We believe all people are freely and deeply loved by Jesus Christ. We believe the Bible is God's word and that it can teach us more about his love and how his Spirit can help us to live out his love in every part of our lives.
Here's more detail about what we believe at Blacktown East:
The Bible tells us that God is the maker and owner of the universe. This is His world and he is in charge.
In the beginning everything was perfect, God and humanity enjoyed a perfect relationship but eventually we said to God that we didn’t really need him, as we could run the world independently of him.
That’s when it all went wrong, and that perfect relationship with God was destroyed. But because God loves us, he has provided a way back to himself.
When people are asked what they would say to God as to why he should let them into heaven the reply is inevitably one that says, “its our good life, our kind deeds done to others, our religious activity that will impress God, and that’s why he’d let us into heaven.
But the Bible tells us that God offers eternal life to us as a free gift - I can’t earn it and I don’t deserve it. For example, if you gave a friend an expensive gift and they offered to give you some money toward it, it would cease to be a gift. Eternal life is like that, it’s a gift received from God. The Bible says, “…the free gift of God is eternal life”
But why is it free? Because the Bible tells us that there is a problem called sin. That is, humanity is imperfect, even the best person you can think of is not actually perfect, we have fallen far from God.
Most people know that God is a God of love and doesn’t want to punish us. But equally he is a God of justice and he has to punish our rebellion.
He solved this problem of love and justice by sending His Son Jesus to die on a cross for our wrongdoing and to purchase a place in heaven for us. He offers this place as a free gift and that gift is received by faith.
Our response to what Jesus did on the cross is that we need to admit that we have been running our life independently of him and tell him we want to live under his rulership as the one who is in charge of our lives.
We need to fundamentally change our minds about how we have related to God in the past and choose now to follow Him.
We are able to respond to God in a simple prayer expressing those thoughts, and he promises that when we ask Jesus to come into our lives, he will and remain with us for ever.
A suggested prayer:
“My Lord and my God I have lived my life my way. I have done many wrong things. I change my mind and want you as the one in charge of my life. Please forgive me. Lord Jesus I trust you now to be my Saviour. Thank for dying in my place. I ask you now for the gift of eternal life. I give my life to you by the power of your Holy Spirit. These things I pray in Jesus name. Amen
