5 Essentials to Christianity

Let's face it, there are a lot of false ideas about Christianity floating around out there. Many are inside the church and many are outside of it. In 2 Timothy 3:16 we are told that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." As a result, if we look at the teachings of the Bible there is an abundance of things we can learn. What this article seeks to explain is what we are to believe as Christians.

One God (Monotheism)

For starters, scripture is pretty clear that there is only one God in existence. In Isaiah 44:6 God tells us "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god."  God additionally says in Isaiah 43:10 "Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me." Of other gods we are told "You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:5-6)

Jesus is God (Christ's Deity)

On multiple occasions, Jesus and scripture state that he is in fact God who has come into the world in an 'earthsuit'. For example, in John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." Here Jesus is referring the Pharisees back to the Old Testament scripture of Exodus 3:14 when God says to Moses "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I am has sent me to you.'" Jesus' accusers, knowing that this statement was his way of claiming to be the same God that spoke to Moses, picked up stones to stone him (John 8:59).

In John 1:1,14 it says  'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.' Here we read that in the beginning of time, the Word (Jesus) was with God, and the Word (Jesus) was God and at a certain point in history, the Word (Jesus) came and dwelt among us in a human body.

Lastly, we read in John 20:28 'Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"' After Jesus had been raised from the dead people were definitely talking (This doesn't happen everyday you know). When Thomas was told by the other disciples he was hesitant, he didn't believe what he was hearing. In fact in John 20:25 he said that "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." After eight days had past, the risen Jesus paid Thomas a visit where even he confesses that Jesus is God.

While we can easily see from scripture that Jesus is indeed God, there are also other things that go along with this doctrine that make it essential. One of those things is known as the Hypostatic Union, which is just a fancy way of saying that Jesus had both a divine nature and a human nature. We can see from the verses above that Jesus did have a divine nature, but it is also important to establish that he had a human nature, that is, a human body of flesh and bone born of a woman (Luke 2:7), which could grow hungry (Matthew 4:2), thirsty (John 19:28), tired (John 4:6), breathe and die (Luke 23:46).

Now, here comes the important part; 1 Timothy 2:5 tells us that Jesus is the mediator between us and God. Since Christ is both God and man, this means that he alone is able to intervene with God on our behalf. Since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and we have all sinned (Romans 3:23), we have all earned our own death sentence... this is the bad news. But Christ came into the world and lived a life without sin (1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5) so that he could be eligible to offer to take our place in judgement (Romans 5:19; 1 John 2:2), thereby saving us from the judgement we deserve... this is the good news.

To put all this simply, without Jesus we have no mediator. But since we are all sinners who deserve death, we are in dire need of a way to be forgiven of our sins, since we can not do it on our own. This is why the early church also referred to the Gospel as 'the Way' (John 14:6; Acts 24:14).

Jesus Rose from the Dead (Christ's Resurrection)

Paul wrote it short and sweet in 1 Corinthians 15:17 when he said that "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." We can trust that Christ is risen for a number of reasons. For example, if the disciples had simply made up the whole story of Christ's resurrection and his subsequent appearances, all the authorities would have to do is break open the tomb they had placed Jesus in and show them the body that was still lying there. Furthermore, if the disciples had indeed stolen the body as the Chief Priests instructed the guards to say (Matthew 28:11-13), then how are we to explain all the appearances of Christ after his crucifixion? Paul gives us a good account of these appearances in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (Emphasis added)

All but one of the disciples who attested that the above statement was true died horrible and torturous deaths after being given a chance to take back their words. We can trust that their words are the truth because unlike us today who take the story of the resurrection on faith, these men knew for a fact whether or not Christ rose from the grave and no one dies for what they know is a lie. Christ is risen.

Jesus' Life, Death, and Resurrection (The Gospel)

The Gospel - also known as 'The Good News' or 'The Way' - is clearly stated in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 which says "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures". This passage sums up what the whole life of Jesus is all about. It does not get much simpler than this: that Jesus Christ is God in an 'earthsuit' (John 1:1, 14; 20:28; Colossians 2:9) and deliverance from sin and it's consequences is received by faith alone in him (John 1:12; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9) and his resurrection (Matthew 28:6).

In addition, Galatians 1:9 says that "If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed." That pretty much settles the whole matter. The Gospel which is preached in the Bible is the only gospel that is worth anything. If any message is given to you other than this, it is not given by the mouth of God or the angels but from mouth of demons.

We are Saved by Faith in Jesus Alone (Salvation by Grace)

Grace is the undeserved favor of God, which is granted to us by faith alone in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). Scripture tells us repeatedly that we cannot earn our salvation by our own apparent good works (Romans 3:12, 20; Galatians 2:21). In fact, one verse of the Bible actually tells us that if we believe that we are saved by faith and works, then we are really not saved at all (Galatians 5:4)!

Rather, what scripture teaches over and over again is that it is by faith alone in Christ that we are forgiven of our sins and saved from the torments of Hell (Romans 4:3, 5; 6:23; 10:9, 13; Ephesians 2:8-9), and that there is no other way around it but through Christ (John 14:6).

Certainly what is mentioned above is only a basic overview of the essentials, but all the necessary information is there. If these five doctrines are believed, they will also lead to a whole series of other beliefs such as the Trinity, justification, sanctification, and a whole bunch of other big words, but these five components are what we are accepting as true when we say, "Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me and make me right before your eyes. I accept and trust in what you have done for me on the cross. I receive you as Lord of my life and the savior of my soul. Save me Jesus."