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| IHC or IHS are the first three letters of the Greek word for “Jesus” — Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous) |
Essential Beliefs of
Christianity:
Beliefs Christians Should Not Compromise On
by JACK WELLMAN
There are essential beliefs on which
Christians cannot compromise.
They are not negotiable.
These essentials are what make Christianity;
without them, it is just another world religion.
Compromising the
True Gospel
One of the greatest differences between Christianity and all other
religions is that one is from God and the others are man-made.
If any of these elements are missing, then
you do not have the true gospel but another gospel which Paul said is really no
gospel at all.
Read what Paul said in Galatians 1:6-9:
“I
am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace
of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one,
but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel
contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said
before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to
the one you received, let him be accursed.”
Paul not only says that the gospel must not
be distorted, there is a curse on those who bring a false one.
The apostles warned about false teachers
bringing in false gospels long ago and it is happening today.
Jesus also told us to “Beware
of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are
ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes
gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears
good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear
bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will
recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew
7:25-20).
The Essential
Beliefs of Christianity
Listed here are beliefs of Christianity that
can never be compromised. They must all be present or you have another gospel altogether.
These must be in place in all churches if
they claim to be Christian or they are not the church that Jesus’ built:
·
Salvation
is in none other than through the name, person, work, and grace of Jesus Christ
(John 14:6; John 3:16; Romans 5:8).
·
Salvation
is possible only through One Person and One Name alone and that is Jesus Christ
(Acts 4:12; 16:30-31).
·
Jesus
lived a sinless life (1 Peter 2:22; 1 John
3:5).
·
Jesus was
literally conceived and born of a virgin named Mary (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:26-33).
·
All of the
66 books of the Bible are the “only” inspired word of God to the world (2 Timothy 3:16).
·
Those who
place their trust in Christ and believe in Him will inherit eternal life in a
literal Kingdom of Heaven (Jeremiah
17:7; John 17:37-38; John 14:6; John 3:16-17).
·
There is a
literal Hell for those who refuse to repent and believe in Jesus Christ (Psalm 73:12-19; Luke 16:23.26; John 12:48).
·
All of
humanity has fallen short of God’s glory and is in need of salvation; for which
reason Jesus came to the earth (Romans
3:23; Romans 6:23; Romans 5:8; John 14:6).
·
Jesus is
coming again to gather together His people and to judge those in the world and
those who have died in countless ages who refused to believe in Him (Revelation 20; Revelation 22:12; 1 Thessalonians
4:16-17; Romans 2:6-8; Hebrew 9:28).
·
Jesus was
crucified, buried, and rose again by a literal resurrection on the third day
after His death (Romans 4:25; 1 Thessalonians
4:14; 1 Corinthians 15-17; Matthew 28:5-6).
·
Jesus is
God and has no beginning and no ending and thus is an Eternal God as are the
Father and the Holy Spirit (Hebrews
7:3; John 1:1-4; Revelation 22:13; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 2:8).
Not Negotiable
If any of these essential elements are
missing, then you don’t have Christianity; you have something else.
Christians
who calls themselves Christians must believe in all of these. We cannot
argue over or fight against these cornerstones of the faith.
There
are many other areas in a Christian’s walk that are non-essentials like food,
drink, alcohol, dancing, and so on but these listed above are not negotiable in
any way.
Such
things as Jesus having always existed and having no beginning; that He was from
all time having existed along with the Trinity of the Father and the Holy
Spirit.
God
is Creator and there is nothing that exists that was not made by God. He
is the Creator of the universe, angels, earth, mankind, and all creatures great
and small.
He
existed before the universe and earth existed and has existed for all time and
will so without end.
Since mankind’s fall, they have been
separated from God by their sin.
Only by Jesus’ coming into the world, being
born of a virgin, and living a human life without sin, and dying to redeem
mankind, can close the gap of separation that sin had created.
His death makes possible our reconciliation
to God and gives us access to God for all time in the coming Kingdom of Heaven
and today in the present.
Those who refuse to believe in and trust in
Jesus Christ as Savior will be separated for all time in a hell fire of torment
with no second chance for redemption.
Today is the day of salvation. There will be
no second chance after Christ returns to judge the world, both the living and
the dead.
To have eternal life, a person has to trust
in the work of Christ on Calvary.
He must repent of his sins, confess them to
God, profess Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. He must trust in Christ to
save him with the full understanding that it is by grace and apart from any
works.
Then being born from above (born again) he
will possess eternal life. He shall await Jesus’ Second Advent to inherit the
eternal Kingdom of Heaven which will be on earth.
There will be a New Jerusalem, new heavens
and a new earth.
Believing in
Jesus
If you wish to place your trust in Jesus
Christ today and be born again, which means you can inherit eternal life,
simply read Romans 10:9-13:
“If
you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess
your faith and are saved.’ As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him
will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and
Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ”
Your public profession is how others would know
that you believe in what Jesus did for you. Jesus died for your sins and was
raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-5).
That you are now justified when you believe
because everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be
saved.
Once you believe you should join with fellow
believers at a Bible-believing church and get baptized (so others know what you
believe and may, by your example, also come to Jesus).
That is my prayer for you. It is
essential that you trust in, rely on, lean upon, and believe in Jesus Christ
for there is no other way to God and eternal life (Acts 4:12).
Are you struggling with a big decision or wondering
how your eternal future will play out?
Why not talk to the God of the universe and let Him
work in your behalf?
He says, “I will instruct you and teach you the way you
should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8).
Ask God to show you what to do. Pray the following
prayer:
“Heavenly
Father,
I admit
that I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You. I now want to turn
away from my past sinful life and begin a new life with You.
Please
forgive me. I now receive your Son, Jesus Christ as my Savior, my Master and my
Lord. I believe and confess that Jesus Christ died for my sins, was buried, and
rose from the dead.
I want to
receive all that Jesus Christ has provided for me as my Savior. Your Word says,
‘Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13).
I believe
and confess that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man
comes unto the Father, but by Him.
Lord
Jesus, I pray and ask You, to come into my heart and be Lord of my life. I
thank You that you have given me eternal life, and according to Your Word, I am
born again.
Heavenly
Father, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit Who is in me now. I surrender
my life to You. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Use me for
Your glory.
In Jesus’
Name. Amen.”
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