In spite of the ‘naff’ history of much of the church, is there a good reason to give Christianity a second look – a second chance?

A bit hazy

We believe there is – not least, because Christianity is in fact little understood in Britain today.  All around the world, the faith is growing rapidly and with real enthusiasm.  Here, it is not so much that it has been rejected, as that it has quietly slipped from view.  If we asked you to draw, from memory, a £20 note, you might have considerable difficulty (beyond the Queen’s head) remembering exactly what is pictured on it – and this in spite of handling a £20 note regularly enough.  It is a bit like that with Christianity: we know what it is and yet, if asked to focus on it, many of us find we are not so sure what exactly what it is all about.

In fact, it is about a second chance – for us!  Christians believe that the reason Jesus came, and then died such a painful death on the cross, is that God did not want to hold our wrong-doing against us.  He wanted us to be able to come to God, without a burden of guilt separating us or holding us back – without any atmosphere of judgment or condemnation – and to accept an invitation to receive new strength and walk in goodness again.  Which is why the Gospel is so relevant to the issue of values.  It offers the power to live by them, but (crucially) without having to become ‘good’ by our own resources.

Unable to make the grade

To explain, the starting point is to recognize that we as human beings are weak, subject to temptation, likely to do wrong, and that we ourselves are hurt, damaged and unable to make the grade by ourselves.  That much, most people could agree with!  The idea is that we need help – a rescuer.

Into the world comes Jesus, God’s son, to show us the kind of relationship a son can have with his ‘heavenly father’ – and to tell us that we, as sons and daughters, can ourselves have the same relationship with our heavenly father.

Good trade

One problem, though.  Our sin – the Bible’s term for our wrong-doing and our independence.  Jesus was perfect; we are not.  Here the understanding is that Jesus wiped our slate clean by dying on the cross ‘for us’.  How could that work?  Imagine a white damp cloth used to wipe a table full of coffee and ketchup stains.  As the table is wiped clean, the stains are gone – but they had to go somewhere.  They are on the cloth, which has become dirty in order to make the table clean.  The Bible says that, in just this way, Jesus “became sin for us”[1].  The ‘trade’ was that he would get our sin, and be punished for it; and we would get his cleanness and his goodness!

Strange though this sounds, this is in fact the heart of the Christian message.  We couldn’t do anything to help ourselves, and so God decided to do something for us.  Why?  Because, as our Father, he loves us.  To fulfil the just requirements of the law, a price had to be paid for all our wrong-doing and independence.  He chose to pay it, releasing us, for all time, from guilt!

Helping hand

Now, that is an extraordinary message.  But it doesn’t stop there.  The Bible teaches that, not only are we able to be forgiven: the purpose of that forgiveness is also to end our separation from God; it is an invitation to come into relationship with him.  He is extending his hand to us, Christians believe, so that we can walk with him and receive his blessing in every part of our lives.  Of course, that hand has to be taken – it is offered, not forced on us; but the decision to take it, to receive forgiveness and to enter into relationship will change everything.

One of the things it will most change is the dynamic of our inability to do what is right.  Our Father in heaven, the Bible says, pours his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit[2].  As we receive forgiveness, and receive the Holy Spirit, we get his character, his love, his joy, his peace – and his capacity to serve others.

Go with the flow!

That is the second part of the package.  Because ‘doing good’ is so hard for us as humans, Jesus set an example of how to serve others and enjoy it – and then promised to give us the power to do the same, not because we are trying to squeeze it out of ourselves, but because we have a new heart and it will flow out of us.

So it is that the Gospel (the ‘good news’ that God is for us and not against us[3]) is seen to be the force that can transform not only individuals, but even societies.  It is the fuel to our fire, the petrol in our tank, the inner transformation that will potentially make what was an uphill task a downhill race.

Healing of the heart

Finally, it claims to offer one more thing: healing of the heart.  In so far as we have lived unwisely and selfishly, and many times been hurt by other people living unwisely and selfishly, there has been a build-up in all of us of pain, frustration, mistrust of others – and, in many cases, a sense of brokenness, sadness and rejection.  A wounded heart, like a waterlogged boat, can rise less and less fully to each successive wave.   Finally, it can go under.  The message of Jesus is “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.[4] The promise is healing, refreshing and fellowship with a loving God who can make all things new.

Opportunity

These things are a matter of faith.  Many believe, many don’t.  What is sad is when people lack for understanding of what is on offer, and lack for the opportunity to receive it – the opportunity, indeed, to believe.  These days, in Britain, that opportunity is arguably being denied to new generations who have little knowledge of “the faith of our fathers”, and little encouragement to explore it for themselves.