Christians' Beliefs About the Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus
Christians believe the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus are
still as important today as they were two thousand years ago. The main
belief is that Jesus suffered and died to save us, to free us from our
sins.
The Jesus seen in Mark’s gospel calls himself the Son of Man and
Jesus’ suffering is a sign of his devotion to us. Jesus predicts his
death a number of times throughout Mark’s gospel and Christians have
two ways of interpreting this. Either they are the words of Jesus, or
Mark constructed them to emphasise the suffering and death of Jesus.
Although Jesus is God, he is also human and his humanity becomes
particularly evident when he goes to pray in Gethsemane, where he asks
his father if he has to go through with his suffering, even though he
knows that it is part of God’s plan. He says, “Take this cup of
suffering away from me”.[1] Here Jesus is scared and anxious, but
possesses true courage, as he still has the strength and determination
to endure pain, and even refuses to take the myrrh drug, which would
have decreased his torment. The huge nature of Jesus’ suffering is
displayed in the passage when the soldiers mock Jesus.[2]
Jesus had a choice whether or not to suffer and die, and chose to, to
save us. He suffered for us to make us good enough for heaven, and
could have stopped at any time, but didn’t. Jesus doesn’t have to pay
the price for his sins as he has none, and Christians believe that in
his willingness to suffer and die on their behalf, Jesus set an
example, which they themselves should be prepared to follow. In the
Gospel Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me…he must deny self
and take up his cross and follow me.”[3]
Jesus’ death was not a sign of his failure, but the climax of his
ministry. Christians believe that Jesus’ death arises from our
separation from God.
It is clearly evident that the five principal beliefs in Christianity, the divinity and humanity of Jesus, the death and resurrection of Jesus, the nature of God and the trinity, the revelation and salvation all deeply impact on and influence the lives of its adherents.
In conclusion, does what we believe matter or is how we act more important? I feel that you cannot separate what we believe from how we act because whatever you truly believe will ultimately determine how you act, if we truly believe that Jesus paid our debt in full, than our good works will not come from compulsion rather from gratitude. Whereas if you think that you are saved by works, your works will result from compulsion.
means that Jesus died for a reason and that was to free us from sin.
Luckily, none of the above is true. Because Jesus died on the cross and was raised to life three days later. Believers are forgiven from their sin and are given a new life. As Christians, our belief is not in vain because the resurrections is an actual event. Christ is not dead and our faith is not useless.
experiences and its beliefs developed over time about sin, salvation, grace, faith and so forth.2
Christianity is a diverse religion with a multitude of beliefs that comprise the core of the religion. There are an abundant number of sects within Christianity however there are a few core principles which are generally true for all of them, for example the belief of the Holy Trinity or better known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is what would be considered a primary belief. A primary belief is an idea that is a generally universal idea that is accepted by all the different sects of Christianity and must influence the secondary beliefs in the religion. For example the Holy Trinity is accepted by Roman Catholics, Protestants, Baptist, and etc. However what separates the different sects in the religion apart from one another are their secondary beliefs. A secondary belief is a belief that is accepted by many of the sects however the belief maybe slightly altered. Also another characteristic that must be true is that in order for it to be considered a secondary belief it must have a correlation to the primary belief. An example of this is the sacraments because the sacraments are believed in throughout Christianity but the number of sacraments in each denomination varies. The sacraments do play a specific role in the religion when dealing with the Trinity particularly concerning with the Eucharist. Because of these two credenda’s it is evident to see what an instrumental role these beliefs have in defining Christianity.
On the other hand, Christians believe that after you die you go into a period of dormancy and until the second coming of Jesus will you be woken up and decide your fate whether you go to heaven or hell according to how you have lived your life. Christianity teaches salvation from sin through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Through Him, the gift of eternal life is also attained. Christianity started as a missionary religion and has now become the world's most widespread faith. It focuses on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The concept of suffering plays an important role in Christianity, regarding such matters as moral conduct, spiritual advancement and ultimate destiny. Indeed an emphasis on suffering pervades the Gospel of Mark where, it can be argued, we are shown how to "journey through suffering" (Ditzel 2001) in the image of the "Suffering Son of Man" (Mark 8:32), Jesus Christ. Although theologians have suggested that Mark was written to strengthen the resolve of the early Christian community (Halpern 2002, Mayerfeld 2005), the underlying moral is not lost on a modern reader grappling with multifarious challenges regarding faith in the face of suffering. In his article "A Christian Response to Suffering", William Marravee (1987) describes suffering as an "experience over which we men and women continue to stumble and fall". The way we view God is crucial to the way we view suffering according to Marravee, who delineates the disparity between a view of God as an ‘outsider’ and the biblical image of God – where God is an ‘insider’ who suffers with us in our struggle. This essay seeks to explain the Christian view of suffering and the purpose suffering can have in our lives.
“I would rather die than do something which I know to be a sin, or to be against God's will.”
Jesus did not even yield to temptation in his actions. Jesus died for us, his death was a substitute for our deaths, and his death was sufficient in doing so.
life was a ransom, his death was a payment for our sins. As man sinned
Because Christ was human he experienced all the trials and temptations that we experience. Christ, however was strong enough to resist all temptation and lived a life without sinning - that is without disobeying God."[Jesus Christ] was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15). Christ was "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.". (Philippians 2:8)
Salvation, in Christianity, is defined as the state of being saved from sin or evil (Merriam-Webster). The word salvation is mentioned in one hundred and fifty-eight different verses in the Bible (The Holy Bible: KJV). It is written in John 3:16 that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” According to that verse, God loves us so much that he gave the life of his only Son so that we could obtain salvation from the sin and evil within the world. The verse also explains that by believing in God and that God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins we can have life everlasting in heaven with him. Numerous times salvation and the Christian faith can seem confusing to those who are not Christians. However, as the verse John 3:16 explains, salvation is in actuality simple. Hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of the one true God, repenting of sin, and confessing that Jesus Christ is God’s son who was sent to die on the cross for the sin of all mankind is how we can obtain salvation and have eternal life in heaven.
...ven a choice few have: to save himself from certain death or to continue on to gain immortal glory.
I believe Jesus died for our sins. Christianity to me is more of a relationship with God rather than just a religious practice. The bible to me is God last words and teachings in a matter of faith and practice.