Essential Christianity - Conclusion

I've tried to outline the absolutely essential components of that which is called "Christianity". I did this first by differentiating between the two different questions, "What must I do to be saved?" and "What is the basic construction required to maintain this house we call 'Christianity'?" Or, in terms of the house metaphor, "What do I have to do to get inside?" and "Now that I'm in, what's it made of?"

To get inside is simple: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. This requires a mental acquiescence on which you place your confidence that there was a Jesus of Nazareth who was the promised Messiah and who is now the ultimate authority. This trust is in a Jesus who lived and died and rose again in order to solve the problem of human sin.

And then there is the whole issue of what is essential to Christianity. I gave a list of things. But I'd like to review that list from the opposing viewpoint. What would happen if these items were not received, not acceptable, not in place? That is, in what sense are they essential?

I made the claim that the Bible is God's Word and, as such, is inerrant, infallible, and authoritative. But what if it was not? Well, without such a basis for Christianity, we are left with a nice, squishy place to stand. Who knows where you're wrong or right since it is not inerrant? Who knows where the failures occur since it is not infallible? And what authority do we allow if not the God-breathed Word? Yours? Mine? The Church's? You see, if you reject the Bible as the Word that God breathed to selected men to offer an inerrant, infallible, and authoritative revelation of God's thoughts on the matters He intended, then you reject any binding basis on which to make any argument or take any position on matters of faith or practice. Brothers, you're on your own. Perhaps the Puritans were right in their narrow views or perhaps Pastor Shuck is right in rejecting all of it -- the Bible, God, the Resurrection, Christ. No one has the right to impose their view on anyone else because no one has the authorization -- the authority -- to do so. No biblical reliability and authority? No Christianity.

What if God is not a Trinity? Well, there's going to be a whole lot of biblical problems because the Bible is full of cross-connections between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God's own claim to being One will be in jeopardy and Christ's claim to being "I AM" was a lie and the nature of the Holy Spirit is a complete unknown (which is likely a good thing in this case since Jesus -- apparently falsely -- claimed He would send the Spirit to lead His people into all truth and the Holy Spirit apparently has failed completely to do so given the constant verification of the Church that God is a Trinity). No Trinity? No Christianity.

The claim is that Man is not a sinner because he sins, but sins because he is a sinner. The claim is that Man is sinful from birth. Now surely that is debatable, right? Well, not so much. First, the Bible makes the claim, and if it is wrong, refer to that paragraph about the loss of an inerrant Bible. But beyond that, if Man is not sinful from birth, it would stand to reason that some would not fall into sin, even if it is a minority, a miniscule number. But that would, again, invalidate Scripture that claims that all have sinned. Sorry. Still a problem. And, look, it doesn't take a spiritual giant or a Bible expert to open your eyes, look at the "innocence of children" and realize that no such innocence exists. They will lie and steal and do whatever it takes to benefit themselves without regard to others. They don't tend to be good; they have to be taught to be good. So if the claim of the sin nature of Man is false, so is the Bible, logic, and Christianity.

The central issue of Christianity, the Bible -- all of it -- is clearly Christ. The claim is that He is God Incarnate, that He lived on earth as a man, lived a sinless life, died for our sin, and rose again. The claim is that He will indeed return. Now surely we can disagree on one of these, right? Are they actually essential? Well, yes, they are essential and if we disagree on any of these, we dismantle our faith. The problem, remember, is sin. The nature of God, remember, includes Justice. The answer, then, requires that Sin is addressed and Justice is met. In this, Jesus had to be a human to answer the problem of Man's sin. He had to live a sinless life to address the sins of others. He had to pay the price owed for sin in order to satisfy the demands of justice. He had to be God Incarnate -- much more than just human -- in order for that sinless life and payment for sin to satisfy the demands of justice for more than one. And He had to rise again in order to demonstrate victory. If you choose to take off even one piece of this picture, the whole thing falls apart, we are still in our sin, and Christianity is at its end.

There are not a few who would like to suggest that the whole "Church" thing is peripheral. "I'm spiritual, not religious. I don't need others in this relationship with Christ." The Bible disagrees. It was, according to Jesus, one of His purposes for coming at all. The grouping known as "the people of God" is a key element throughout the Bible. We form "the Body of Christ" here on earth. We are a coherent group actuated by individual gifts to accomplish an overall mission. We form the current Temple of God. Without these, Christianity becomes a personalized belief system apart from Scripture (refer again to that paragraph on what happens without Scripture) and Christ failed to accomplish His purpose (refer again to the problem of a Christ who was not God). In short, no Church, no Christianity.

The process of Christianity is three-fold. We have justification by grace through faith in Christ, sanctification, and glorification. Any other justification -- by merit, by works, or by anyone other than Christ -- and we have no chance at justification or, subsequently, salvation. Since God's purpose in justifying us is to form us into the image of His Son, removing sanctification is removing God's primary purpose and, in the end, God fails. And the final outcome has always been to produce people who will "see Him as He is" -- glorification. If no such event exists, the Bible is wrong, God fails, and Christianity is no more.

Ultimately this requires a real "endgame", an actual Heaven and Hell. We may disagree about the details, but the basic facts remain. Hell is forever. Heaven is forever. Hell is eternal torment. Heaven is being eternally in the presence of God. These places are real places. These facts are clearly attested to by Scripture. Hell is the place Christ came to save us from. Heaven is the place Christ came to save us to. If one or the other or both are not a reality, it's all bunk. Christianity is over.

That's what I mean by "Essential Christianity". These pieces are coherent -- they stick together -- and necessary for the entire structure to stand. They are, in this "house", foundations and pillars and load-bearing walls. Take one out and you dismantle the whole. They are not individual claims, but stand structurally interlinked. Are these things required for you to be a Christian? No, of course not. But they are required for Christianity to remain. Thus, if, once inside, you attempt to dismantle one or more of these pieces, the question would be whether or not you entered by the Door. The question would be whether or not you have that Spirit promised by Christ to lead you into all truth. These beliefs aren't necessary to become a Christian, but, once presented with them, denying them will simply lead to the destruction of Christianity itself, at least for yourself. And then where would you be? Not inside this house we call "Christianity".