The Gist of Christianity

Over the next six days, God went on to create everything in the entire universe, in all its glory. On the sixth day, God created the beasts of the earth, and God created Man, whom He called Adam. On the seventh day, God rested from His work. He blessed the seventh day calling it holy.

God gave Adam a job––to tend the Garden of Eden, and God gave Adam one rule––do not eat the fruit of the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. Because of this rule, we know that Adam did not already have the knowledge of good and evil and God did not want him to have it. At this point in their lives, Adam and Eve only knew good, they did not know evil. God loves His children, so it makes sense that he would not want them exposed to evil things. In fact, God didn't just tell them not to eat the fruit, He let them know that if they ate it, they would die. God knew the fruit was poisonous, and He warned Adam and Eve by giving them an instruction not to eat it. 

Now, Adam and Eve had free will. They had freedom of mind and freedom of behavior, meaning they had the ability to think individual and personal thoughts, as well to make their own choices. We know this because God gave them instructions. If they did not have the capacity to think and behave independently of God, God would not have had to warn them about the tree. 

Since God is the creator of all things, we know that He also has free will. We also know He has knowledge of everything, including good and evil. When we look at God as the Father of all things, and see that he is pleased with things that are good, we can know that God kept the knowledge of good and evil away from Adam and Eve for a reason. A good reason. God did not want death and suffering for his creation. He made it in perfection. Because He is a loving God, He gave His beings free will, so that they could be individuals, yet still be part of His family.

When God made Eve to be company and help for Adam, neither Adam nor Eve knew or felt shame. Shame, and all other forms of negativity were not known to Adam and Eve because they did not have the knowledge of good and evil. They knew only love and goodness. There was no death, no suffering, no sadness, no guilt, no regret, no anxiety, no depression, no anger, no hatred, no sin in the heart or mind of Adam and Eve before they ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. 

We can understand that God did not want anything that was "not good" or evil to poison the existence of his perfect creation. God loves His creation. God loves us.

When Satan entered the garden of Eden, he also had free will, and he also had knowledge of good and evil. Satan is the perfect example of what happens when one uses their free will for evil. God and Jesus are perfect examples of what happens when one uses their free will for good. Satan desired to tarnish the perfection in which God had created man. Satan was jealous of God's love for humanity. Satan wanted Adam and Eve to suffer and die. And so Satan deceived Eve, and caused Adam and Eve to become disobedient to their Father, God. 

We can see the night and day difference between God, who has both free will and knowledge of good and evil, but unwaveringly maintains His goodness, and Satan who uses his free will and knowledge to deceive and destroy all things. 

In the bible Satan is referred to as the accuser, the father of lies, the tempter, and the adversary. He is described by these characteristics because his tactics include, lying, temptations, accusations, and deceit. His first act in the garden included all of these. He accused God of being selfish, of trying to "keep for himself" the knowledge of good and evil in effort to remain superior. He (Satan) deceived and tempted Eve by telling her that if she ate the fruit she would become as powerful as God. 

Let's take a moment to discuss the characteristics of God to understand his His motives and behavior. Understanding "who" God is makes it easier to understand what He does and why. Knowing and trusting God makes it possible to see through Satan's lies and accusations. Although we will never know all there is to know unless God Himself chooses to reveal it, He has revealed enough in the bible for us to get to know Him.

• God is light - He is self-revealing
• God is eternal - He is immortal and infinite
• God is immutable - He is unchanging and absoute
• God is incomparable - He is unequal and perfect
• God is unfathomable - He is beyond our human understanding
• God is just - He is unmistakably fair
• God is omnipotent - He is all powerful
• God is omnipresent - He is always present
• God is omniscient - He knows all: past, present, future, our thoughts, our feelings, everything
• God is one - He alone is worthy of our worship and devotion. He alone can meet our deepest needs
• God is righteous - He is morally justifiable in His actions
• God is sovereign - He is the supreme authority
• God is spirit - He is invisible
• God is a Trinity - He is one with three parts, equal in power and glory; God, Jesus, Holy Spirit.
• God is truth - He is incorruptible and cannot lie
• God is love - He is love
• God is gracious - He gives us His grace which includes His goodness, mercy, kindness and love
• God is holy - He is separated from all moral defilement

As you can see, it is impossible for anything, (including humans and angels) to ever be equal to God. Satan's lies come from his own sinful and selfish and desires to be God. 

God created angels and God created humans; every being that God created was good and given free will. God will always provide support, guidance, wisdom and strength to those who are faithful, ask for forgiveness and believe that His son Jesus Christ has paid the debt for the punishment of sin. But it is our choice and our choice alone to do these things and to try to live by His commandments.

The battle between good and evil is real, and it all comes down to free will (choice). There are two paths to be taken at any given crossroads, one is good (the way of God), and the other is evil (the way of Satan).

Now let's take a moment to discuss Satan's history to understand his motives and behavior.

Satan was created as an angel, named Lucifer. Lucifer was beautiful and he was given authority in heaven. The angels, like humans, were created to serve God and have a relationship with Him. Lucifer held a high ranking position amongst the angels of heaven. 

Lucifer became so consumed with pride and jealousy that instead of being grateful for all that God had given him, he instead wanted to be God and to be worshipped in place of God. He sinned while in heaven with God. To go against God's will was Lucifer's choice. 

To go against God's instruction in the garden of Eden was Eve and Adam's choice. This choice placed a curse on all of mankind, but the ultimate blame is placed on Satan for his part as the father of lies and the one who tempts. The moral of the story is that we cannot be trusted to make the right decisions for ourselves. The only one who can be trusted wholly and completely is God.

So, the first humans knowingly sinned and received the punishment thereafter, as did we all––death. But God is merciful, which means he has compassion for us, even though we have a sinful nature. God loves us so much, that He created a way for his us to live yet again, even though we received the punishment to die for our sins. God knew that once sin entered into the world it would affect all living things. All humanity, and the rest of creation, would suffer from the decay of sin for the rest of eternity if God did not intercede. So He did, and He gave us an out.

Here's how it works

The Ten Commandments

God provided us with the Ten Commandments to define sin. This way we have a clear understanding of what we should choose not to do. These commandments are written in stone. 

Repentance

Now that you know what sin is, as defined by the Ten Commandments, you are able to know exactly when you break one of God's rules. He made it very easy for us to know when we are sinning and when we are not. Since human beings are sinful by nature, God gives us the opportunity to repent and ask for forgiveness each and every time we sin. He has promised to forgive us, every single time! Of course we are to be mindful that we are learning from our mistakes and praying for strength to overcome the temptation to sin again. 

Faith in Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ was born on earth, lived a perfect, sinless life, and offered himself up as a sacrifice to pay for all the sins of humanity. Jesus did not sin, yet he received the punishment meant for Adam and Eve's transgression. We sin, therefore we deserve to receive the punishment of sin--death. Jesus never sinned, and yet he died. He did not deserve the punishment of sin, that was on us. But what Jesus did, was for us. Because he was sinless, and he took on the punishment of sin, we are now saved. He saved us! And God saved him. God resurrected Jesus after the third day, and Jesus ascended up to heaven. Because Jesus was perfectly obedient to God in all ways, and loved us enough to die for us, his perfect loving actions made it possible for us to avoid the punishment for sin. Salvation is a free gift for anyone to receive through faith. If you believe that Jesus died so that you may live, and that he rose again, you can be saved, and also live again. Jesus is the way. Please see our Are You Saved? page for more information on how you can receive God's free gift of salvation and begin to have a relationship with God and Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Love

Love is the foundation of it all. God is love. Where there is love, there is no sin. In loving God, loving yourself, and loving other people, there is perfection. Love as Jesus loved, have faith in love and pray for love. This means, love those who's opinion you oppose. Love those who do not share your same beliefs. Christians should treat others with respect and be an example of how Jesus treated people. Jesus was kind to all people, and had compassion for sinners. He died to save us because he loved us so much. Christians are to love above all else, because all else that is good, comes from love.