The Essentials of Christianity

Hey folks, here is an article on the essentials of Christianity. Other folks may characterized them differently or "flesh" them out differently, but here is the Christian Research Journal's take on it.

What Are The Essentials?

The Essentials of Christianity

Essential Christianity. We hear a lot of discussion about essentials and non-essentials, but what are the essentials of Christianity?

When we talk about the essentials of Christianity we're referring to the basic elements that make up and characterize our faith, and which, of course, separate it from other beliefs. Let's survey these doctrines.

First, we believe in the authority of Scripture, which is another way of saying that the Bible is God's inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word. It's the ultimate source for knowledge about God, as well as the definitive guide for our daily lives.

Next we affirm the existence of a triune God or one God in three distinct persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This God is self-existent, eternal, unchanging, omnipotent, omnipresent, holy, righteous, and loving. God created the universe from nothing and He rules over His creation sovereignly including both human and angelic beings.

We also hold that man is a physical and spiritual being who is created in God's image. But because of his sin or transgression, man has lost his fellowship with God. The extent of sin is so great that its effects continue to this very day in the form of cruelty, suffering, and death.

By God's grace, Jesus Christ - Who is fully God and fully man - was sent to save us from our bondage to sin. We believe that Christ was born of a virgin, died for our sins, physically rose from the dead, and will one day return to judge the world and deliver His people. Faith in Christ is the only means by which mankind can escape eternal damnation and judgment.

Finally, we recognize the church as God's ordained institution headed by Christ. The church is composed of all believers, and is organized for worship, for fellowship, for the administration of the sacraments, for spiritual growth and support, and for evangelizing the world.Much more can and will be said, but we hope this summary has encouraged you to explore the links on the right and continue studying the essentials. [The links have been moved to the left-D]

Derrick here: I hope this is a springboard for an exploration into what those essentials look like, Biblically speaking, and why they matter. My hope is to paint a picture of what Christianity is about and why it is worth thinking about. Plus, I'll be sure to throw in several posts about the culture and other topics not necesarily related to this.

So, what do you think? Is this a good characterization? Is it too general? Anything missing that you would add?

Derrick