Essential Christianity - Intro

There is a fairly famous phrase very often attributed to Augustine:

In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.

As it turns out, it wasn't likely Augustine. But, frankly, it doesn't really matter who said it. It appears to most of us to be a rather wise saying. We need to stand on certain absolute essentials. We need to discuss but not divide over non-essentials. And all of it needs to be done in biblical love. Right.

So we step out to find unity in essentials ... and discover we don't really know what they are or even what we mean when we say "essentials". Try it sometime. Discuss with someone what the essentials are in Christianity, and you'll likely end up with an endless discussion because we're not sure what we're talking about and, therefore, can't agree on what they are.

So let me start out by saying that we are generally talking about two different things when we talk about essentials. And that is why there is such disagreement. We're talking past each other. Here's how it will go.

"So, I think that one of the clear essentials of Christianity is the Trinity."

"What? Well, of course, the Trinity is important, but did the thief on the cross believe in the Trinity? How can it be essential?"

And without realizing it, we're talking about two different things. First, there are the essentials of becoming a Christian. What does it take to be a "Christian" instead of a "non-Christian"? If Christians are "believers" set apart from "unbelievers", what must be believed? But there is a second perspective. Beyond that first transition from "outside" to "inside", there is the structure called "Christianity". What are the essentials of that structure?

So, as it turns out, very often when we set out to discuss the essentials of the faith, we are talking about two different things. Imagine a house. The first question is "How do I get in?" The second question is "What is essential to the house?" And clearly these are not the same question. So it is understandable why we find such disagreement.

The problem, of course, is that they appear to be linked. The notion is "These are things you must believe and if you don't you aren't a Christian." This, unfortunately, fails to take into account the very life-like process of Christianity itself. To become a Christian, you must be "born again". There is a new birth. This implies infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood -- all the normal processes of any given life. The theological term for this process is "sanctification". And it is a process, not an event. What does a child need to know in order to be a child? Not much at the outset. Those essentials -- food, clothing, hygiene, etc. -- are provided by someone who knows. But if a child gets to be too old and doesn't know these essentials of human living, that person dies. So there are things required to be human and there are things required to maintain a human. There are things required to become a Christian and there are things required to maintain Christianity.

Given this, I think it is very important to figure out the Essentials of Christianity. It should be approached from both angles. What must I do to be saved? What are the absolutely necessary components that make up Christianity? Keep in mind, then, as we go through this that these are two different questions. It will make the trip much easier to handle.