So in my last post, I indicated that there are 9 Essentials of Christianity. These are the minimum requirements one must believe to be a Christian. Here is the list again:
1. Our Bible as Inspired
2. Monotheism (There is only One God)
3. the Trinity
4. the Deity of Christ (Jesus is God)
5. the Virgin Birth (Jesus is Man)
6. the Death of Christ for the payment of sins
7. the Resurrection of Christ
8. Salvation by Grace thru faith (Not by works)
9. Salvation is only thru Jesus
Non-Christian religions deny one or more of these essential doctrines. And because these are Essentials, then if a group or a person holds to all but one, then they are not Christian. Really? Just missing one knocks them out? That seems so exclusive.
True, but let’s think about something else to make the point. This isn’t a perfect analogy, but I think it will make the point about minimum requirements …
What makes a fish a fish? A fish is defined by a number of essentials: cold-blooded, vertebrates (having an inner skeletal system), aquatic respiration (extracting oxygen from water), that primarily live in water. We can’t reduce it further (and we might even have to add a few more). But if an animal is missing just 1 of these essentials, then that animal is not a fish.
An animal might live in the water, but if it is warm-blooded, it is a mammal such as a dolphin or a whale. An animal might breath through gills, but if it does not have a vertebrate inner skeleton, it will be something such as a snail or a crab. For an animal to be a fish, they must meet some minimum number of essentials – which dolphins, crabs, and turtles do not meet. They live like fish in some ways, but they are not fish.
In the same way, there are people who have some of the beliefs of Christians, but who reject one or more essentials. But to be a Christian requires that you meet some minimum number of essentials. I have listed nine.
Someone asked me about the necessity of the “Bible as Inspired” as an Essential of Christianity. The reason I provide this one as the first essential doctrine of Christianity is that if we do not believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, then any “essentials” that we draw from the Bible cannot be held to as absolutely essential, because we wouldn’t be able to know if they are God’s Word or just fabricated by man. Therefore, the first essential is to declare our standard, our guide. A Christian holds to the essential standard that the Scriptures we hold as “The Holy Bible” are God’s revelation of Himself to man, written down by divinely-inspired men. Otherwise, I do not think we can logically have any discussion about the other essentials.
Certainly there are other important doctrines that teach us what to believe and how to live, but these are the ones that are indicated by Scripture to be essential requirements. Non-Christian religions and cults will deny one or more of these essential doctrines. If we can hold these 9 essentials in our minds, then we will be able to test other belief systems to find out if they are Christian or not.
And if you would like to look up some Bible verses that relate to the different essential requirements, here are a few to get you started:
1. Our Bible as Inspired (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:19-21)
2. Monotheism (Gen. 1:1; Deut. 4:35; Isa. 43:10-11)
3. the Trinity (Gen. 1:26; Gal. 4:4-6; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14)
4. the Deity of Christ (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23; John 1:1-36, 8:58, 10:30-38)
5. the Virgin Birth (Matt. 1:18-25; Phil. 2:5-8; 1 Cor. 15:21-22; Heb 2:16-17)
6. the Death of Christ for the payment of sins (Rom. 5:12-21; Heb. 10:4; Ps. 51:5; Rom. 3:23, 6:23)
7. the Resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-19; Rom. 10:9; Matt. 28:1-10)
8. Salvation by Grace thru faith (Eph. 2:1-10; Luke 18:26-27)
9. Salvation is only thru Jesus (John 14:4-6; Acts 4:1-12)
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