I have been struggleing a lot about Christianity. A friend has been speaking to me about it, but from what I see, of other Christians, not her, I don't think I can be one. I don't want to go to Hell, who does right? I also love god, as I understood God, as the creator. I never before put a lot of thought into it, what God is. Part of me just thinks Christianity is right, but I can't explain why. I thought though to be a Christian there were things you had to do, and other things you absolutely must not do. That being the case I just felt I could not.
Well, first of all, I'm not sure if you understand exactly how it works, so I'll explain.
To start, first there was nothing. Then God made the universe, the earth, all plants and animals, and the first man. His name was Adam. Then God made him a companion, the first woman, named Eve. Lucifer, one of the top angels, got big-headed about his position and power. He, along with some other angels, started a rebellion. Lucifer is now known as Satan, or the Devil, and the angels that followed him are now referred to as demons. The world was perfect. There was no suffering, sin, or death, and Adam and Eve ate fruit and walked and talked with God. Now, in the Garden of Eden, the place God made for Adam and Eve, there was a tree that God told them not to eat fruit from, called the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. If they ate from the tree, they would be aware of good and evil, and sin, suffering, disease, pain, and death would be thrust upon them. Satan possessed a snake and lured Eve to the tree. He convinced her to eat the fruit. She called Adam, and he ate the fruit too. Then what I described a moment ago happened. They were mortal, and there was now sin and suffering in the world. Throughout the Old Testament, God repeatedly gave rules, and people broke them. Every once in a while, things would get so bad that God would bring judgement upon them, and they would turn back to Him. Back then, the head of your household would sacrifice an animal once in a while, usually a sheep, to forgive the family's sins. God told them to always take the best animal they had. It couldn't be sacrificed if it had ever been hurt, sick, or had broken bones. The idea was that your sins were being paid for by the animal, so that you wouldn't be held accountable to them, and you would be allowed in Heaven when you died. If you turned away from God and didn't pay for your sins through sacrifice, you would pay for them yourself in Hell for all eternity when you died. This is the Jewish belief. It was what God wanted back then.
Then, about 4,000 years after God created the earth, a prophecy made many times in the Old Testament was fulfilled, and the rules were changed. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was born, not into a royal family, but from a poor virgin in a stable. He was, and is, both the Son of God and God Himself. See, there's God the Father, God the Son (also known as Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. They are three persons, but one being, one God, all at once. It doesn't seem to make sense, but that's because we aren't able to understand. God is all-knowing and all-powerful, and we would not be right to say we are at His level. Our intelligence is limited. Jesus lived the perfect life, and laid the new standard. This was that sacrifices and the traditional ways were no longer necessary. There was a new way into Heaven, because the old way was not working. Jesus performed miracles and taught the new set of rules, not in a rich palace, but in humble circumstances to normal people.
Of course, the same rules regarding sin applied. There were still the same things you were and weren't supposed to do. But many traditions were no longer required. A sacrifice still needed to be made, but in a different way. When Jesus was about 33 years old, Satan thought he had won. Jesus was beaten, mocked whipped, spit upon, and His hands and feet were nailed to a wooden cross. He suffered there hanging by those nails in His hands and feet for hours and hours as people continued to yell at Him and mock Him before He finally said, "It is finished!", and died. While on a cross, people were basically drowning as their lungs filled with blood and water within their body. They could usually stay alive for awhile by pushing up with their feet. To make sure people were dead when crucified, the Roman soldiers would break the person's legs. For Jesus, they stabbed Him in the side with a spear instead. Water and blood poured from Him. He was definitely dead. His disciples scattered, fled, and hid. Jesus was put in a tomb with a giant boulder in front of it to seal it, and it was guarded by two Roman soldiers so that no one could steal the body. The Roman army was the best in the world at the time, and the soldiers were well trained and disciplined. Guards were trained to have a 6-foot perimeter around them. If anything entered that circle that wasn't supposed to, they did anything and everything in their power to get it out. They knew 11 fishermen and a tax collector (Jesus' 12 disciples) were not going to be able to get past two Roman soldiers and a giant boulder to steal the body, and they were right. Satan seemed to have won.
Then two women, Mary Magdalene (who was absolutely NOT Jesus' wife, nor did she ever have sex with Him, contrary to what you may have heard) and Martha, who were friends and followers of Jesus, went to the tomb three days after the crucifixion to do the traditional act of cleaning and putting expensive perfumes on the body of a dead loved one. When they got there, the guards were gone (they had fled in fear), and the boulder had been moved out of the way. There was no body in the tomb! Then an angel appeared to them, and told them what had happened. Some angels had come, scared the soldiers away, and moved the boulder. Jesus had come back to life, and He had gotten up and walked out, just as He had predicted to His followers. He then appeared to many people, including His 12 disciples, His mother, the two women, and many other people over a span of a few weeks. He then gathered His 12 disciples, gave them some final words and ascended into Heaven.
Now, here's the amazing part, as if predicting and then succeeding in living an absolutely perfect, sinless life, dying, and coming back from the dead 3 days later isn't amazing enough. Remember when I said earlier that "a sacrifice still needed to be made, but in a different way"? Well, Jesus was that sacrifice. He was the sheep! He was perfect, and all the sins of everyone who ever lived, lives today, or ever will live, were placed upon Him, and forgiven! Remember the part about no broken bones for a sacrificed animal? Even that was true of Him. Instead of breaking His legs, the Romans pierced Him with a spear. He payed for eveyone's sins. He payed for
your sins. All you have to do is confess that you are a sinner, accept His sacrifice as your own, and you will receive His forgiveness! Then you will be allowed into Heaven when you die. That's all it takes! He doesn't care what you've done. He loves You, He suffered and died a brutal death to pay the ransom for your soul so that you wouldn't have to pay for your sins in Hell, and all He wants from you is to accept His forgiveness and join Him in Heaven! Buy a Bible and read it. Go to church. But most importantly, talk to someone as soon as possible who is a Christian, tell them you want to accept Christ's forgiveness, and ask them to pray with you.
I hope I have clarified things for you. Ask me if you have any more questions. God bless you!
