Ads4Christ's Blog

What does it mean to be a Christian? What are our basic beliefs, as revealed by God in His inspired, inerrant Word? That is the subject of this blog, for what follows is a capsulized summary of the faith we share in common. We do indeed have differences, but on the essentials, for the most part, all Bible-believing Christians agree. What follows are those essentials that describe what it means to be a Christian.

ESSENTIAL BELIEFS

(1)GRACE ALONE

We are saved (forgiven and promised heaven) by grace, that is, by the unmerited and undeserved love of God for us. No one deserves to be saved and no one can merit being saved. Further, being spiritually dead, (Ephesians 2:1), unbelievers are powerless to cooperate in their salvation (Romans 8:7) (1 Corinthians 2:14). Thus salvation is entirely Gods doing. He alone brings us to faith, and thus no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8,9).

(2)SCRIPTURE ALONE

The Bible is Gods inerrant and infallible Word (2 Timothy 3:16) (2 Peter 1:21) (1 Corinthians 2:13). It is the sole rule and norm for Christian teaching. It should be taken literally unless obvious rhetorical considerations dictate otherwise (metaphors, similes, hyperboles, allegories, etc.)

(3)FAITH ALONE

We are saved, not by works nor by faith and works, but by faith in Christ alone. (Romans 3:28) (Ephesians 2:8,9)

(4)JESUS ALONE

We are saved by Jesus Christ! By His perfect life, fulfilling heavens entrance requirement of perfection on our behalf, and by His sacrificial death on a cross, Jesus earned for us forgiveness of sins and eternal life. All who trust in Jesus alone receive the benefits of what He has done for them. (John 1:12) (John 3:16-18) (John 14:6) (Acts 4:12) (Galatians 3:26) (1 John 2:23) (1 John 4:15) (1 John 5:1).

OTHER BIBLICAL TRUTHS

Jesus Christ is according to His divine nature, God (John 1:1-3) (John 20:28) (Romans 9:5) (Hebrews 1:8) (Titus 2:11-13), and according to His human nature received through the virgin Mary (Luke 1:26,27), the Son of God (Galatians 4:4,5) (John 3:16). He died on a cross to pay for our sins, rose from the grave,(1 Thessalonians 4:14), and is coming again (Matthew 24:30) (Acts 1:11).



The only true God is the Triune God. He is by nature, three persons (Matthew 28:19), and yet one God (Deuteronomy 4:35,39) (Deuteronomy 6:40) (John 10:30).



The appropriate gratitude responses of those who believe is: (a) to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), (b) to love God (Matthew 22:37) by striving to know and obey His will (John 14:15) as revealed in the Scriptures (Matthew 7:24-27) (John 13:17), (c) to love all others (Matthew 5:43-48) (Matthew 22:39) by doing deeds of kindness (1 John 3:18), (d) to serve God (Romans 7:4) (Ephesians 2:10) (2 Corinthians 5:15), (e) unless truly unable, to weekly and publicly assemble for worship (Exodus 20:8-11) (Leviticus 23:3) (Leviticus 26:2), (f) to grow in graciousness (kindness) and knowledge of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:13) (2 Peter 3:18), to become more and more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18), and (g) to share Jesus with others (Matthew 5:14-16) (1 Peter 2:9) (1 Peter 3:18).

KEYS TO A BLESSED LIFE

(1)BELIEVING

Absolutely nothing is more important than BELIEVING in Jesus Christ, for how we respond to Him has eternal consequences (John 3:16-18). Anything else we do is, by comparison, temporary and as such, is of much less significance.--What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?--Jesus said. (Luke 9:25) (Luke 12:16-21). BELIEVING in Christ then is the first and most important key to a joyful life in the here and the hereafter. It is not, however, a guarantee of blessings beyond forgiveness and eternal life. For while salvation comes from BELIEVING, blessings such as peace and joy come, first of all, from--

(2) KNOWING

--Gods will. KNOWING is essential to living a blessed life, for it is the first step to obedience, and obedience to the will of God leads to blessings. But KNOWING must be accompanied with PUTTING INTO PRACTICE what we come to KNOW through our study of Gods Word. Put another way, beyond our salvation, all other BLESSINGS come from also--

(3)DOING

--Gods will. This, Jesus said, is the mark of true wisdom (Matthew 7:24-27). --Now that you KNOW these things,He added, you will be blessed if you DO them--(John 13:17).

(4)REPENTING

Unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, we can not perfectly do the will of God (1 John 1:8). For that reason, it is critically important that we repent (Mark 6:12) when we discover we are out of Gods will. To repent means to have a change of mind and a change of heart and--in the Spirit's power--to make a determined effort to bring our will in line with the will of our God. Doing so prepares one to be cleansed of their sin, which in fact occurs when we, as Christians, take the next step of--

(5)CONFESSING

--that sin. When we do, our heavenly Father forgives and forgets our sin. It is as if, we had never done it (Psalm 103:12) (Jeremiah 31:31) (1 John 1:9).

United we stand, divided we fall! That universal truth was written by Aesop, a 7th century B.C. Greek slave. What struck me as I pondered it, is that it applies not only to governments, it applies to the Christian church as well. Question: is the Christian Church divided today? Now there is a rhetorical question if there ever was one. Of course we are, and we have been crippled by our divisions. We appear so fractured to the world, they do not know who or what to believe, which causes many to believe none of us. Yet, as we get nearer the return of our Lord Jesus, the need for a unified stand will be increasing critical to our survival and effectiveness as Christs witnesses.



And let there be no doubt about it, our heavenly Father wants us to be united. Jesus said: I pray that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you--May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me--(John 17:20-23). Inspired by the Spirit, the apostle Paul echoed that plea when he wrote: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace-(Ephesians 4:3).



Early attempts at Christian unity were dismal failures, and rightly so. Realizing that we could never totally agree doctrinally, the liberal National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches sought a unity apart from the Word of God. As long as one named the name of Jesus, members could believe or deny whatever they chose, even to the point of denying salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone (John 14:6).



This question remains: given our doctrinal differences, can we make a united stand for Christ, as He bids us to do. The answer is a qualified--Yes. Certainly Bible-believing Christians, who neither add (new doctrine) to the Scripture nor subtract from it (Deuteronomy 4:2) (Revelation 22:18,19) by denying its inerrancy (Psalm 119:160) (1 Corinthians 2:13) (2 Timothy 3:16) (2 Peter 1:16) can and must stand united.



The question is--How? The answer may be found in five principles which, when followed, will render Bible-believing Christians as united as we could ever be.



First, we must recognize that unity is possible. Our God never asks anything of us that we cannot do. <br />



Second, the unity we seek must be based, not apart from, but on the inspired, inerrant Word of God. Paul wrote that we are to grow--Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God--(Ephesians 4:13).



Third, we must recognize that perfect doctrinal unity on earth is not possible. Nor did our heavenly Father expect we would ever achieve it. Speaking of our inability to totally comprehend His Word, God said through Paul--Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then (when I am in heaven) I shall know fully, even as I am fully known--(1 Corinthians 13:12). Paul was also moved to write--I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval--(1 Corinthians 11:18).



Fourth, we must give up the idea that the unity God seeks must be 100 percent in line our own denomination's understanding of the Word of God. Christians who sincerely and honestly approach the Bible as Gods final inspired and inerrant Word tend to agree 80 to 90 percent of the time. While it is important that we share our understanding of the Word of God, to make a united stand, we must nonetheless give up the idea that others will ever have a 100 per cent agreement with our own denomination.



Fifth, we must realize that we will not all practice our faith in the same way, and that is fine. It is no reason to divide us. As long as our faith is based on the Word of God, we are free to express it in any manner that is edifying to us (Romans 14).



So--can we be united? Absolutely, but only if we make the effort. Apart from our salvation, all blessings, including unity, come from two things: knowing, then doing what the Word of God says.--Now that you know these things-Jesus said--you will be blessed if you do them--(John 13:17). The question is: will we do them?