2897) More Basics

Anglican priest John Stott (1921-2011) was one of the most influential Christians of the 20^th century.  The following ‘eight basic claims of the Christian Faith’ are from his best-selling book Basic Christianity.

1. Christianity is Christ  Who Christ is and what he has done are the rock upon which the Christian religion is built. He said he was God. If he was not who he said he was, and if he did not do what he said he had come to do, then the foundation is undermined and the whole thing will collapse. Christ is the center of Christianity; everything else is peripheral. Who was he?
2. Jesus is Sinless  Jesus stated directly that he was without sin. When a woman was discovered in the act of adultery and dragged before him, he issued an embarrassing challenge to her accusers, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). Gradually they drifted away until there was no one left. A little later in the same chapter, Jesus issued another challenge, this time about himself: “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46). No one could answer. They slipped away when he accused them; but when the roles were reversed and he invited them to accuse him, he had no difficulty at all in staying where he was and bearing their scrutiny. They were all sinners; he was without sin.
3. The Resurrection of Jesus  If Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead, then he was beyond dispute a unique figure. There is no one else who has done that. The argument is not that his resurrection establishes his deity, but that it fits with it. It is only to be expected that a supernatural person would come to and leave the earth in a supernatural way (the virgin birth, and the resurrection and ascension).
4. We’re Sinners  Paul says in Romans that everyone, no matter who they are, is a sinner in God’s sight. He writes about the corrupt behavior of the pagan world and then says his own people, the Jewish people, are no better: “there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22–23). And John declares that “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves” (1 John 1:8). But what is sin? Several words are used in the Bible to describe it. One word represents it as a lapse, a slip, a blunder. Another word pictures it as the failure to hit a target. Yet another shows it to be an inner badness, having a character that falls short of what is good. Other words describe sin as trespassing over a boundary; as failing to keep the law; and as an act that contravenes justice.

Much that we take for granted in a civilized society is based upon the assumption of human sin. Nearly all legislation has grown up because human beings cannot be trusted to settle their own disputes with justice and without self-interest. A promise is not enough; we need a contract. Doors are not enough; we have to lock and bolt them. The payment of fares is not enough; tickets have to be issued, inspected and collected. Law and order are not enough; we need the police to enforce them. All this is due to man’s sin. We cannot trust each other. We need protection against one another. It is a terrible indictment of human nature.

5.  Sin Separates Us from God . . . and Each Other  Even though we may not realize it now, the most terrible result of sin is that it cuts us off from God. Our highest destiny is to know God who made us in his image, and to be in a personal relationship with him. But this God whom we are meant to know and whom we ought to know is a righteous Being, infinite in his moral perfection, and we are separated from him by our sin.

6.  Salvation through Christ  Through Jesus Christ the Savior we can be put right with God. We can receive a new nature and be set free from our moral bondage. Christ made the first aspect of salvation possible by his suffering and death, the second by the gift of his Spirit, and the third by the building of his church.

7. The Church is Christ’s Body  Sin pulls us out of harmony with other people. It alienates us not only from our Creator but also from our fellow creatures. We all know from experience how easily a community can become a hotbed of jealousy and ill-feeling. But God’s plan is to restore our relationships with one another as well as with himself. So, he does not save independent, unconnected individuals in isolation from one another. Rather, he is calling out a people to belong to him and to live together in a restored community.

8. The Gospel Requires a Decision  The idea that a decision is needed in order to become a Christian strikes many people as very strange. Some imagine that they are already Christians because they were born in a Christian country. Others think that if they have been brought up in a Christian home and taught to accept the Christian creed and Christian standards of behavior, nothing further is required of them. But whatever our background and upbringing, each of us must make up our own minds for or against Christ. We cannot remain neutral. We must decide.

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Also by John Stott:

There are three things that Christianity is not, and three things that it is.  First, Christianity is not a set of beliefs like the Apostles’ Creed.  Beliefs are important, but one can recite the creeds without believing them, and without living them out in their daily lives.

Second, Christianity is not a system of behavior and ethics, like the Golden Rule.  There are many who are not Christians, but who are upright in character and lead good, kind, helpful lives.

Third, Christianity is more than being baptized, confirmed, teaching Sunday School classes, and being part of a church community.  Unfortunately, some think this makes them a Christian.

The above ‘nots’ are important, but they are not the essence of Christianity.  The essence is a person, Jesus Christ.  Being a Christian means, first, knowing Jesus, which doesn’t mean knowing something about him, but knowing him personally, as one would know a close friend.

Second, it means trusting Jesus—trusting that believing in and following him will make us righteous in the sight and presence of God.

Third, it means obeying Jesus—obeying his Lordship over our family life, our sex life, our money, our work, our tax returns, even our leisure.

When you boil Christianity down to its essence—to its irreducible minimum—it is knowing, loving, and growing closer to Jesus Christ; it is putting our full faith and trust in his promises; it is living under his lordship over our public and private lives, every day of the year.