, faith in Christ: Orthodox people revere icons very much, for Catholics they are insignificant, Protestants do not use them.

Christianity has been around for over 2000 years. It originated in the 1st century in Palestine, which was part of the Roman Empire. To be more precise, Christianity exists for 2015 years, since the chronology is from the birth of Christ.

To be saved from hell, to receive eternal life in heaven, it is not enough for a Christian to simply believe. It is necessary to live as the Lord says in Holy Scripture: to keep all the commandments, attend church and communicate with Christians. They live as one family and address each other as "brother" or "sister".

The holy book of Christians is the Bible. It consists of 2 parts: Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament consists of 39 books describing the events of the creation of the world, the first people, God's relationship with the apostles, the life of believers and unbelievers. The narration of the Old Testament is connected only with the name of God the Father, but the people were so sinful that He decided to send His only son to atone for their sins.

The New Testament consists of 27 books that tell about the birth of Jesus Christ, the miracles he performed, the crucifixion on Mount Calvary, the resurrection on the 3rd day after death, the sermons of the apostles and a description of future events until the end of human existence. Based on this, there are holidays: Christmas, Easter. The Orthodox are also celebrating the Harvest. The last book of the New Testament is Revelation. It describes the coming apocalypse, the end of the world, and the events leading up to it. It should be noted that the exact date of the apocalypse is not written in the Bible. The old Christians said, "Many people will die and never see the end of the world." Some events from the New Testament are scientifically proven, which speaks in favor of the theory of the existence of a single Creator, Mission, Savior of mankind.

All Christians live according to the Word of God, while at the same time realizing their sinful nature and the impossibility of completely living in the spirit without taking into account the flesh. Many Christians think that the last time has come, that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and Judgment Day will be very soon, during which only believers and those who understand their sins and repent in time will be saved.

For a normal life, people definitely need to believe in something and explain the inexplicable. In part, scientists are successfully doing this, but there are many blank spots. Let belief in supernatural powers explain. There really is a benefit from it: Christians are kind, positive, benevolent, and if necessary, they will come to the rescue. Positive people, pleasant in communication.

Quite often, something that can only be called a miracle happens: the conception of a child, previously impossible for a couple, an amazing recovery from diseases such as AIDS, cancer, restoration of vision, and only after sincere prayer. Some people notice these miracles, some do not attach importance, but whether to believe in this is a private matter for each person.