God, Jesus and the saints
God
Christians believe that there is only one God, whom they call Father as Jesus Christ taught them.
Jesus
Christians recognise Jesus as the Son of God who was sent to save mankind from death and sin.
Jesus Christ taught that he was Son of God. His teachings can be summarised, briefly as the love of God and love of one's neighbour.
Jesus said that he had come to fulfil God's law rather than teach it.
Justification by faith
Christians believe in justification by faith - that through their belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and in his death and resurrection, they can have a right relationship with God whose forgiveness was made once and for all through the death of Jesus Christ.
The Trinity
Christians believe in the Trinity - that is, in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Some confuse this and think that Christians believe in three separate gods, which they don't.
Christians believe that God took human form as Jesus Christ and that God is present today through the work of the Holy Spirit and evident in the actions of believers.
Life after death
Christians believe that there is a life after earthly death.
While the actual nature of this life is not known, Christians believe that many spiritual experiences in this life help to give them some idea of what eternal life will be like.
The Saints
These days, the word saint is most commonly used to refer to a Christian who has lived a particularly good and holy life on earth, and with whom miracles are claimed to have been associated after their death.
The formal title of Saint is conferred by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches through a process called canonisation.
Members of these Churches also believe that Saints created in this way can intercede with God on behalf of people who are alive today. This is not accepted by most Protestants.
In the Bible, however, the word saint is used as a description of anyone who is a committed believer, particularly by St. Paul in the New Testament (e.g. Ephesians 1.1. and 1.15).