As a human being, you were made to live in relationship with the God who made you, and to find your happiness, wholeness and fulfilment in honouring God for who He is - his ʻgloryʼ. If you have Godʼs glory as your primary focus, you will have great hope. Faith is when you place your complete trust in God; it gives you a certainty that the future of this universe is in His hands, and that everything that happens is part of His plan to bring the world to the magnificent goal He has for it. And faith enables you to willingly and happily submit to his loving authority.If you are trusting fully in God, you will be enabled to live a life that is authentic - the way youʼre designed to live. This authentic living is called love - when you only ever put God and other people before yourself - yet in doing so you will find your true identity and humanity.

Step 1: Made to know the Faithful Creator

Jargon busterThe key book for Christians, the Bible, shows us that there is only one God, who exists in three distinct persons (the Trinity): the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Weʼre not supposed to be able to explain this, but just be glad that God tells us who He is.

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Hope: The glory of God!

Faith: Knowing the certainty of our hope

Love: Faith translated into action

ʻEntrusting myself to the Faithful Creator while doing good.ʼ (1 Peter 4:19)

true human living: hope... faith... love.

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Something has gone wrong. No-one, including you, is able or willing to live

this authentic life. As a human being you have turned your back on God,

and instead of honouring Him, you make it your ambition to live for yourself

- to seek your own glory. This is called ʻsinʼ, and is offensive to God who

deserves to be honoured. So, in keeping with his own character, he is angry

with you, and promises that you will be kept accountable for this act of

rebellion.Because of this certainty of judgement, your life is ultimately driven by the

fear of death, since you know deep down that finally you will face Godʼs

condemnation.

This fear translates into a life characterised not by love, but by selfishness.

You have become number one in your world, but as a result your life has lost

its authenticity; you are dysfunctional, no longer living as God designed.

Step 2: Without hope or God in this world

Jargon busterHell is the word used to describe being under Godʼs anger, for ever. Because He is infinitely worthy of honour, any rejection of Him requires an infinite punishment, otherwise God would be neither consistent nor trustworthy.

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Ambition: My own glory?

Fear: All is uncertain except judgement

Selfishness: Fear translated into action

ʻWith no hope and without God in this worldʼ (Ephesians 2:12)

dysfunctional ʻlivingʼ: ambition... fear... selfishness.

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Because of His great love for you, the Father sent His Son into this world. He became an authentic human being, experiencing real life in this world. His one mission in life was to fulfill the Fatherʼs plan to reconcile people to Himself. His name - Jesus - means ʻGod savesʼ.As a man, his complete trust was expressed in a perfect relationship with his Father, and this faith was expressed in loving obedience, even when that obedience took him to a brutal death, when he was tortured and nailed to a cross by those who opposed him. In his death, Jesus took upon himself the punishment you deserve for your rejection of Godʼs loving authority. Not only that, but he knew the pain, hopelessness and ʻdysfunctionalityʼ of a human being outside of a right relationship with God. He took your place in judgement, so that you may be forgiven and reconciled to the Father.

Step 3: Jesus walks my path

Jargon busterThe incarnation is when God the Son became a human being, but in such a way that he was both fully God and fully human at the same time. The reason people gave for wanting him killed was because he claimed to be ʻequal with Godʼ.

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Hope: Fulfills his

Father’s plan.

Faith: A perfect relationship with his Father.

Love: Obedience, even to death in our place.

ʻJesus... said, “Father, into you hands I commit my spirit.”ʼ (Luke 23:46)

jesus, the true man: hope... faith... love.

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Jesusʼ coming back from the dead shows that he did truly and finally

deal with your sin; it means that he is the Fatherʼs appointed ruler

and judge of the world, and he will send the Holy Spirit to live in all

who trust Him as their rescuer and ruler.

If you have faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit will give you a guarantee

that you have been restored to Godʼs design, by enabling you to

have a real relationship with the Father through Jesus.

When you are reconciled to God through trusting in Jesus, you will

find that you are transformed as your perspective on life is changed

to see things Godʼs way. Youʼll be enabled to begin exploring

authentic living, and find your identity as one who lovingly obeys God

and seeks to love those around you.

Step 4: Set free to live in faith, hope and love.

Jargon busterJustification is when God, on the basis of Jesusʼ sacrifice, declares your sins to be completely forgiven - He says you are ʻnot guiltyʼ. This can never be earned, but is a free gift - called grace. A Christian is one who has been ʻjustified by graceʼ.

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Hope: Jesus rules all

things, to God’s glory.

Faith: The Holy Spirit guarantees our hope.

Love: Jesus sets us free to obey.

ʻThese three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.ʼ 1 Corinthians 13:13

restored humanity: his hope... his faith... his love.

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Believe. Accept in good faith what Jesus has done for you to reconcile you to the Father. Faith is not just acknowledging a set of beliefs, but actually trusting in Jesus as your only hope.

Repent. Admit that youʼre wrong in your rebellion against God, and agree that what He says

about his Son Jesus is true. Recognise that sin is offensive to God, and that only He can rescue

you from the punishment you deserve.

What now?There is only one way to legitimately respond to this message:

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Remember that this is not just about ideas, but is an issue of life and death. You will be held accountable if you choose to reject Godʼs free gift of reconciliation through Jesus.

Donʼt put it off.

Keep exploring. You may have some questions your want answered before youʼre ready to

repent and believe. Talk to the person who gave you this booklet, or go to a gathering of Christians who are serious about hearing God speak to them through the Bible.

But

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...is not something to be kept private, just to yourself. Jesus tells all who trust in Him to be actively sharing

with others the great news of what he has done. This way, more people will hear of him, and be enabled to live

the authentic life.

...was never meant to be something you live on your own. Knowing God as your Father means you are a member of His family - called the ‘church’. Meeting together regularly with others whose faith is in Jesus will help you learn more about God, and what it means to live in relationship with Him.

...is one where you depend on God to communicate with you about what you believe and how you live. The

way we hear God communicate is in the words of the Bible. As you read, hear and study the Bible, you will

find that your trust in God will deepen as you get to know Him better.

...means you have complete freedom to talk to God anywhere and at any time. Talking to God is called prayer. Your Father takes great pleasure in you coming to Him will all your needs, worries and joys; especially when your desire is to hear him speak to you so you can serve Him better.

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We all want to live with authenticity: free from pretence, without shame, content with who we are, and with full integrity. But, these ideals are all too elusive; and if we’re honest, what goes on in our own hearts prevents us from being the people we know we should be.Is it possible for a person to be truly human - in the best sense of the word? Why is this world and our lives marked with failure, inadequacy, selfishness and evil?The answer is found in God’s son, Jesus. He gives us the explanation for why things are the way they are, the great news of what he has done about it, and what that means for anyone who will put their trust in him.This booklet is designed to help you see how Jesus is the only one who can give us the Authentic Life; a life of faith, hope and love.