by Patrick Szalapski
This article authored by Patrick Szalapski, and originally posted at (now defunct) ShareYourFaith.org. Reposted here with permission.
“The essentials of the Christian faith” is a non-biblical phrase we use to denote the theological teachings that define the core of the Christian faith. As our faith is built on the foundation of Christ himself, these truths are God's blueprints for building our faith. To believe contrary to these doctrinal truths is heresy. One need not necessarily believe all these doctrines to be saved, nor are these the only important truths.
Essential means basic, indispensable, fundamental, or inherent. These teachings are the core of the Christian faith and the summary of so much of the Bible. Without any of them, the Christian faith crumbles to insignificance and false religion. With these truths, our faith has a teachable, knowable foundation on which to build and grow both our knowledge and our practice. Belief in these God-given truths means that we can grow in the faith, learn other important truths, and have the unity that Christ desires.
This series is a study of systematic theology. Theology is nothing but learning and knowing about God. It is impossible to talk about, study, know, or love God without theology, because once you do any of these things, you must believe some kind of truth about God. Theology is also intimately woven with the will of God; to know about God is to know what God wants.
This series is a study of biblical doctrine. Doctrine is simply knowledge about any topic. Thus we see that doctrine is simply the result of theology.
Systematic is nothing but the way such a study is organized—into topics such that each is a premise for the next, or that each comes before the next in a common-sense order. Theology can also be organized historically, or by how the doctrines were understood by different people throughout time; or philosophically, by logical reasoning without regard to the Bible; or apologetically, in an order that presents the best argument for the faith; or biblically, in the order in which the Bible presents them.
The Bible seldom tells us explicitly which truths are essential. Therefore, we must deduce these using some criteria: they are what the Bible emphasizes most, they are fundamental for Christians now and in all times since the Bible was completed, the Christian faith is disproved or gravely harmed if any of them are rejected, and each of them has a great impact on the other essential doctrines.
Why should we study essential Christian doctrine? First, God directly commands us to learn theology in Romans 12:2: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Jesus commands us to teach theology in Matthew 28:19-20: Go therefore and make disciples… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Secondly, learning God's doctrines benefits us by correcting our wrong ideas, enabling us to apply Scripture to life, growing and changing us in our Christian life, teaching us what is correct when contentions arise, and enabling us to better understand and learn further doctrines. Most of all, by learning theology, we learn more about God. (1 Tim 4:6-8; Titus 1:9)
Thirdly, The essential truths are also fundamental to the unity of the body of believers. To compromise on these truths is to eliminate part of the Christian faith for the sake of what can only be a false or man-made unity. However, God clearly wants the believers to be united (John 10:16; John 17), and Paul often urges the believers to be in agreement (1 Tim 6:3; 2 Cor 13:11; 1 Cor 1:10). The essentials are what we must agree upon.
Note that the “essentials of the Christian faith” are not necessarily what is “essential to be saved”. What is necessary to be saved is at most a subset of the essentials of the faith; this will be covered as one of the topics. Also, the “essentials of the Christian faith” speak primarily to doctrine, not to ethics; the Bible makes it clear that sin must be dealt with and cannot be tolerated, but determining what acts are sins will not be covered by this study. Furthermore, there are many important truths that are not expressed in these essentials; this study is not meant to cover the most important topics, but rather to cover those topics that are essential to the Christian faith.
The Authority of the Bible
The Bible is the only objective revelation from God, inerrant, infallible, and sufficient.
- The Bible is objective. The words it contains are the same for everyone, and the truths revealed in those words are the same for everyone. God intended the Bible to by read by all for all time.
- The Bible is a revelation because God inspired humans to write the words in the Bible, revealing these truths to them at the same time.
- The Bible is inerrant and infallible. Because a perfect God inspired the Bible, it is without error and applicable in all it claims.
- The Bible is sufficient and authoritative. The Bible doesn’t contain everything there is to know, but it does contain every spiritual truth that we need to know.
Most Bibles have maps near the back cover. By remembering the acronym M-A-P-S, we can remember some convincing evidence for the authority and reliability of scripture.
- Manuscript evidence – There exists today over 20,000 ancient manuscripts containing parts of the Bible, 3000% percent (thirty times) more than any other ancient work.
- Archeology – The Bible makes many claims that, if true, should be verifiable by archeological discoveries–and they are! Every day new discoveries are made that corroborate or confirm the Bible. The artifacts that seem to contradict the Bible are very few; no artifact discovered completely contradicts the Bible.
- Predictive prophecy – The Bible contains hundreds of predictions written well before the predicted events—yet they inevitably come true—predictions that could not have been guessed ahead of time or forged since.
- Statistical probability – The Bible was written over a span of 1500 years by forty different human authors in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), on hundreds of subjects. And yet there is one consistent, non-contradictory theme that runs through it all: God’s redemption of humankind. The chance of this happening randomly is astronomically low.
The Triune God
God is triune. This is the one true God revealed in three persons–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are eternally distinct yet inseparable. God is one in nature and essence, and three in personality and identity. The full nature of the infinite God cannot be fully understood by the finite human intellect.
- There is only one God – Isaiah 43:10: “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
- The Father is God – 1 Cor. 8:5-6: For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
- Jesus Christ is God – John 1:1,14: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- The Holy Spirit is God – Acts 5:3,4: Peter said, “Ananias, how has Satan so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? After it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think to do such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
- These three are eternally distinct
- In John 8:16-18, Jesus explicitly states that himself and the Father are two distinct witnesses/judges: But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
- There are many subject-object relationships shown in the Bible: The Father sent the Son (John 3:17); The Father and the Son love each other (John 3:35); The Father sends the Holy Spirit (John 14:26); etc.
- God is inseparable – John 14:7-10: If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
- God is unknowable – Job 36:26: How great is God—beyond our understanding!
The Incarnation
Jesus Christ was born of a virgin fully human and fully divine—the very God in very human flesh. He was not a new human-God hybrid, but is one person with two natures.
- Jesus is the eternal God (see John 1:1,16 and “The Trinity” above)
- Yet Jesus took on human flesh when he was conceived – Luke 1:30-31: But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ”
- His human life is shown in the gospels—being born, growing, learning, obeying his parents, following human customs, dying. Luke 2:40-52: And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom…Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
- How did this happen? By a miracle of God – Phil. 2:5-7: Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing [or emptied himself], taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
- So did Jesus lay aside his Deity? No! To lose a single attribute of God would be to become less than God and therefore not God at all. Instead, Jesus generally veiled his glory to accomplish his work on Earth. Many times he used his divinity to…
- accomplish miracles – John 4:48-50: “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
- forgive sins – Luke 5:20: When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
- teach – John 4:16-19: He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.”
The Atonement
Jesus Christ was crucified for the sins of the world, enduring final punishment and death on the cross. This atonement is substitutionary – Christ's righteousness is credited to the believer, and the punishment for the believer's sins was executed on Christ.
- Jesus suffered for a time on the cross and then died – Mark 15:22,24a,33,37-38: They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)…And they crucified him…At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”–which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”…With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
- The “darkness†of three hours was the time in which Jesus endured the spiritual punishment for the sins of the world. This punishment was so severe that, near its end, Jesus felt as though God had forsaken him (for more on this, see Psalm 22).
- However, while the punishment was infinite in intensity, it was finite in duration. The miracle of the atonement is that only the infinite God could forgive our infinite sin in a finite time!
- Atonement results in reconciliation. The curtain separated the “holy placeâ€, where people could gather, from the “holy of holiesâ€, where God had a special presence on earth. The curtain tore apart, showing that Christ’s death eliminated any barrier for man to approach God.
- Jesus had not sinned, yet he was punished for our sin – 2 Cor 5:21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
- This is called “substitutionary atonementâ€â€”Christ’s death is substituted for ours, and his righteousness is substituted for our sin, as in 1 Peter 3:18 – For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.
The Resurrection
Jesus rose physically on the third day of his death in the same body in which he died, and lives now with the Father to give life to humankind through the Holy Spirit.
God raised Jesus up from the dead! Luke 24:1-6,15: On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! … As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them…
This is extremely important! If Christ rose, then we have an undeniable proof for Christianity and the claims in this booklet and the Bible. If Christ did not rise, we have an undeniable proof that Christianity is false and these “essentials†are a sham. 1 Cor. 15:17-20: And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Since the Resurrection is the most impressive FEAT in human history, we can use the letters F-E-A-T to help remember some proof for the Resurrection.
- Fatal Torment – Jesus’ suffering on the cross caused him death. He did not merely lose consciousness, but fully died. The Roman soldiers first elected not to break his legs, because they saw he was already dead. However, they did thrust a spear into the sac surrounding his heart, which certainly would have killed him had he survived until then (John 19:34).
- Empty Tomb – As seen in the passage above from Luke, the tomb was empty the first moment someone entered the tomb! An enormous stone had been placed there, and two Roman guards were posted—there could be no theft of the body, nor could wild dogs have eaten it. If the body was there, any early doubter of Christ’s resurrection would simply have pointed to it. They could not.
- Appearances of Christ – The resurrected Jesus appeared to well over five hundred people (1 Cor 15:4-8; Acts 9:1-4), any of whom could have come forward to refute the biblical accounts. No one did. Also, hallucinations don’t happen to hundreds of people at different times and places.
- Transformation – The living Christ has radically changed the twelve disciples, thousands in the early church, and many millions up to today. Could the disciples devote their life’s work and suffer horrible deaths for the lies of a man they knew was dead? Could a non-living idea produce the same results in the world today? The only fathomable answer is no.
Salvation and Condemnation
We come to be saved through repentance from sin and trust in Christ, which is given to us by God alone. Without being born again, we cannot be forgiven by God. Once we are saved, we are to grow in the Lord and in good works, and our destiny is to forever explore the glory of the Lord in a resurrected, glorified body that is both spiritual and physical. Those who die in their sins will endure eternal torment and separation from God, also in a resurrected body that is both spiritual and physical.
How are we saved or condemned? Jesus makes it crystal-clear (John 3:16-18): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.â€
Biblically, “belief†includes knowledge, trust, repentance and acceptance—not mere intellectual assent.
- James 2:19: You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.
- Isaiah 25:9: In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
Faith, and thus salvation, is a gift, and it is solely God who gives it – Eph 2:8-9: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.
We are saved not by good works, but unto good works; that is, a faith which is authentic will necessarily produce good works – John 15:12-16: My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last.
Believers will be raised to new life in the same body in which we die, as described in 1 Cor. 15. This body will be both spiritual and physical—we will be glorified and transfigured, just as God intended our body to be. We will be incorruptible, unaffected by any sin. We will be immortal and imperishable. Likewise, unbelievers will be raised to be condemned – John 5:28: Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out–those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
The Church
We must seek to consecrate ourselves to God and be sanctified by God in and with his body, the universal church. The church is for worship, fellowship, for the administration of the Lord's Supper, for spiritual growth and support, and for evangelizing the unsaved and unchurched. The universal church is realized in a well-balanced, healthy, Bible-believing local church.
The church is not a building, an organization, a government, or a denomination. The church is comprised of every genuine believer (see “The Church” below), and it is under the authority of Christ – Colossians 1:15-18: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. The universal church is made practical in a local church.
Simply put, the church is for things that the body should do together, such as…
- Praise and Worship – Col. 3:15-16: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
- The Lord’s Supper – 1 Cor. 11:23-26: For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
- Teaching, instruction, prophecy: – 1 Cor 14:3-4: But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
- Prayer – Acts 4:24,31: …they raised their voices together in prayer to God… After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
- Evangelism – Acts 2:42-47: They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
For further reading
General
- The Holy Bible, various publishers
- Know the Truth by Bruce Milne
- Know What You Believe by Paul Little
- Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by R.C. Sproul
- Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
- When Skeptics Ask by Norman Geisler and Ron Brooks
- Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry, www.carm.org
- Christian Research Institute, www.equip.org
- Systematic Theology by Norman Geisler, others
- The Nicene Creed [note: not a dogmatic assertion, but a historic summary]
The Authority of the Bible
- M-A-P-S taken from www.equip.org/free/DB011.htm
- www.equip.org/essentials/bible.html
- Case for Christ chapters 3 and 5
- A General Introduction to the Bible by Norman Geisler and William Nix
The Triune God
- The Trinity by Edward Henry Bickersteth
- The Forgotten Trinity by James White
The Incarnation
- Jesus Under Fire by Michael Wilkins
The Atonement
- The Cross of Christ by John R.W. Stott
- The Atonement: It’s Meaning and Significance by Leon Morris
- Redemption, Accomplished and Applied by John Murray
The Resurrection
- F-E-A-T taken from Resurrection by Hank Hanegraaff
- The Third Day by Hank Hanegraaff (short version of Resurrection)
Salvation and Condemnation
- What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey
- Justification by Faith Alone by R.C. Sproul
The Church
- Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever
