This explanation will show that there is more to Christianity than a few churches and a load of people following some bloke called Jesus or God or something like that! I know because I've been in business for 25 years and a Christian for five of them!

Talking or writing about Christianity and getting business people to understand it is quite a task, especially when the super-educated want to theologise the meaning out of it and your average business person thinks that Christianity is out-dated and completely irrelevant.

Faith for the Select Few?

The availability of numerous versions of the Bible and the copious books written about the Bible have created an "us and them" divide, which is a real shame because it was never meant to be that way. We were all supposed to understand what Christianity was about, not just a select few.  We've done a greate searies about different Bible versions, take a look at the most popular article on this website: Missing Verses & Changed Words in the Bible Compared to the KJB.

It boils down to one thing; our desire to read and understand the Bible. However if our parents didn't do it, why should we or would we. On the other hand, if this faith is supposed to be active, why do most people seem dead from the neck up and totally bored either in church or attempting to talk about it.

Learning about this faith vicariously, i.e. only learning through what someone else says, doesn't work.  This is far too important for that, but that is what many do on Sunday.

Community Administrators or Dead Raisers?

The reality is that church appears to be an administrative and charitable organisation that wants to be seen to be doing the right thing. It administers the activities of the Bible; regular services, baptisms, weddings and funerals as well as the community based activities that demonstrate "charity" it its various forms.

But does it believe in healing, raising the dead, overcoming adversity? (Personal, financial or relational), well, not from what I've seen. I emphasise "seen". What I've heard is a great deal of rhetoric. It sounds good, but are the administrators delivering from the heart? Do they actually believe in the promises of God for themselves and more importantly for their congregations?

Business people may, understandably, perceive that once an administrator attains a leadership position, they have "made it" and therefore do not have to be expectant for their congregations as it is all down to the individual relationship the believer has with God and therefore the church leader is in no way responsible for their faith - basically, you're on your own. They don't have to teach, they don't have to learn, they can say anything they want as long as it conforms to what every other church in the UK is saying and that way no one can or will question what they're doing or saying.

Happy-Clappy or Not!

First impressions for non-Christian business people are that church is for religious people performing some kind of duty or for the happy-clappy lot who want to wave their hands in the air and sing songs about getting intimate with Jesus, including the men!

Why has it come to this? When early Christians talked about their faith, they were killed, starting with Jesus, so why has Christianity become such a flat and non-descript subject? See "Christianity - A Vote Winner!" How has it gone from feeding Christians to the lions to singing effeminate songs about falling in love with Jesus and for the church building to become the epicentre for tea, cakes and jumble sales for the community?

I don't want to know this!

This article may surprise some people or will be dismissed by others, but the real question would be why? Why would anyone want to dismiss a message that is based on one scripture after another, from a group of sixty six books that up until now was regarded as "The Truth" that would ultimately change your life forever?

I believe that the reason is the same now as it has been from the beginning. People would like to have you think that this is the ultimate conspiracy theory, but it isn't. What I will point out is the same logic and the same book that has been used for millennia to establish our rules, our laws and our moral code. In short, if this summary of the Bible doesn't get you motivated as a businessman to rethink what's happened to your life and business, then nothing will!

Summary of the Bible

In the beginning God decided that he wanted to create man in his own image so that he could live with man (i.e. commune, communicate and discuss things with him). Man was to be different from the angels who worshipped God in heaven.

To achieve this, God created the earth, land, sea, animals, vegetation and then he created man, Adam & Eve.

Everything started off as God expected, however an ark angel called Satan became jealous of God's love for man and rebelled against God believing that he was equal or superior to him. So God expelled Satan from heaven along with one third of the angels who agreed with Satan.

Meanwhile, God had given specific instructions to Adam and Eve that they were not to eat of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If they did, they would die.

The Fall of Man

However, Satan convinced Eve to eat the fruit. As a result both Adam and Eve were separated from God because evil and sin cannot exist in the same presence as God because he is holy. This was the point that sin had entered into Adam and Eve and the rest of the fabric of the world. And indeed, they did die.

This event was called The Fall. It is for this reason alone that bad things happen on earth. Satan corrupted the earth and everything in it from weather systems to birth defects. Everything that goes wrong on the earth is a direct result of The Fall brought about by Satan.

If The Fall never happened, then we would be living in direct communion with God and you wouldn't be reading this.

Power & Authority Lost

A second monumental transition also happened as a result of The Fall. In the beginning Adam and Eve were given total dominion and authority over everything in and on the earth. At the moment they ate of the fruit, Adam handed over dominion, power and authority on the earth to Satan – bad move huh!

From then on we have been involved in an eternal spiritual battle with Satan and the fallen Angels (demons). God wants us for eternity and Satan wants us dead. Pretty simple logic.

There are a great many stories from Genesis to Malachi about God and his attempts to get man to behave himself in spite of the influence from Satan; however, there are two major themes in the old Testament as follows:

1. God trying to get us to behave ourselves and trust him
2. Prophets speaking into being the birth of Jesus

In total there were 320 prophecies about Jesus and his life, prior to his birth. The mathematical odds of this happening are incalculable.

Jesus Arrives to Take Possession

Once Jesus had become 30 years old he started his three year ministry which involved healing the sick in all its forms and casting out demons (i.e. both the physical and mental afflictions that plague us); the two main by products of The Fall.

During the three year ministry period, Jesus taught his disciples so that they would continue with spreading the Good News (Reconciliation with God and victory over Satan) once he had gone. His teachings constantly referred back to the Old Testament which had not been added to for approximately 400 years, the last book being Malachi.

As it was in the time of Jesus, the scriptures were accepted as the truth. In addition, there are eternal laws that everyone must adhere to, including Satan. So, when Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the desert, Jesus' response was, "it is written". So even Satan has to obey the laws as stated in scripture! This point is extremely significant. See Ephesians versus the High Court article.

Why crucify Jesus

On the one hand, it seemed like Jesus simply upset the religious people of the day (the Pharisees) and some of the other Jews and so they killed him. They were so immersed in their own world that they couldn't and wouldn't see the bigger picture, influenced by Satan of course. However, there is an altogether more important and deeper objective to the death of Jesus.

Because Adam handed the power and authority of the earth to Satan, Jesus came back to the earth, as God incarnate, to take back the authority and give it back to man. That's it, there's no other reason apart from reclaiming what once belonged to God, including us. Do not be mistaken, Jesus knew that he must endure a spiritual execution. No one could have executed Jesus if he didn't want it to happen, he offered himself voluntarily knowing the consequences for eternity.

Paying for our sins

Prior to Jesus, if a Jew sinned, they would have to atone for their sins by way of a blood sacrifice in the form of an animal, big sin, big animal! Because of our sins, the things we have done wrong, Jesus became the final blood sacrifice for all time and eternity, which is why we don't pay for our sins by way of blood sacrifices any more. We don't have to pay the price, because Jesus paid the price on our behalf by his substitutionary sacrifice.

Another description is that Jesus suffered a voluntary spiritual execution by being nailed to the cross, knowing what the outcome was going to be. So, for every bad thing that happened or was going to happen, Jesus suffered and took the punishment on our behalf.

What else was part of the fall?

It wasn't just the atonement for our sins that Jesus took care of on the cross; he also eradicated the curses and afflictions that plague man. These include; illness, poverty and lack,

But there is a caveat with all this. Satan was not killed, not yet! That comes later! This means that we still have a part to play in all this, and here comes the serious bit. We have been playing out a supernatural battle, the likes of which is unimaginable to the senses of a human.

But we have been given back the power and authority to simply tell Satan, "you lost and you know it, you have no control or jurisdiction over me whatsoever so leave (this circumstance) in the name of Jesus!"

Pure in Spirit

I mentioned earlier that sin cannot exist in the presence is God (who is a spirit being). Therefore, in order to reconnect with God we have to become pure in spirit. This is achieved by confessing our sins by saying Jesus is Lord of our lives. A supernatural change happens and we automatically allow God's kingdom and power to enter us – I know it seems strange, but it's true, trust me, its supernatural.

In addition, part of the spiritual expression is that we also get baptised in water is an outward sign to family, friends and the spiritual realm that we have died with Christ and have been born again.

It is Written...

Just before Jesus was betrayed, arrested and crucified, he was with his disciples and prayed to God that these men be protected from Satan whilst they were on the earth. {tip John 17:14-15::I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one..} John 17:14-15{/tip}

The apostle Paul wrote an explanation in the book of Ephesians {tip Ephesians 3:10-11::God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.} to{/tip} illustrate that the whole point of Jesus was for God to show Satan who's boss.

But I come back to the fact that Satan has still not been killed. Therefore, his objective is to stop you and I from entering God's glory. Satan wants us to believe his lies and believe that we might be sick, poor, guilty, fearful, envious or a host of feelings that allow his demons or fallen angels to influence us.

The simple truth is that Jesus took care of everything. We are now bought and paid for, our sins are forgiven and everything the enemy or Satan says is a lie. He now has absolutely no control or jurisdiction over us whatsoever, he is irrelevant in our lives unless of course we listen to what he whispers to us in our minds which become our thoughts.

The Perpetual Battle of the Mind

Joshua 1:8 says that we are to keep the book of the law on our lips and meditate on it night and day. Paul also wrote in Romans 12:2 that we are to renew our minds. The Bible is full of supporting corresponding scripture that instruct us how to live this life. It is also written in the Bible (Proverbs 18:21) that there is life and death in the power of the tongue and that we can speak things into being done already exist (Romans 4:17).

It amazes me to know what we say has such a significant impact on our lives. But again, think on this. If we can speak things in to being and there is life and death in what we say. All that Satan has to do is infect our thoughts and get us to say what he wants us to say. It can be something as innocuous as "I'm ill" or "I am skint" and indeed we will continue to be until we change what comes out of our mouths.

This would make complete sense if we were supernatural beings living in a natural body, think on that one, because that is how it is!

Heirs to an Amazing Inheritance

What we are expected to do is understand what Jesus did and to learn how to live as a blood bought child of God. We are called sons and daughters, heirs to an amazing inheritance. Therefore, there is nothing we have to do to persuade God to let us have something or do something because we already have the power and authority given to us by Jesus when we made him Lord of our lives to acquire it in his name, as long as whatever we are asking for is also the will of God, but you can't ask to not be arrested after robbing a bank, if you get my drift!

It is written; And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:29)

Why Would Anyone Do This For Us?

Because sin was paid for, it means we're always forgiven and God will not punish us for anything, that includes war crimes, murder to petty theft as long as we repent, i.e. we stop doing what is wrong and are genuinely sorry for what we've done, we will be forgiven.

It may be that our worldly laws state that someone is a criminal, but it is not for us to judge. Not a convicted criminal or even someone in the street. The fact that God forgave us and through Jesus, died for our sins - how can we NOT forgive what someone did or said to us. Take a look at the article called "The Christian FACTSS of Life".

But why? Why would God always forgive us and sacrifice Jesus to pay the price for what we've done or do in the future? Here are two suggestions:

• God didn't expect Satan to rebel against him and subsequently defile man, therefore, he has compassion for us because he knows that what we do is, or was ultimately not our fault. He knows we need all the help we can to get back in to a relationship with him.

or

• God knew everything that was going to happen and that our progress on earth is a deliberate process of refining us through our experiences to become more like Jesus so that we can be without sin and then be able to have a face-to-face relationship with God.

It is quite an amazing subject, if I can call it that, to study how God so loved the world that he gave his only son. As a businessman, I have to work out at least one scenario that makes sense to me. Irrespective of which suggestion is closer to the truth, they are both sufficient for me to put all my hope, love and trust in God no matter what anyone says to me or preaches to me.

Why is it not preached this way in church?

What may surprise you is all this information is detailed in the Bible and is undisputable. So why is it not preached this way in church? Another question, why do business people so feel so alienated in church?

I believe the answer is that Satan and his cohorts know if the people, especially business people, on a large scale start understanding these truths, their existence will become unbearable and will precipitate change in the spiritual realm.

Every church leader in the world will confirm that Satan is the cause for everything bad in the world, yet to the general congregation, battling with Satan is not very palatable as it frightens them because of the ridiculous efforts of Hollywood portraying a man in red tights, horns and a pitch fork!

Equally, church leaders don't want to focus on Satan because its not a very popular subject. Enter the "happy-clappy" description. It then begs the question, "what are Christians believing God for?" (tea and biscuits on Sunday or to attend a the local social club?).

Business people on the other hand represent leaders. Leaders lead and make things happen, they alwaiys have. Satan would never want business people to understand the greatest mystery on earth because they might do something with it, like believe the Bible and receive the promises of God and start living as God intended and then tell everyone about it and then be expectant of the church leaders to do the same!

Where Will it End?

As with any book, there is a beginning, middle and an end. The Old Testament is somewhat longer than the new, but it seems logical as it took so much time for us to become ready to receive Jesus. The New Testament is shorter and it is far more instructive about dealing with the enemy.

The final book of the Bible is called Revelation. In this book it explains how the enemy, Satan and those who refuse to follow Jesus will perish. It is pretty eye opening stuff. Nevertheless it is the opinion of many that we are now in that era called The End Times.

Become a Christian or What?

So here's the thing, in Deuteronomy, a book near the beginning of the Bible, God says I lay before you death and life, choose life! What will you be doing? For me, it's a no-brainer. When you search for people's testimonies based upon biblical stories you will find that they happen all over the world from raising the dead to financial breakthrough and miraculous healings you only need to do a search on Google or YouTube.

There are not three options, i.e. choose God, Satan or your own choice. We're either leaning towards God's plan for our lives or Satan's. There is no third option, there's no such thing as "sitting on the fence". I have heard so many people say that Christianity is not for them. Sadly I know what is influencing them and whilst we have freewill, that freewill comes at a staggeringly high price.

Don't Listen to Them...

Don't be influenced by the naysayers or be put off by the white socks and sandal Christians. It takes an intelligent individual to grasp the severity of this life and how to live it in victory and success for the right reasons. Blind faith is one thing, but understanding God's promises and living them out is such an amazing existence, so don't let anyone put you off or persuade you otherwise.

The Bible is the ultimate self-help guidebook to life prior to death and eternity. We have one shot at this life and the whole of heaven is rooting for you. Every time something or someone crosses your path with a message from God about Christianity, there are the equivalent of football stadiums cheering you on to grasp this and accept Jesus as Lord of Your life. When you do they erupt with cheers for you and praise to God that another person has been saved from the clutches of Satan.

So, before you is death and life, what will you choose?

Well done for reading to the end, make a decision now. Don't ask anyone's permission or advice, go with your heart - Jesus is waiting with open arms.

Prayer of Salvation - Seriously!

Pray this prayer with me. If you've never made Jesus the Lord of your life, now is the time. If you've slipped away from God, it's time for you to come on back where you belong. Just pray, "God in Heaven, I believe with all of my heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead. I receive your Word, and I repent of my sin. I renounce the past. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I receive my forgiveness. I receive the new birth, cleansed and washed in the Word and in the precious blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, in Jesus' name. Amen."

That's it...Now, you could go to a church or you could genuinely follow through and get baptised - which is what I strongly recommend.  Visit the TLR website and find someone who will baptise you - or if you're local to Stone, Staffordshire, UK, contact us and we'll be happy to baptise you .  Anyone can say the above words, but baptism is an outward expression of aligning yourslef with Jesus, knowing the only way to heaven is through Him.  

Bless you.