Christian Essentials
What are Christian essentials? Simply put, they are non-negotiable beliefs and doctrines that must be agreed on in order to be considered a true Christian.
Within Christianity, there are uncompromising, non-negotiable beliefs that must be held. These are also referred to as primary doctrines.
A step beneath the primary doctrines are secondary doctrines. These beliefs can be held deeply and zealously, but they are not deal-breaking beliefs that should hinder Christian fellowship. For example, the subject of Calvinism (predestination) vs Arminianism (free will) is often a hotly contested doctrinal debate. However, it is a secondary doctrine that true Christians can disagree on and maintain Christian fellowship. There are great proponents of each position that are true and godly people.
A step beneath the secondary doctrines are tertiary doctrines. Many times these are simply preferences and opinions. Topics such as using musical instruments in worship vs vocal singing only, the age of the earth whether young or old, worship styles such as hymns vs contemporary praise songs, alcohol use, and the likes fall squarely within the tertiary doctrines. These are completely inconsequential to Christian fellowship.
Today we discuss the essential doctrine of Salvation through Jesus alone, by Grace alone, through Faith alone.
Christianity versus World Religions & Philosophies
In the world, you have belief systems that range from believing in 0 gods (like atheism) to 33,000,000 gods (like Hinduism) to an infinity of gods (such as Latter Day Saints, aka LDS or Mormons).
Atheists & Agnostics
Atheism is pretty cut and dry. They definitively say that there is no god, and once a person dies they cease to exist. Closely related are agnostics who say they can't know whether there is a god or not. Their position falls to the negative by default to 0 gods even though they allow that one (or more) might exist.
Ultimately, the atheist philosophy has no meaning. According to atheism, once a person dies, they simply cease to exist and their body reverts back into dirt and particles. Nothing they have done will ultimately have value. I've heard some atheists claim that their good deeds done in life to further the flourishing of humanity is their legacy.
From the point of their worldview, why would human flourishing be of any importance? If humanity simply rose to its current global domination through processes of chance, time, natural selection, and luck, why should it have any special significance? The naturalistic worldview of humanity can't be seen as special and its collective achievements must be viewed as limited. If through evolution, humanity rose to domination, then through evolution another species can rise to domination by the same processes. A catastrophic event such as massive asteroid or comet striking the earth like what is believed to have caused a global ice age during the late Cretaceous Age nearly wiping out all life on earth is not an unreasonable scientific possibility. A mutated strand of any number of diseases, or a new disease, could significantly reduce human population to a point that survival could be extinguished by a variety of means. Or humanity could simply eliminate itself completely through its own actions.
Any one of those scenarios or of innumerable alternatives would mean that all of the good deeds done throughout the entirety of humanity amounted to squat. Further, in addition to any extraordinary deeds done through humanity, the naturalist worldview does not allow for legitimate value of the finite individual.
Hindus & more
Does Hinduism really believe in 33 million gods? Well, technically yes. There is a primary god (or ultimate reality) known as Brahman, 3 lower gods (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva), and then many lesser gods. Everything in creation is believed to be part of Brahman including the manifestations of the various other deities. A person exists in a cycle of birth-life-death-rebirth called samsara more commonly known as reincarnation. When a person reaches a point of detachment from worldly desires, their soul is released from samsara and it rejoins with Brahman for the ultimate "loss of self".
According to Hinduism, the universe was created by the manifestation known as Brahma. The manifestation known as Vishnu maintains the creation. Ultimately, the manifestation known as Shiva will destroy the universe, only for it all to be recreated again continuing the concept of birth-life-death-rebirth of Hinduism. This belief requires an eternal past and eternal future which falls into the fallacy of infinite regression.
Latter-Day Saints
'Wait', you might say; 'LDS believe in God and Jesus. What's this about them believing in an infinity of gods?'
Well, they claim to worship God just as Christian denominations. However, they view God entirely differently. He is redefined in their theology, as are other Christian terminologies.
To the LDS, God was once a man who lived on some other planet elsewhere in the universe or multi-verse. He lived a righteous life and was rewarded with divinity in his glorified physical body, given a planet (Earth) over which to reign, and provided a wife by whom to have spirit babies. He created Adam and Eve as the first humans which were the first to be inhabited by two spirit babies.
The god that our "god" had worshipped on his planet had also once been a man. He lived a righteous life and was rewarded with divinity in his glorified physical body, given a planet over which to reign, and provided a wife by whom to have spirit babies which would inhabit the people that would populate that planet.
The god that god had worshipped on his planet had also once been a man. He lived a righteous life and was rewarded with divinity in his glorified physical body, given a planet over which to reign, and provided a wife by whom to have spirit babies which would inhabit the people that would populate that planet.
And this goes on backward into infinity past: an infinity of gods - which by definition is polytheism. Furthermore, they teach that we can live with such righteousness that we too can become a god over our own planet that we can populate with our divine spouse babies inhabiting physical bodies, and reward the righteous with their own godhood.
The quote attributed to the LDS 5th president, Lorenzo Snow, regarding this belief is: "As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may be."
Cults
There are a number of organizations that claim to be Christian, but when investigated prove to not be. That is the basis of this Christian Essentials series.
Such is with the LDS mentioned above. They have a very unbiblical view of who God is, who Jesus is, what Salvation is, and a number of other doctrinally unsound beliefs. Jehovah's Witnesses are another. Both believe that Jesus is a created being. LDS believe He was just a man while the Jehovah's Witness believe He began as the archangel Michael and therefore is a "brother" of Lucifer. Both also rely equally or more heavily on extrabiblical publications. The LDS hold sacred 'Pearl of Great Price', 'Book of Mormon', and 'Doctrines and Covenants'. Jehovah's Witnesses hold sacred all 'Watchtower' publications and their specific New World Translation bible.
Christianity
True Christianity is diametrically different from every other worldview and philosophy.
All other belief systems teach that you can only make your way to God by being good and doing good deeds. In other words, the quantity of our good deeds must outnumber our bad deeds, or the quality of our good deeds must outweigh our bad deeds. From a human's perspective, that is a horrible existence. How would a person ever know if their good was greater than their bad?
Generally it is agreed (consciously or subconsciously) to be admitted into heaven, a person must have reached perfection. No amount of sin, or wrongdoing, or imperfection can be admitted to a perfect place otherwise it is no longer a perfect place. It would be forever tainted by even the most miniscule amount of imperfection.
The problem is, nobody is perfect. That's even a common idiom used as an excuse for failure, along with "I'm only human."
Whether that imperfection is identified as sin as with Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, or self-centered worldly desires and a wrong concept of creation as with Hinduism, it is what prevents entry into the ultimate destination - a place or state of perfection: ie, heaven.
True Christianity isn't a meritorious, works-based, system left in each individual's determination and ability to earn their way into heaven. No quantity or quality of good deeds can erase any amount of sin and imperfection.
In fact, True Christianity takes Jesus at His word when He says time and again that He was sent by God the Father, that whoever received Him receives the Father, and whoever rejects Him rejects the Father (39 times in the Gospels), and the unequivocally proclaims that He is the only way to God.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."- John 14:6
Good deeds of cults or even Christianity doesn't do it. Heavy Scales of Islam doesn't do it. Positive karmic balance of Hinduism doesn't do it.
Paul outlines in simple terms it just as he received it:
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.- 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.- Romans 10:9-10
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.- Ephesians 2:8-9
Out of the Reformation came the concept of the Five Solas. One of which is Sola Scriptura - by scripture alone - looking to the holy scriptures alone as the singular authority of the Word of God. The remaining four echo Paul's very own words in the above scripture passage from his letter to the church at Ephesus:
Solo Christo - through Christ alone
Sola gratia - by grace aloneSola fide - by faith aloneSoli Deo gloria - to the glory of God alone
God's grace because of our faith in Jesus Christ alone is the only method that saves us.
Objection: Christianity is too exclusive!
Many critics, atheists, agnostics, or adherents to other religions raise the objection that Christianity is too exclusive because of the belief that salvation is only through Jesus. Because they believe they can earn their own way to God, they believe "there are many ways to God."
It is true that there are many ways in which a person may come to Jesus. Some may be born into a Christian home and be raised in such a way that they come to a saving faith. Others may come through extreme hardships. Others may come through years of seeking for the truth.
But Jesus Himself is "the [only] way" to the Father by His own claim. But is that exclusive? Not in the sense they take it. It is an exclusive pathway, but the pathway is open to everyone.
Christianity places an inherent value on every single human being because every human being is created in the image of God.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.- Genesis 1:27
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."- John 3:16
But to all who did receive Him, who believed in his name, He gave the right to become children of God- John 1:12
Anyone who comes to Jesus, by faith in who He is and what He has done and comes in repentance, is accepted by Him regardless of age, gender, skin tone, ethnicity, nationality, health, physical condition, mental condition, intelligence, wisdom, abilities, social status, economic status, history, or even sins whether it is as a liar (like Abraham) or as a murderer (like Moses and King David).
True Christianity alone also acknowledges that Jesus is Himself God. In earlier articles of this Hard Questions series, we looked at how Jesus is part of the triune Godhead, and how Jesus is God. If you missed those three articles, they are accessible here (The Triune Nature of God, The Pre-Existence of Jesus, Jesus is God).
Conclusion
As you can see, there are similarities between all of the other world religions: live your best life, do more good things than bad things, perform specific rites and rituals, and you might achieve heaven, moksha, nirvana, paradise, etc.
When considering some of their differences, some of the religions allow for do-overs in cyclical lifetimes after lifetimes. Many of the religions are so inclusive that they allow for believing that each religion's holy person are either all holy men with similar messages or are different incarnations of the same god.
True Christianity stands apart from all other beliefs and religions on virtually every critical viewpoint.
True Christianity holds the understanding that we are are not perfect, we fail, we commit sins, and we can't erase our bad deeds with good deeds, therefore we need a savior to achieve perfection for us.
True Christianity holds the understanding that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Jesus is God that became flesh and lived a perfectly sinless life, died by crucifixion, and physically rose again to life victorious over sin and death in order that His infinitude of righteousness would cover the sins of anyone who accepted Him as Lord.
True Christianity holds the understanding that we don't get repetitive lifetimes to workout our own salvation, but we have this one life to live. Afterward we are judged and appropriately rewarded for our good deeds and bad deeds, but our ultimate destination of heaven of eternal separation to hell is based on God's grace and whether we accepted Jesus as Lord or not.
True Christianity holds to specific, immutable, irreplaceable, indispensable, essential doctrines while also holding strongly to secondary doctrines, and holding less stringently to tertiary doctrines and opinions.
True Christianity alone provides a heavenly future through Jesus alone, by God's grace alone, through our faith in Him alone.
If you would like to know how to be saved or be assured of your salvation, check out my article on Hard Questions: Am I Saved? How Can I Be Saved?
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