By JOSEPH DAWAI
THERE is a mouthful of statement, because truth by definition is exclusive and whenever you a making a certain affirmation or an assertion you are excluding the opposite. Why should we believe in Christ, is he really unique and what does true Christianity offer while other religious cannot. We decided to share the very heart of the Christian faith – Jesus Christ and rediscover the man from Galilee.
The origin of the name ‘Christianity’ comes from the Greek word: ‘Christos’ which means ‘anointed’ referring to Jesus Christ formed in circa 4 BC-30 AD.To defend the Christian faith, we have to tussle with some of the very important questions like why should we believe in Jesus Christ?PNG Christian Leaders Alliance (PNGCLA) a Christian church organisation comprising of more than twenty member churches saw several young people walking out of the church for various reasons and so I decided to asked the church leaders and find out where did we all gone wrong.Otto Ruma from the Gogodala tribe of Balimo in the Western province said God’s way is very hard for man to cope with.
He said people have to eat something before going to church or at least the church must provide something to eat and drink for the congregation members after the church services then the congregation members will appreciate their Christian faith.“The church pastors are also corrupted and the church is dead, that is why when young men get drunk they start to accuse the pastors and throw stones on the church building,” Ruma said. Reverend Qogi Zonggoreng of Good Shepherd Lutheran in Koki answered that statement by saying: “God is not dead and the church belongs to God so let him care for it.” When Jesus was tempted by Satan Jesus himself said in the Gospel of Mathew 4:4 that man cannot live by bread alone but by the Words of God Almighty. “God is a spirit and people who worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth, while the Christian faith is rooted in the Holy Trinity, God Father, God Son and God the Holy Spirit,” Rev Zonggoreng said.And this something all mankind must be afraid of during our short life on earth because the Bible promises the Second Coming of Jesus the Christ. Many people go to church for many reasons without knowing the true Christian faith.
These people are looking for the reason to believe that what has been mentioned in the Bible is all true.And so, we see newcomers walking in-and-out of the church buildings every day looking for blessings.Seeking a deeper sense of personal, inner security, they were drawn to the church through a new-found religious conviction, social opportunities and strengthen family ties. Bible theologians and experts declared that fear is one of the world’s major infections. One fearful person infects many others with his anxiety. The “infection” tends to remind people of their own worries or just cast an inexplicable “gloom spell” over them. The church leaders understanding of the Christian world-view were loss of energy, inability to concentrate and greater sensitivity to pain are some of the results of fear.I have long since come to the conclusion that the greatest problem afflicting people today is fear — especially fear which consciously or unconsciously results from moral guilt.
This impression has been deepened by still more intimate revelations in counselling interviews. For the individual, there can be no complete solutions to the problem of fear until he has found the answer to guilt. The Bible is not just a history book but a piece of document that provide 99.6% more accurate information compared to other holy books in the world.The Bible comes from the Greek word biblos, ‘books’), given by God to man. The Bible writers were inspired by God in their writings. Thus Christians refer to the Bible as the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).We exalt the beauty of Jesus Christ — no-one ever lived like him, no-one ever spoke like him, or was never compassionate to sinners like he was and no-one welcomed the outcast as he did.He set the law on a higher plain but his mercy was also imposed in keeping with it, he knows how to humble us without humiliating us and how to lift us up without flattering us. He gives us the true access of the worth.PNGCLA national coordinator, Pastor Kasi Tau, said proper teaching must be dispensed to everyone in the world about the unmerited grace that comes only from God the Almighty.“When a person commits a crime, according to the worldly knowledge, that person must die but he is still around because of the passionate love and hope we have in Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour to love our neighbours.“Through grace comes love and the Bible is the history book of God dealing with man which shows His unconditional love to mankind,” Pr Kasi said.But in vain are men’s dreams of progress, in vain all efforts for the uplifting of humanity, if they neglect the one Source of hope and help for the fallen race.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift” (James 1:17) is from God.There is no true excellence of the character apart from Him. And the only way to God is Christ, He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the father, but by me.” John 14: 6. Pr Kasi said there are people who are hungry for spiritual truth and sometimes we do it and sometimes we blow it.“The character of Jesus Christ is the personality of divine union of contrast, so just be wise, be careful and God will honour your commitment,” he said.
