Christian…Christ-follower…Saved…What does it all mean?
We realize there is a lot of confusion out there. On the basis of how they were raised, or what church they attend, many call themselves “Christians” but hold on to a wide range of tenets and traditions. This, understandably, can be really confusing.
At Alpine Chapel, we believe that being in church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than being in a garage makes you a car. What’s more, we believe that the fact you were raised in a “Christian home”, or have even been baptized, has no direct bearing on your spiritual condition. And to really make you scratch your head, we believe that there is nothing you can do to qualify you to call yourself a Christian, and there has never been anyone good enough to be considered one. And yet, anyone can follow Christ and reap the rewards that come from doing so.
Confused yet? Let’s take a step back to understand all this.
First, we need to ask: what is the ultimate goal of all this spiritual stuff?
We believe that God created mankind to have a relationship with us. Does He need us? No, but because we are His creation, He loves us. The problem is, we messed up.. From the beginning, starting with the first human beings, we have proven exactly 100% of the time that we are sinful beings - that is, we put our own desires ahead of God’s guidelines for our lives. And no matter how “good” you think you are, you aren’t good enough for God. It’s our nature. So the ultimate goal – a true fellowship with the God that created us and loves us – is impossible because of our failures.
What does that mean?
We believe that beyond this world, there is another, where those who are worthy to be children of God spend eternity in His presence, and the unworthy are separated from Him and from everyone else forever. When we talk about being “saved”, it is that separation - hell - from which one is saved.
I thought you said no one is worthy to be in God’s presence?
Exactly. And here's the amazing thing about God's love: despite our sinfulness, God still desires a relationship with us. After all, He created us! But, He required something as a payment for failure. The price was staggering. God demanded, of those who would be His people, a sacrifice. We were to pay - or “atone” - for our sins by sacrificing the best of the material things we had. But, these sacrifices were a temporary solution to a permanent problem. So God reached out in the ultimate gift of love. To satisfy the law that He Himself had enacted, God sent one final sacrifice that would suffice for mankind’s debt from that point on. That sacrifice was Jesus.
What's so special about Jesus?
We believe that Jesus came to this earth as fully human, and yet fully the Son of God. We believe that he was miraculously conceived in the womb of a virgin, Mary; was born into humble circumstances; grew as any boy would grow. And yet we believe that he was more than a man; we believe that he is also God, and because of that, he was able to break the bondage of the sinful nature that is embedded in our humanness and lived a perfect life. We believe that he revealed, with his words and actions, his true identity as God. We believe that his birth, life, death, and resurrection fulfilled scores of prophecies that foreshadowed his time on earth. And we believe that Jesus willingly suffered the agony of physical death in order to atone for our sins - a perfect sacrifice that would pay in full the price of the sins of anyone who believes that he is who he said he is, and has the faith to believe his death was - and is - sufficient payment for our debt. We believe that his resurrection, three days after he physically died, gives us the confidence that he holds the keys to life and death.
Let’s say I’m buying all this. What do I have to do?
Earning our way into heaven is futile. We can’t buy, serve, abstain, or “church” our way into His favor. But by the amazing grace that is a result of His unfailing love, God accepts us when we:
- Accept the verdict that we are lost without the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus because of our sin.
- Believe and acknowledge that Jesus was and is the perfect Son of God, and that his death was the fulfillment of the atoning sacrifice demanded by God, once and for all, for all who believe in Him.
- Confess by both word and deed that He is Lord.
That’s it?
That’s what the Bible tells us, and that’s what we believe. Of course, there is much more richness available to us when we embark on the journey known as "life with Christ". He promises us an “abundant life”. The process of growing in the knowledge of Him through His Word; developing a personal relationship with Him through worship, prayer and meditation; and experiencing the joy of serving Him are all important aspects of what we call “Becoming fully-committed followers” of Jesus. We would love to help guide you on this eternity-changing journey! That’s what we’re here for.
We know you must have questions…we hope that you will let us dialogue with you. If you click here to email us, we promise we won’t be pushy or ask you for anything. We just want you to experience what we have - the joy of knowing our lives are in the hands of a God that loves us more than we can ever imagine; and the peace that comes from knowing that this life is only the beginning of being His children!
We realize there is a lot of confusion out there. On the basis of how they were raised, or what church they attend, many call themselves “Christians” but hold on to a wide range of tenets and traditions. This, understandably, can be really confusing.
At Alpine Chapel, we believe that being in church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than being in a garage makes you a car. What’s more, we believe that the fact you were raised in a “Christian home”, or have even been baptized, has no direct bearing on your spiritual condition. And to really make you scratch your head, we believe that there is nothing you can do to qualify you to call yourself a Christian, and there has never been anyone good enough to be considered one. And yet, anyone can follow Christ and reap the rewards that come from doing so.
Confused yet? Let’s take a step back to understand all this.
First, we need to ask: what is the ultimate goal of all this spiritual stuff?
We believe that God created mankind to have a relationship with us. Does He need us? No, but because we are His creation, He loves us. The problem is, we messed up.. From the beginning, starting with the first human beings, we have proven exactly 100% of the time that we are sinful beings - that is, we put our own desires ahead of God’s guidelines for our lives. And no matter how “good” you think you are, you aren’t good enough for God. It’s our nature. So the ultimate goal – a true fellowship with the God that created us and loves us – is impossible because of our failures.
What does that mean?
We believe that beyond this world, there is another, where those who are worthy to be children of God spend eternity in His presence, and the unworthy are separated from Him and from everyone else forever. When we talk about being “saved”, it is that separation - hell - from which one is saved.
I thought you said no one is worthy to be in God’s presence?
Exactly. And here's the amazing thing about God's love: despite our sinfulness, God still desires a relationship with us. After all, He created us! But, He required something as a payment for failure. The price was staggering. God demanded, of those who would be His people, a sacrifice. We were to pay - or “atone” - for our sins by sacrificing the best of the material things we had. But, these sacrifices were a temporary solution to a permanent problem. So God reached out in the ultimate gift of love. To satisfy the law that He Himself had enacted, God sent one final sacrifice that would suffice for mankind’s debt from that point on. That sacrifice was Jesus.
What's so special about Jesus?
We believe that Jesus came to this earth as fully human, and yet fully the Son of God. We believe that he was miraculously conceived in the womb of a virgin, Mary; was born into humble circumstances; grew as any boy would grow. And yet we believe that he was more than a man; we believe that he is also God, and because of that, he was able to break the bondage of the sinful nature that is embedded in our humanness and lived a perfect life. We believe that he revealed, with his words and actions, his true identity as God. We believe that his birth, life, death, and resurrection fulfilled scores of prophecies that foreshadowed his time on earth. And we believe that Jesus willingly suffered the agony of physical death in order to atone for our sins - a perfect sacrifice that would pay in full the price of the sins of anyone who believes that he is who he said he is, and has the faith to believe his death was - and is - sufficient payment for our debt. We believe that his resurrection, three days after he physically died, gives us the confidence that he holds the keys to life and death.
Let’s say I’m buying all this. What do I have to do?
Earning our way into heaven is futile. We can’t buy, serve, abstain, or “church” our way into His favor. But by the amazing grace that is a result of His unfailing love, God accepts us when we:
- Accept the verdict that we are lost without the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus because of our sin.
- Believe and acknowledge that Jesus was and is the perfect Son of God, and that his death was the fulfillment of the atoning sacrifice demanded by God, once and for all, for all who believe in Him.
- Confess by both word and deed that He is Lord.
That’s it?
That’s what the Bible tells us, and that’s what we believe. Of course, there is much more richness available to us when we embark on the journey known as "life with Christ". He promises us an “abundant life”. The process of growing in the knowledge of Him through His Word; developing a personal relationship with Him through worship, prayer and meditation; and experiencing the joy of serving Him are all important aspects of what we call “Becoming fully-committed followers” of Jesus. We would love to help guide you on this eternity-changing journey! That’s what we’re here for.
We know you must have questions…we hope that you will let us dialogue with you. If you click here to email us, we promise we won’t be pushy or ask you for anything. We just want you to experience what we have - the joy of knowing our lives are in the hands of a God that loves us more than we can ever imagine; and the peace that comes from knowing that this life is only the beginning of being His children!