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The Core Beliefs of Christianity

What does a Christian believe? There are many core beliefs of Christianity that lie at the heart of the Christian faith and unite Christians around the world.

What makes a Christian a Christian? What do you have to believe? How do you have to live?

These are good questions. While there are many things that Christians think about, and even some differences between different denominations, there are some core beliefs of Christianity, clear beliefs that lie at the heart of the Christian faith.

Creeds and Statements of Belief

There are many different attempts at conveying the main beliefs of Christianity in a simple, single document. One ancient example is known as the Nicene Creed, a statement of Christian beliefs developed in the Fourth Century (CE). The Nicene Creed is widely accepted by many Christian denominations.
core beliefs of Christianity

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father; God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God; begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son].

With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

AMEN.

The creed offers a good summary of Christian beliefs, but we can also look a little closer to find the main points it conveys, and the implications for us today. Let’s take a tour of some of those core beliefs of Christianity.

God is

The first, and arguably primary statement of the Christian faith is that God exists. God is! Christianity is not a set of rules and precepts to follow based on an ancient tradition – but an ongoing relationship with a living God. God is.

Triune

Christians understand God through the language of the ‘Trinity’ – that is to say that God is known in three ways: God as Father, God as Son, and God as Holy Spirit. God is three persons, in one. He is triune.

Supremely Good

Along with the belief that God lives, Christians also understand something of God’s character and nature. God is Holy. God is love. God is righteous. God is just. God is gracious. God is merciful. God is all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal and always present. God lives in ways outside of human understanding (the ways we think about time and place, for example) but we can live in a relationship with this living God.

"We can have a relationship, together and individually, with a living God."

Knowable

That God exists and lives is one of the main beliefs of Christianity, and it gives rise to many ways in which Christians and the church understand themselves. We can have a relationship, together and individually, with a living God. We can come to know God. We can seek to give expression to some of the characteristics of God – love, grace, mercy, peace for example – in our own lives and in the shared life of our church or faith community.

God Creates

Second of the core beliefs of Christianity is that God created the world and everything in it – “seen and unseen” as the Nicene Creed puts it. The Bible (in Genesis 1 & 2) records God as Creator, telling the story of God creating everything, and breathing life into it. God looks at creation and sees that it is good. God is the Creator. God is an imaginer. Creativity and imagination are in God’s nature, and they are in ours. God creates.

God creates humanity, breathing life into these creatures that Genesis records as being made in God’s own image (Genesis 1:27). God imagines a special relationship with humanity, and gives them the sacred task of caring for all of creation.

Acknowledging God as Creator, and acknowledging as God’s good creation all that exists, leads many Christians to honour and care deeply about the world as a key Christian value. God declared everything in our world as good and charged us collectively with its care and health.

christian beliefs and values

God Loves

Not only does God exist, and not only did God create us, but God loves us. God loves us collectively and individually and that love drives God to want a relationship with us, a whole, healthy, restored relationship. God loves.

His Gift

We are sinful creatures, and our sin takes us away from God. In spite of this, God’s love for us is so great that the bible records in its most well-known passage that God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to live, die and be resurrected in order to restore our relationship with God. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

His Example

God’s love is not only a gift to us, but an example for us. We are called to love God and to love one another. The biblical letter of 1 John, reflecting on the nature of God’s love reminds us that “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Our call to love God is expressed in both worship and action. We are called to worship God in both word and deed, with our whole being (Romans 12:1). And we are to love one another as an expression of God’s love for us, and an example to the world (John 13:34-35). Responding to this call leads Christians to acts of generosity, of mercy, of peace-making, of charity – to acts of love in the world. These actions are expressions of love – one of the core Christian beliefs and values.

God Saves

Christians believe that sin and brokenness entered our world, separating us from the love of God. We continue to see the reality of that every day, both in our own sin and brokenness and in the state of the world in which we share.

But remember what we said earlier?

God loves us! God wants a restored relationship with us! It’s worth hearing again: “God sent his one and only son Jesus that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God saves.

Christians believe that in acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and in proclaiming faith for ourselves, we are freed from our bondage to sin and the consequences of it. Jesus saves us and restores us to a whole relationship with God.

Christians believe that Jesus is both fully God and fully human, that Jesus lived, died, and was bodily resurrected. Any special works we do, or good behaviour we exhibit doesn’t lead to salvation but comes as a result of that restored relationship with God, that freely given gift. Remember too, “we love because He first loved us”!

God Gathers and Sends

Christians understand God as a gathering and sending God. God calls us to live in community, to be God’s church together. God gathers and sends.

We heard earlier how God sent his only Son Jesus Christ. Through Christ, God also sends us to live, love and serve. We are sent to be part of God’s mission.

Discipleship

Remember to give the church a sufficient chance, you could potentially attend the church for a couple of weeks to get an understanding of the culture and see what the feel of the church is. Look out for what tone the church conveys, if it is a tone of serious joy then that is a good indicator going forward.

It is more than likely that the local churches near me in my neighbourhood will not be the perfect church. They may have people who are far from perfect – all churches do, none of us are perfect but, we do serve a perfect Father. With his help, we can find a place where we can grow in community and grow in the knowledge of him, increasingly loving God and others.

If you haven’t found a church yet, don’t give up God has one for you.

main beliefs of Christianity

His Church

One of the main beliefs of Christianity is that the purpose of the church is to be a community of gathered and sent ones, living out our Christian faith. We are to worship, to serve, to proclaim, to love in the ways modelled to us and commanded for us in the life of Christ and in the Bible.

As well as gathering us as Church here in this life, we might also say that God’s long-term plan is to gather us in eternity. This is one of the ultimate hopes of the Christian faith and all that we’ve outlined above – that through faith in Christ, by the gift of God’s grace, we might be eternally present in God’s kingdom!

God Speaks Through the Holy Bible

The Holy Bible holds a special place for Christians. We believe these sacred scriptures are a gift from God, sharing the story of God and God’s love for all humanity. Through them, God reveals His Word, his Son and the Spirit. Through the Bible, God speaks. Many Christians believe the Holy Bible to be infallible and inerrant, the true and living word. God speaks through the Holy Bible.

Christians believe we are called to study God’s word, and in it encounter the living God, and learn from it Christian beliefs and values. Study of the Bible happens in local churches and faith communities, as we gather in services of Worship, in small groups, and in dedicated bible study programs. Some are called to study more deeply in theological and Bible colleges.

Surely There’s More?

While these are our attempts to share the core beliefs of Christianity, there are many other things that Christians believe.

There are beliefs about prayer, worship, leadership, and practices like Holy Communion and Baptism. Different Christian churches and denominations understand these (and other) things in slightly different ways – but all fit within the broad Christian church and share these core beliefs of Christianity we have outlined.

If you’d like to know more about different perspectives among Christian churches, read our article about different denominations for an introduction, or visit your local church.

Scott-Guyatt-writer for Local Christian Life
Scott Guyatt is a writer, speaker, trainer, and facilitator who has served the church in Australia for more than two decades. Scott’s experience includes helping the church explore mission, discipleship and leadership practices in local communities across the country.

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