Back To Basics PDF Print E-mail

 written by Chris Barna

 

 

 

Every once and a while I think it’s good to take a step back and look at what it is we truly think, and why. Let’s go back to the basics of faith.

 

What are the basics of Christianity?

 

I understand Christianity to have three fundamental ideas that must be adhered to in order to live an effective Christian life.

 

1) God is.

The Bible is based on this assumption. If you do not believe God is, the Bible is nothing but an empty book of fiction. Though it may contain some basic guidelines that might be appealing, you can’t get past the fact that the whole of scripture is based on this foundational truth. God is.

 

2) Jesus is the Son of God

Most people believe in a god. So the next step would be to ask, if I believe in a god, why isn’t that enough to make me a Christian? It’s all well and good to believe in a god, but who is God? According to the New Testament, Jesus is the Son of God, and it is only through Him that we may have a relationship with God. This is best shown in John 14:6.

If Jesus was not who he claimed to be, He and His followers must have been loony, billions of people today are loony, and all the billions of Christians throughout history were loony as well.

Why would Jesus make this claim? Why would people who didn’t know Him, total strangers, believe His claim? If you are a Christian you would believe it is because Jesus is the Son of God.

 

3) The Bible is the direct written history and teachings of God

This is very self-explanatory, but foundational. The Bible tells you about the Jewish understanding of God, their firsthand experience of life with God. I would call the Bible the anchor of Christianity. It keeps us from getting “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” Ephesians 4:14.  Because let’s face it, we are crafty, cunning and deceitful. It is very easy for us to think highly of ourselves to the point of putting ourselves above God, and even sometimes convincing ourselves He doesn’t exist. So it is important to remember, the Bible is the direct written history and teachings of God.

 

So bringing all these foundations together, we get this statement of the fundamentals of Christianity, as I understand it.


A Christian is one who acts out their faith that God is, knows Jesus is the Son of God and uses the Bible is their anchor.

The New Testament is absolutely loaded with verses, parables and commands that take you from a believer in Christ to a follower of Christ. Believing that God is, is the first important step. Knowing that Jesus is the Son of God is the next giant leap. Actually doing something about it is the journey God takes you on for the rest of your life. Walking out Christ’s mission on earth is His command to us. All of the other important aspects of faith come up and get worked out in this walk with Jesus. Sin, obedience, prayer, love of neighbour, all of these are important pieces of the faith puzzle, and are built on top of the three important pieces of the foundation of our faith Acting out my faith that God is, Jesus is the Son of God, and the Bible is our anchor.

 

I have tried to come up with the truest and most concise distillation of my understanding of Christianity. If you have any questions or comments please write me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Chris Barna

 

 

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Note:  You will see articles like this on a regular basis.  These articles are submitted by the congregation.  Hope you not only enjoy them but prayerfully consider what God is saying through them.