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Christian Beliefs

Mar 11, 2010 Print This Post

One thing that has widely been touted in recent years is that Americans (as a whole) and Christians (in particular) are not very well versed in basic Christian doctrine. The longer I am a pastor, the more I believe this to be true. It’s almost like the exponential increase of information available to us (because of the internet) has made us less knowledgeable because it’s hard to wade through the sea of information. Add to that the fact that less and less people are “churched” in our culture and you see why people are not familiar with the tenets of the Christian faith.

That’s why I like the book Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know by Wayne Grudem. While I do not agree with everything he writes (most notably the timing of “regeneration” for those of you who care), I like the simplicity of this book and I generally agree with most of it. In a mere 137 short pages (if you skip the appendices), Grudem lays out the basics of the Christian faith:

1. What is the Bible?
2. What is God like?
3. What is the Trinity?
4. What is Creation?
5. What is Prayer?
6. What are Angels, Satan, and Demons?
7. What is Man?
8. What is Sin?
9. Who is Christ?
10. What is the Atonement?
11. What is the Resurrection?
12. What is Election?
13. What does it mean to become a Christian?
14. What are Justification and Adoption?
15. What are Sanctification and Perseverance?
16. What is Death?
17. What is the Church?
18. What will happen when Christ returns?
19. What is the Final Judgment?
20. What is Heaven?

Now this may seem like boring stuff to many, but these are foundational concepts to understand. Here are a few quotes I really dug:

“…it is in Scripture alone that we search for God’s words to us. And we should, eventually, arrive at contentment with what we find there. The sufficiency of Scripture should encourage us to search through the Bible to try to find what God would have us think about a certain issue or do in a certain situation. Everything that God wants to tell all his people for all time about that kind of issue or situation will be found on the pages of the Bible. While the Bible might not directly answer every question we can think up – for “the secret things belong to the Lord our God” (Deut. 29:29) – it will provide us with the guidance we need “for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17).

“Therefore, wrath is an attribute for which we should thank and praise God. If God delighted in or as not troubled by sin, he wouldn’t be a God worthy of our worship and praise. Sin is worthy of our hatred. In fact, we are encouraged by Christ’s example to hate sin and wickedness (Heb. 1:9).

“Sanctification is a lifelong process. If you are a believer in Jesus, at times it will seem as if the process is going at a faster rate than you ever thought possible. It’s at these times that you will need to guard against pride and self-righteousness (thinking yourself better than you are and taking credit for your goodness that is really a gift of grace.)

At other times, you will wonder if there is any life inside you at all. It’s at these times that you may wonder if you are even truly a Christian. When the doubts begin to fill your thoughts, pray the prayer found in Mark 9:24: “I believe; help my unbelief!”