First Off, Christianity is Simple
It really is simple. Simple enough for a child to understand. We have all done bad things (original sin, sins of commission, and sins of omission) and nothing we can do takes away the bad we have done (stain of sin). There are consequences for doing wrong (sin equals death). God cannot be around anything bad (God’s righteousness is absent all evil) so we cannot go to heaven without fixing what is bad (God’s righteousness demands separation from sin). God knew we couldn’t fix sin on our own and pay for the consequences (without God, we are powerless against sin), so, even though we don’t deserve it, He did it for us (grace). Jesus left heaven, was born from a virgin (divine conception) and lived as 100% man and 100% God (hypostatic union) and was without sin (blemish-free sacrificial Lamb of God). He willingly died on a cross to pay in full (complete and total ‘propitiation’ or atonement) our penalty (death and separation from God), went to hell and defeated death (conquered sin and death) and rose from the grave (bodily resurrection under His own power and authority) three days later (death for three days was irrefutable evidence of death in Jewish custom). Anyone who believes in Jesus (places their complete faith in Him and His finished work) and loves Him (has a genuine, personal, and dependent relationship) will go to heaven (eternally present with God, absent of anything but good). Christianity is all about Jesus. Simple, right?
Things You Must Believe About Jesus
What do you mean, “Things you must actually believe”? This is the meat and potatoes of Christian theology. Now, don’t give me the deer-in-the-headlights stare just cause a said the word theology. I’ll break it down into what exactly Christians believe in an outline. Super simple. These are the deal breakers:
- Jesus is God
- Jesus affirms that He is God (John 10:30) and His Apostle, “doubting” Thomas, directly says it after physically putting his fingers in the scars of the resurrected Jesus (John 20:28)
- Jesus is part of the trinity- Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6)
- Only God can live up to the standard demanded for the atonement of sin. If Jesus is not God, He cannot pay for sin.
- Salvation Through Jesus Alone (Acts 4:10-12)
- Jesus left heaven (John 3:13, 6:38, 51, Philippians 2:6-7, Ephesians 4:10)
- Born from a virgin named Mary (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:27, 1:34, 2:1-7, John 1:14, 1 John 4:9)
- Never sinned (Isaiah 53:9, Matthew 27:24, Luke 1:35, John 19:4, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5)
- Jesus Did It All
- His grace saves us, not our words or deeds
- There is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor or gain access to heaven apart from His grace (Ephesians 2:8-9)
- Jesus was Bodily Resurrected (John 2:19-21)
- Jesus is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25)
- Everyone who believes is Jesus takes part in His resurrection (John 11:25-26)
- Without Jesus’ bodily resurrection, sin and death is not conquered. And if that’s the case, we are all going to hell (1 Corinthians 15:14)
- Scripture is God’s Perfect Word (2 Timothy 3:16 and pretty much all of Psalm 119)
- Faith in the Gospel of Jesus Saves
- Paul straight-up said this, “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.” (1 Corinthians 15:2, NIV)
- Gospel is: (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
- Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures
- He was buried
- He was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures
Simple, right? You believe that about Jesus and are authentic about it, you’re a Christian. You don’t, well, you’re not. Again, simple.
Creeds
Creeds are core beliefs in written form, spoken as confirmation of belief. Beginning in the first few centuries, followers of Christ developed a means of communicating these essential beliefs in the form of creeds. In-fact, church tradition credits the Apostles with the first creed, The Old Roman Creed, while they were still in Jerusalem all the way back at Pentecost. The Old Roman Creed developed throughout the centuries to the Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Chalcedonian Creed, Didache, Baptismal Creed of Jerusalem. These developments were a primary means to combat heresy and to teach new Christians their core beliefs as Christians.
There are many, many more creeds that have been developed, and far too many denominational differences to cover. But the essentials are our primary concern because that’s what make or breaks whether you are a Christian or not. Denominations really are not a big concern. Why you may ask? Think of it like ice cream. There are countless different flavors of ice cream, but they all have the same basic components that make it ice cream. Once you change one of them, however, it may turn into frozen yogurt. That’s not ice cream. It’s a fake and gross. You cannot change a basic component of the Christian faith (like the deity of Christ) or it becomes fake, and gross.
One More Thing:
Major on the majors, not the minors. Do not get hung up on so many differences that just don’t really matter all that much. Gather on Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday, or whenever, it doesn’t really matter. Worship standing, sitting, clapping or jumping, it doesn’t really matter. Rapture happens before, in the middle, or after the Great Tribulation, doesn’t really matter. Personally, I love talking about that stuff, but most people don’t, and it can cause division if you’re not careful. At the risk of sounding pretentious, I’ll quote a famous theologian that sums up this final point quite nicely, “In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas,” translated, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” Rupertus Meldenius
Thanks for hanging out, and as always, feel free to message, comment, or reply.
God bless,
Steve