The Gospel The most important thing about any church is what it believes. We believe firstly that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, the only rule to direct us, teaching us what we are to believe about God and what duties He requires of us. Especially the Bible tells us how we may be saved from our sins. What does it mean to be a Christian according to the Bible? It means believing that there is a God of perfect holiness and that He made man in His own image to know Him and glorify Him. We are dependent upon our Creator for all things. The devil tempted our first parents to sin against God, resulting in the fall. Adam was the head of the whole human race and so we all sinned in him and fell with him. We deserve to be punished in hell for our sins and we cannot deliver ourselves. But God was pleased to send His only begotten Son into the world to save His people from their sins. The gospel is the wonderful good news of what God has done in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are called to repent of all our sins and to believe in Jesus Christ and so have eternal life. When a person is born again and trusts in Christ for salvation all his sins are pardoned and he is reconciled to God for the sake of Christ and His righteousness alone. Believers are adopted into God’s family as His spiritual children and look to Him as their heavenly Father. A converted man has a new heart and a new spirit and his desire is to please the Lord in all things. The Bible is our infallible guide, showing us how to live uprightly in our fallen world. Believers have great promises from the Scriptures to encourage them in their walk here. When they are afraid, God says to them, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee” (Isaiah 41:10). When they are weak, God says to them, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). When they are sorrowful, God says to them, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). In a world which offers nothing lasting for mankind a true Christian is able to look forward with real hope – to a home in heaven where he shall be with his Lord and Saviour forever.