What I Believe

                So, what are the essentials of Christianity? I mean, really, what are the essentials? Most Christians would just laugh and say that they already know. But, many things contradict within other people’s beliefs. Take these opinions for example:

            THE APOSTLE'S CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

Born of the Virgin Mary,

Suffered under Pontius Pilate,

Was crucified, died, and was buried;

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

He ascended into heaven,

He is seated at the right hand of the Father,

And he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

The holy Catholic Church,

The communion of saints,

The forgiveness of sins,

The resurrection of the body,

And the life everlasting.

Amen.

GREG KOUKL'S ESSENTIAL DOCTRINES

"The six essential doctrines would be:  the Trinity, the deity and humanity of Christ, the bodily resurrection, man's fallenness and guilt, salvation by grace through faith by the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, and belief that Jesus is the Messiah.  And you have a seventh doctrine that strikes me as a functional necessity, that is the ultimate authority of Scripture without which none of the other truths can be affirmed or asserted with confidence."

NORMAN GEISLER'S ESSENTIAL DOCTRINES (ONE and TWO)

"The list of essential Christian doctrines that emerge from the early creeds and councils includes (1)human depravity, (2)Christ’s virgin birth, (3)Christ’s sinlessness, (4)Christ’s deity, (5)Christ’s humanity, (6)God’s unity, (7)God’s triunity, (8)the necessity of God’s grace, (9)the necessity of faith, (10)Christ’s atoning death, (11)Christ’s bodily resurrection, (12)Christ’s bodily ascension, (13)Christ’s present high priestly service, and (14)Christ second coming, final judgment (heaven and hell), and reign. All of these are necessary for salvation to be possible in the broad sense, which includes justification, sanctification, and glorification.

It is not necessary, however, to believe all of these to be saved (justified). The minimum necessary to believe in order to be saved is: (1)human depravity, (3)Christ’s sinlessness, (4)Christ’s deity, (5)Christ’s humanity, (6)God’s unity, (7)God’s triunity, (8)the necessity of God’s grace, (9)the necessity of faith, (10)Christ’s atoning death, and (11)Christ’s bodily resurrection."

(By the way, thank you Mr. Robertson for putting these up on your wall.)

                This can be very confusing. Norman believes that you have to believe at least 11 of 14 core Christian beliefs to be considered a Christian, while Greg believes that there are six essential doctrines to Christianity. And the Apostle’s Creed says even more of what a Christian should believe. They contradict and complement each other in several areas.

                If I was to walk into a new church and hear how the virgin birth never happened, for example, I would be shocked, because that is one of my core beliefs, and what I believe to be an essential part of the Bible. I probably would just leave and go back to my old church that justifies Mary’s virgin birth.

                And that’s just one of my beliefs. This is my list of essentials for Christian beliefs:

-We are all sinners.

-Jesus came to save us from our sins.

-Jesus was crucified on the cross (By the way, did you know that was a swear word in ancient times? Man, how times have changed.)

-Jesus resurrected on the third day after his death.

-We are to spread his gospel across the world and spread his message.

-We are not and will not be gods ourselves.

-Jesus loves us, but will discipline us like a father disciplines his children.

                That is what I believe.

                That’s all for this blog. If you have any questions, post them below. Now, if you don't mind, I'll go watch the last few minutes of A.D. Man, I love that show...