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The Christianity I Believe

The Christianity I Believe

I find that a lot of people argue against what they think Christianity is.

Most of these poor folks have no clue what they’re talking about.

They come up with a false list – usually based on something they’ve heard, or some bad experience they had in ‘church’.

They then assume that all Believers believe these ‘wrong’ things, and lump us all in that group and attack that group.

Yes - this is basic 'straw man' arguing.

It's kind of annoying to be expected to 'defend' something I don't believe.

It's also annoying to see other Christian's proclaim some of these false beliefs, and then be unable to defend those beliefs that are indefensible.

They can perpetuate some of these very issues that the non-believer have!

Above all however, it’s sad that so many people don’t understand the real Christianity.

So – I decided to document a few of the beliefs that I will indeed defend.

Later I’ll also document the items that I can’t believe also, so they can be quite clear.

I’m sure that we all won’t agree, but hopefully we can have some good discussion, for the good of the Kingdom and our Spiritual Maturity!

Jesus

First of all, Christianity is all about Christ.  It’s not about us.  He is the focus – we are His disciples, and He is our Lord (I use the term ‘boss’ in Kindergarten Children’s Church – they understand that word better!)

He is the representation of God on earth.  He is our model – what we ascribe to be like.  We can never achieve it, but we appreciate what He did so much that we follow Him with gratitude.

So – if you want to fuss about what a Christian did or didn’t do, let’s talk about how Christ would have us act instead.  IOW, just because a person can’t live up to the standard, doesn’t mean that the Faith is invalid.

Grace

Grace is the hallmark of Christianity.  It’s the most obvious thing that sets it apart from the rest of the worldviews.  It is the only thing that makes any sense – we can never be good enough, so we trust in God’s grace while we strive to be like Christ.

Grace forgives, grace is not earned.  Because we are the recipient of such a great gift, we offer it to others, because we ALL need it – every day.

Grace highlights the difference in the two worlds we live in – one full of hope and promise, resulting from a gratitude of grace and extending it forward, and the other full of envy and greed and hate and strife and disappointment.

Grace helps us understand that true fulfillment (where we find happiness) comes from a life of sacrifice and service; not a life of self-gratification and destruction – all ironically in the pursuit of happiness.

If what we are going to debate does not center around Grace, it is not Christian.

Logos

John showed us that order, purpose, logic, Truth and love all emanate (were begotten) from God.  This is the son of God – and the second person of the Trinity.  All these things are elemental to life and existence in this universe.  Even science must assume they are in place to begin operating! 

What a wonderful place to be – in a world where order and logic etc rule the cosmos – not required to be brute truths in place with absolutely no answer for what they are or where they came from (the materialistic/atheistic/agnostic worldview).

In other words, Christians live in a world where matter came from mind.  Naturalists live in a world where mind came from matter (and nothing, if we project further back).  I’m very comfortable with our life view.

Mankind is God’s Crowning Creation

All mankind.  Period.  Man, woman, any race or religion.  We are ALL created in the image of God and have intrinsic value, simply because we exist – He created us all.

Christians love ALL people because they are special - we love them Ontologically (because of what they are), not because of what they do or don't do.

Love seems to be the highest order of creation - it is a central theme of our lives, and drives the pursuit of relationships - another God ordained activity.

Sin and Redemption

That feeling of guilt when you violate whatever Truth you hold to – that’s the impact of sin in our lives.  We intrinsically know we are not good enough – and we seek redemption.

Doesn’t matter what your particular brand of sin is.  Christ came to conquer it.  I don’t want to labor over it, or condemn you for it – nor you mine.  I just want to love you through it, in the name of Christ.

Christ’s redemption of us to Himself enables us to quit worrying about our sin – that’s the Freedom we have in Christ.  Freedom to quit fretting about it, and get busy filling our place of ministry in the Kingdom.

The Church and Ministry

Believers are called to be together and to worship God, teach, and support each other. We are to use this base of support as we venture into the dark to help others who are looking for our help.

We all have different gifts – and they’re all needed by someone close to you, right now.  Are you looking to help?  If you’re not helping, you’re not worshipping.

This is the Christianity I’ll defend.  It’s Christianity at its core.  As Lewis said, it’s Mere Christianity.

All the doctrines we fuss about are relevant – but that’s not what folks usually want to accuse from.

Like I said earlier, I think I'll also make a listing of the things that I don't believe in. The only reason to do this is because it seems I'm asked to defend a lot of these things, for some reason...

God bless you in your studies and your ministry.