Essentially the Essentials

Faith is used in different ways, even in the Bible we use it in a variety of ways. Faith is often associated with the idea of conviction and confidence, especially in Christ for salvation. Faith is often used to describe the sum total of WHAT we believe. “Faith is the act of believing—John 1:12, and the faith is the truth believed.” (F. E. Marsh-‘1000 Bible Study Outlines: Study Helps and Sermon Outlines’ Database © 2007 WORDsearch Corp.) We want to talk about the Faith we believe or the ideas that are part of our common core beliefs. Jude 1:3 (KJV) “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” We want to describe what I believe are the core essentials of the Christian Faith.

Calvinist, Arminians, and even Molinist-as well as all the other persuasions, debate soteriology, eschatology, and all the other theological nuances, and I’ve been party to many a discussion as well. Yet, at the heart of our ‘Faith’ there are some core things that I think are universally believed, regardless of what theological persuasion you adhere or confirm. We must be careful to not be accepting of all who claim ‘Christian’ as their title, there are still essentials and heresy and false teachings must be exposed and declared as so. Too many false teachings, heretical doctrines, and outright ungodliness has crept into the ‘Church’ today. None-the-less, we are still able to point out very clear basics of “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” What are the very basic, if not most essential, elements of our Faith? I would boil the most basic essentials to a person, a place, and a thing.

A PERSON

That would of course be Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. He is the ultimate ‘who’ of the Christian faith. In describing the Faith we hold fast, we can’t describe it without mentioning Jesus. 1 Peter 2:7 (KJV) “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,” Our Faith is a person and that person is the foundation upon which it all rises and falls.

“The nativity mystery “conceived from the Holy Spirit and born from the Virgin Mary”, means, that God became human, truly human out of his own grace. The miracle of the existence of Jesus, his “climbing down of God” is: Holy Spirit and Virgin Mary! Here is a human being, the Virgin Mary, and as he comes from God, Jesus comes also from this human being. Born of the Virgin Mary means a human origin for God. Jesus Christ is not only truly God, he is human like every one of us. He is human without limitation. He is not only similar to us, he is like us.”― Karl Barth, Dogmatics in Outline

The Christian faith is bound inescapable with Jesus, 1 Corinthians 1:23 (KJV) “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness.” Christ is the central message of the Gospel, Romans 8:34 (KJV) “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Jesus, death, burial and resurrection is the Gospel-1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (HCSB) “For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

A PLACE

It seems strange to say that the Christian faith has a place. We know that the message of the Cross has gone into almost the entire world and every nation and culture. The ‘where’ of the Faith we profess is not the now of it but the then. In other words, the things that we are talking about can be verified, or falsified if you will, by the very places described in our Holy Book. Paul described this in defending (he was being an apologist, you could say) his faith before Agrippa and Festus, Acts 26:26 (KJV) “For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.” We can see from this passage Paul pointed to the ‘place’ this all occurred.

The Christian faith has landmarks, monuments, and places of interest of our faith. Jerusalem, the city of our Lord’s Passion, is there. We can walk the street Jesus walked, see the area the Temple once stood, and observe the tomb (I know there is dispute which tomb, but the point is there was one and it is EMPTY). Paul told two Roman government officials the things described by him were done in the open, and not hidden, no secret meetings, no hidden agendas. Jesus death, burial and resurrection must needs be observed, as there was witnesses to this truth and they proclaimed it as so. J. Warner Wallace gives multiple accounts of non-Christian writings that confirm much of the ‘where’ of our Faith, as well.

“While these non-Christian sources interpret the claims of Christianity differently, they affirm the initial, evidential claims of the Biblical authors (much like those who interpret the evidence related to Kennedy’s assassination and the Twin Tower attacks come to different conclusions but affirm the basic facts of the historical events). Is there any evidence for Jesus outside the Bible? Yes, and the ancient non-Christian interpretations (and critical commentaries) of the Gospel accounts serve to strengthen the core claims of the New Testament.” (http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/is-there-any-evidence-for-jesus-outside-the-bible/)

A THING

Okay, let’s define ‘thing’ first. It can be defined many ways, and covers many areas but for our purpose I’m using this part of the definition, “deed, act, accomplishment” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thing). So, if you haven’t already guessed, the ‘thing’ or “deed, act, accomplishment” is the RESURRECTION. Jesus is certainly central to the message, but unless He rose from the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:14 (KJV) “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” The resurrection is the central tenant of our Faith. If I am presenting the reasons for believing the Bible, existence of God, or Jesus was who He claimed to be, I always start with the resurrection. In an article I wrote (one I rewrote from my BLOG) for Rob Johnson and his BLOG on apolgetics105.com, I described the sermons preached by the early church, recorded by Luke in Acts.

“The early sermons, recorded in the book of Acts, have in common, one great truth, the emphasis on the resurrection. Peter on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:24 (KJV) “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.” Peter again, Acts 3:15 (KJV) “And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.” Paul at a synagogue in Antioch, Acts 13:30 (KJV) “But God raised him from the dead.” Paul, again, at Thessalonica, Acts 17:3 (KJV) “Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.” We have something no other Faith can claim, a resurrected Savior, let us proclaim, as the early church surely did.” (http://www.apologetics105.com/blog/the-importance-of-1-corinthians-153-8)

So our ‘thing’ is something that no other religion can claim, a risen Lord. Jesus’ death was a public execution, carried out by Rome, in collaboration with the Jewish authorities of the day. The evidence, to me, seems overwhelming that the early disciples believed that the man hung on a Roman cross was alive after 3 days in a tomb. Paul describes the witnesses, 1 Corinthians 15:5-8 (HCSB) “and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. 6 Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one abnormally born, He also appeared to me.” Paul was giving to the early church the truth of the ‘thing’ that makes our Faith unique.

So, as we embark on our journey of faith, into the Faith, we will encounter many doctrines, tenants, and creeds, to which we must evaluate the truths, according the scriptures. Many things are disputable, some things are debatable, and others are to be rejected as heretical, but these most central things, the person, place, and thing of our Faith are foundational. Christians of any stripe or theological stance can adhere to these most basic things, upon which the Faith we adhere stands and falls.

#Jesus #resurrection #faith