I often think, “If I could take one passage from the Bible that would most define the teachings of Jesus, what would it be?” Something that, if we followed, would increase our chances of getting to heaven.

The first thing most people might think of would be what Catholics call the “Apostles Creed” or the more detailed “Nicene Creed”. And that would be right for Catholics. What these creeds are is they are a credo of profession of faith, what we as Catholics believe. The problem with these creeds is they would need to be explained to non-Catholics. Heck, they need to be explained to Catholics. There is one huge section of “The Catechism of the Catholic Church” devoted exclusively to that.

But if you want to explain what someone should do to be a Christian, then you should tell them about “The Lord’s Prayer”, I.e, “The Our Father”.

In a nutshell, here is what we learn:

• We consider God to be our father. He is our protector, teacher, friend, and one who loves us no matter what.
• He is in Heaven, and he wants us to be there with him.
• His name is “hallowed,” holy, because He is the most holy. No one is more holy, and this is why we should only worship him; there are no other gods.
• We will (hopefully) enter His Kingdom at the end of our days.
• We will do this by doing His will just as in heaven.
• We ask for His daily bread or for Him to feed us with love and kindness.
• We ask that our trespasses be forgiven just as He wants us to forgive those who trespass (sin) against us. In other words, “Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you”.
• Keep us from being tempted by the evil one. Guide us through our journey and help us avoid the traps.
• By doing this, you will keep us from evil and allow us to be with you in heaven.

To make it even simpler:

There is only one God; love only Him and no others. He is in heaven, and he is the most holy. The end will come, and we can be with him by doing what he asks. We should forgive others as God forgives us for our wrongs. Don’t let us fall into temptation and sin, so we can be in heaven with you for eternity.

This is about as simple as I can make it. It is the basic stuff you need to know to live with the end in mind.

Now, if you want more detailed information, I can explain the creeds to you.

Our Father who art in heaven, 
Hallowed be thy name. 
Thy kingdom come. 
Thy will be done 
On earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses 
As we forgive those who trespass against us; 
And lead us not into temptation, 
But deliver us from evil.

The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006), Mt 6:9–13.