What We Believe
Reason for Hope teaches and defends biblical, historic Christianity: the faith "once for all entrusted to God's holy people" (Jude 3), taught by Jesus and his apostles in the Bible and summarized by the church in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. It does not represent or promote Mormonism (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam, Buddhism, or any other religion or movement. We respect people of every faith, and we hope they will hear the good news of Jesus. Because the differences matter, we want to be clear about what we believe.
The Gospel
God created us to know and love him, but all of us have sinned and are separated from him. God the Son, Jesus Christ, became a man, lived a sinless life, died on the cross in our place for our sins, and rose bodily from the dead on the third day. Everyone who turns from sin and trusts in Jesus alone is forgiven, made right with God, and given eternal life. Salvation is a free gift of God's grace received through faith, not earned by our good works.
Why Jesus is the dividing line
Christianity is not defined by using the name of Jesus, admiring his teaching, or calling oneself Christian. It is defined by who Jesus is. Jesus himself made his identity the central question: "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15). He warned, "If you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins" (John 8:24).
Some groups speak highly of Jesus or call themselves Christian, yet teach that he is a created being, an archangel, a separate god, only a prophet, or an enlightened teacher. However sincere they are, that is not the Jesus of the Bible, and so it is not biblical Christianity. The apostles warned about exactly this: "a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached" and "a different gospel" (2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6-9). "No one who denies the Son has the Father" (1 John 2:23).
The true gospel stands or falls with the true Jesus: the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man, who died for our sins and rose bodily from the dead, and who saves by grace through faith in him alone.
Statement of faith
The Bible
The Old and New Testaments are the inspired, trustworthy Word of God and the final authority for what we believe and how we live. No later book, prophet, or organization adds to or overrides it.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 · 2 Peter 1:20-21 · Proverbs 30:5-6 · Jude 3
One God in three persons
There is one true God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: three distinct persons who share one divine nature, equal in power and glory.
Deuteronomy 6:4 · Isaiah 45:5 · Matthew 28:19 · 2 Corinthians 13:14
Jesus Christ
Jesus is the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, lived without sin, died on the cross as a substitute for sinners, rose bodily from the dead, ascended to heaven, and will return in glory. He is not a created being, an angel, or one god among many.
John 1:1-3, 14 · Colossians 2:9 · Luke 1:35 · Hebrews 4:15 · 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 · Acts 1:9-11
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God, a person, not an impersonal force. He convicts the world of sin, gives new birth, lives in every believer, and empowers the church.
Acts 5:3-4 · John 14:16-17, 26 · John 16:8 · Titus 3:5
Humanity and sin
God made every person in his image, with dignity and worth. All have sinned and cannot save themselves; sin separates us from God.
Genesis 1:27 · Romans 3:23 · Isaiah 59:2
Salvation
Salvation is by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Good works are the fruit of salvation, not the way to earn it. There is no other way to the Father.
Ephesians 2:8-10 · Galatians 2:16 · Titus 3:4-7 · John 14:6 · Acts 4:12
God's heart for every person
God is sovereign: supreme over all, with no one above him. He is good, and he is not the author of evil. He loves every person, is not willing that any should perish, and takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Christ died for the sins of the whole world, and everyone who turns to him in faith will be saved. God gives every person a real choice, and our choices matter.
1 Timothy 2:4 · 2 Peter 3:9 · Ezekiel 33:11 · 1 John 2:2 · John 3:16 · Deuteronomy 30:19 · James 1:13-17
The future
Jesus will return personally to raise the dead and judge the world. Those who belong to him will live with God forever in a renewed creation; those who reject him will be separated from him forever.
John 5:28-29 · Acts 17:31 · Revelation 21:1-4 · Matthew 25:31-46
The church
The church is all who trust in Christ, called to worship God, grow in his Word, love one another, and make disciples of all nations.
How biblical Christianity differs
Many religions speak of Jesus, and some groups call themselves Christian, but they mean very different things by his name. Because they deny who the Bible says Jesus is, none of the groups below represents biblical Christianity. Here is a brief, fair summary of where they differ, based on their own teachings.
The test is the question Jesus asked his own disciples: "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15). The Bible's answer is that he is God the Son, and that he alone saves us by grace. Here is how each one measures up, in simple terms.
| Who is Jesus? | Final authority | How is a person saved? | Does it pass the Jesus test? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biblical Christianity | The eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man, the second person of the Trinity. | The Bible. | By grace through faith in Christ alone, who died for our sins and rose again. | ✓ Passes. This is the Jesus the apostles preached: God the Son, who became a man, died for our sins, and rose again. Salvation is his free gift, received by trusting him (John 1:1, 14; Ephesians 2:8-9). |
| Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) | The firstborn spirit child of Heavenly Father and a separate divine being from him. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are taught to be three separate beings, and the Father is taught to have a body of flesh and bone (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). | The Bible "as far as it is translated correctly" (Articles of Faith 8), plus the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and the teaching of living prophets. | Through Christ's atonement together with faith, repentance, baptism, and obedience to covenants and ordinances; exaltation requires temple ordinances (compare "after all we can do," 2 Nephi 25:23). | ✗ Falls short. In simple terms: a different God, a different Jesus, and a different way to be saved. The Bible says there is only one God and no other ever was or will be (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6-8). It also says salvation is a free gift, not something we complete with ordinances and our own works (Ephesians 2:8-9). |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | God's first creation, identified with Michael the archangel; a god, but not Almighty God. The Holy Spirit is taught to be God's active force, not a person. | The Bible (New World Translation), as interpreted by the Governing Body of the Watch Tower organization. | Through faith in Christ's ransom together with faithful obedience and association with Jehovah's organization; most hope for everlasting life on a paradise earth rather than heaven. | ✗ Falls short. In simple terms: they say Jesus was created and is not God. The Bible says Jesus created all things, so he can't be part of creation (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17), and that God's angels worship him (Hebrews 1:6-8). Salvation also depends on loyalty to an organization instead of resting in Christ alone. |
| Islam | A great prophet and the Messiah, born of a virgin, but not God and not the Son of God (Qur'an 5:116; 112:1-4). Most Muslims believe he was not crucified (Qur'an 4:157). | The Qur'an, with the Hadith (traditions of Muhammad). | Through faith in God (Allah), submission to his will, and good deeds, trusting in his mercy on the Day of Judgment. No atoning sacrifice is believed necessary. | ✗ Falls short. In simple terms: it denies that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died on the cross, and that he rose again. Those are the heart of the gospel. Without the cross and the resurrection, there is no forgiveness of sins (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 17; 1 John 2:22-23). |
| Buddhism | Not central to the faith; some regard him as a wise or enlightened teacher. Classical Buddhism does not teach a personal Creator God. | The teachings of the Buddha (such as the Pali Canon and the Mahayana sutras), varying by tradition. | Release from suffering and the cycle of rebirth (nirvana) through one's own effort on the Noble Eightfold Path; some traditions emphasize help from enlightened beings. | ✗ Falls short. In simple terms: there is no personal God to know and no Savior to forgive us; it depends on our own effort. The Bible says we can't save ourselves, and that Jesus is the only way to the Father (Titus 3:5; John 14:6). |
These are brief summaries; individual believers and traditions vary. The point is not to mock anyone, but to be clear: the Jesus of the Bible is God the Son, and the gospel of the Bible is salvation by grace through faith in him alone. We gladly welcome people of every background to examine who Jesus really is.