I have an older brother who professes to be a Christian, Roman Catholic, to be precise. However, last Christmas, during a conversation about faith that I initiated, I realized he doesn’t believe in many essential doctrines of Christianity.
He doesn’t believe in the deity of Jesus, the divine inspiration of Scriptures, the exclusivity of the Gospel, and salvation by grace. Yet if asked, he would proudly say he is a Christian. I, however, do not think he is a Christian. These conflicting views made me wonder what one had to believe to be a bona fide Christian
Many people profess to be Christians, but they are practicing atheists. Their profession of faith is merely a box they check, a label they claim. And upon closer inspection of their beliefs, it becomes glaringly evident that the essential doctrines of the faith are missing. Hence, believing in Jesus is no longer enough to distinguish a Christian; what we believe about Him is what makes the difference.
So, what does a person need to believe to be rightly called a Christian? I asked myself that question, and discovered these seven essential doctrines of Christianity established by Scriptures.
1. The deity and humanity of Jesus Christ
Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1:1; 1:18; 8:58; 10:30, Philippians 2:5-6, Colossians 2:9-10, 1 John 5:20, Hebrews 1:3, Revelation 1:8). During the incarnation, He added humanity to His nature but didn’t cease to be God. Hence, He is fully God and fully man at the same time.
Throughout the ages, various people denied either the deity or humanity of Jesus. The Bible calls such people false teachers.
1 John 4:15 says, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him and He in God.” And 1 John 4:2-3 says, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. And every spirit that doesn’t confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist.”
That Jesus came both as a man and as God matters. He had to be fully human and get tempted like us in every respect, to become our high priest who can sympathize with us and help us in our temptations (Hebrews 2:17-18). And as God, He could offer a perfect sacrifice sufficient to pay for the sins of the world (Hebrews 9:12).
2. Christ crucified for our sins
This doctrine is also known as the penal substitutionary atonement. It means that Jesus died on the cross as a substitute for sinners (us) to appease God’s wrath against our sin (1 Corinthians 15:3, 1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 2:2) Jesus was sinless, blameless. Yet, He voluntary took on our punishment and paid the penalty of our sins so that we may be reconciled to God.
Christ crucified an essential doctrine held only by Christians, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:23, “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power and the wisdom of God.”
J.C Ryle called it the crown and glory of the Gospel and said, “There is no doctrine in Christianity so important as the doctrine of Christ crucified. There is none which the devil tries so hard to destroy. There is none which is so needful for our own peace to understand.”(Christ Crucified).
3. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ
The resurrection of Jesus is the heart of the Gospel. It is the most significant event in the Christian faith, and all our beliefs hinge upon it. Without the resurrection, Christianity is as empty as other world religions.
Paul even says in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” And 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, “and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.”
The atonement was the payment of our sins, and the resurrection is the proof God accepted it. If we don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead, we are still under God’s wrath. We have no hope, and as Paul said, we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19).
4. Salvation by grace alone
As the reformers said, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone. We are all sinners who have fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), and all our best works are like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6 NKJV). There is nothing we can do to earn or deserve our salvation. Nevertheless, God, in His abundant mercy and grace, saved us through the atoning work of Christ (Romans 6:23).
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Any religion or institution that teaches that we can earn our salvation is not Christian, even if it looks like it or professes to be one.
5. Salvation through Christ alone
One of the most offensive essential doctrines of Christianity is that Jesus is the only means of salvation. But He is, He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And Acts 4:12 says, “and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Now, there are some professing Christians and even pastors who believe that all roads lead to God. But true Christians should not affirm such heresy. To say so is to call Jesus a liar, and to deny the Holy Spirit who inspired Scriptures. And if we call God a liar, His Word is not in us.
6. Monotheism and the Holy Trinity
Monotheism is the belief that there is only one God. Christians do not believe that there are other gods besides Yahweh.
1 Corinthians 8:5-6, “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us, there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” God, Himself declared He is the only God (Exodus 20:3, Isaiah 43:10; 44:6; 8).
We also believe that the one true God is three persons in one being: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are not three separate Gods or modes. They are one God, coequal, and coeternal. Though there is no single Bible verse that explicitly mentions the trinity, this doctrine is present throughout Scriptures (Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19, John 10:30, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6).
7. The inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scriptures
The Bible is the word of God. Though men wrote it, the Holy Spirit inspired it and He is the ultimate author. The Bible is inerrant; it contains no errors or contradictions. And lastly, the Bible is the truth. It is the final authority on all matters of faith, and the standard by which we must live.
This doctrine is summed up in 2 Timothy 3:16, which says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
Everyone who goes ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
2 John 1:9
It is critical to know the essential doctrines of Christianity because it could be the difference between salvation and damnation; between life and death. And not only must we know the teachings of Christ, but we must abide in them.
Also, knowing the core beliefs of our faith helps us discern between what looks Christian from what is actually Christian.
