The Pillars of Christianity
The Pillars of Christianity…
The pillars of Christianity are based on these four points:
• What one believes About God
• What one believes About Jesus
• What one believes About Heaven & Salvation
• What one believes about the Gospel
Who is God
There is one God, the creator of the Universe. God, who is triune: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is uncreated, self-existing, morally perfect, and characterized by holy love. He is everlasting spirit without beginning or end. God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, sovereign Ruler and Judge over the whole Universe.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 ESV)
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8 ESV)
But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. (Jeremiah 10:10 ESV)
Who is Jesus
Jesus is the Son of God and a member of the Holy Trinity. He is the Word who was with God in the beginning. Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us. To display God’s love for mankind and to atone for our sins, Jesus gave up his life on the cross. After dying on the cross, he was raised from the dead to prove that he was the Son of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 ESV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 ESV)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:15-16 ESV)
What is Heave and Salvation
Heaven is where God dwells in unapproachable light. It is a place where believers enter the fullness of Christ’s loving presence. Salvation is received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is only a gift from God, not something earned by man’s works. Heaven can only be entered via God’s grace of Salvation.
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.(Psalms 103:19 ESV)
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. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 ESV)
What is the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, gave up his life and then rose from the grave to provide forgiveness of sins to all who put their trust in him alone.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 ESV)
The Gospel is what sets Christianity apart from other religions. In all other religions one does some acts or tasks to earn approval or forgiveness from the god(s).
Through the New Testament God teaches us two key items.
• The bad news - We are all sinners and there is nothing that we can do to “earn” forgiveness for our sins.
• The good news – God’s loves us so much, that he sacrificed his son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins.
It is the first item that trips up so many people today. “We are all sinners” However, so many people consider themselves a “good person” and sincerely believe that they do not need forgiveness for their sins. They think that their sins are so minor that surely God will not punish them for their sins Or they believe that if they do more “good” in their lives than “bad,” the “good” will outweigh the “bad.”
However, as nice as that sounds and makes you feel good about yourself, it is not what God teaches us.
God teaches us that we all sinners based on HIS standards. It is God’s standards, not man’s standard, that matters.
Consider the perfect judge (which God is), there is no “good enough” or “innocent enough.” You either committed a crime (sin) or you did not. Think of this, if the speed limit is 55 mph and one person drives 56, one person drives 57 and one person drives 75, which person is guilty of a crime. In the eyes of a perfect judge, they all are. Yes, it’s easy to see the person driving 75 mph is guilty of breaking the law, but the other two? If the other two are not guilty, where is the cutoff between innocence and guilt?
Also, consider one person does 100 good deeds and another person does 101 good deeds. Which has done enough good deeds to outweigh their sins? Both, neither? A perfect judge would not weigh “good deeds” when considering guilt. And when it comes to sentencing, there is only two options, either you are innocent and spend eternity with God or you are guilty, and you do NOT spend eternity with God.
However, the good news is that our sins have been paid for by the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ, on a Roman cross.