The Basics of Christianity

The Bible is voluminous and so it’s easy to go into detail on many subjects, which can get complicated, especially for those who are new to Christianity or those seeking to see if Christianity provides legitimate answers to the questions of life. As such, it’s important to stress the basics now & then so people aren’t lost in doctrinal complexities and run away screaming.

The nine basics of Christianity are as follows:

1. There is a God

There are two basic options concerning how human life originated and life in general, not to mention the Earth & Universe: They’re either the result of mindless, nonliving matter or there is a Creator. Which one is more logical and scientific? The reason you can read a book or hear a song is because someone created them. The reason you can live in your abode is because someone designed it and someone built it.

The Bible teaches that everything you see and experience—living and un-living—did not just accidently manifest. There is an Intelligent Designer of all that exists. Belief in God is simply a part of the make-up of human beings; it’s in our spiritual DNA because we were made in God’s image and likeness.

The Earth & Universe and all living things inspires belief in a Creator; more than that, creation screams out God’s existence (Psalm 19:1-4 & Romans 1:18-20). To suggest that everything in the Universe came about through accident and that there’s no Intelligent Designer behind it all is like expecting a Boeing 747 to emerge out of a metal scrapyard after millions of years. It’s absurd. The hypothetical scrapyard can’t even produce a simple table or chair let alone a jet airplane!

Furthermore, the scientific axiom of biogenesis notes that life only proceeds from life. In other words, living things cannot manifest from something un-living. Only conscious life can produce conscious life. It’s a scientific fact, not to mention obvious to a simpleton. Thus there is some kind of God — a Creator — from which all conscious life proceeds.

So the question is not if there is a God, but rather who is God?

2. God is the Great I AM

The very first verse of Holy Scripture authoritatively states that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The original Hebrew word for ‘god’ is Elohim (el-oh-HEEM), which is a generic term for God or supernatural beings or even a human authority. However the next chapter more precisely reveals what Genesis 1:1 means by ‘God’:

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

Genesis 2:4

The Hebrew word for “LORD” is YHWH (transliterated), which is pronounced YAH-way (or YAH-hoo-way for devout Hebrews). Some English speakers say Jehovah. In any case, God is Yahweh.

When God was revealed to Moses in the burning bush and said “I AM WHO I AM,” the LORD was giving the translation of what Yahweh means (Exodus 3:13-15). In other words, God’s proper name, Yahweh, was formed from “I AM WHO I AM.” The LORD was saying in effect, “My name is the fact that I exist.” Now, isn’t that a perfectly fitting name for the Almighty Creator — I AM? This explains why the religious Hebrews wanted to stone Christ to death when he said “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I Am” (John 8:58) — he was making himself equivalent with Yahweh, the Great I AM, which explains why Christ said “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

3. We are created in God’s image and likeness

The Bible offers details about the LORD’s creation of human beings:

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,

       in the image of God he created them;

      male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

As you can see, the LORD — Father/Son/Holy Spirit — decided to make humankind in their image/likeness and then did so. The Hebrew for ‘image’ is tselem (SEH-lem), which simply means image, representation, copy or duplicate whereas the Hebrew word for ‘likeness’ is demuth (dem-OOTH), which means similitude, that is, something that resembles another; it’s something that is a, match or counterpart to another. As such, human beings resemble the Almighty; you could say that we’re God’s counterpart in the physical realm. Whereas the LORD is triune in the sense of Father/Son/Holy Spirit we are also triune in the sense of spirit, mind & body.

Despite this, the Scriptures stress the difference between the Creator and those Created in God’s image:

Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 100:3

While the LORD’s way is perfect and God’s word is flawless (Psalm 18:30) this is not the case with people, which brings us to our fourth basic principle of Christianity…

4. Humanity is guilty of sin, which has separated us from our Creator and given birth to religion

The Scriptures are frank about the fact that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “There is no one righteous, not even one… All have turned away” (Romans 3:10-12). Turned away from whom? Our Creator, which is why the Bible puts it like this: “your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). To ‘sin’ means to “miss the mark” in the sense of morally failing (you can observe the Greek word here). The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23) and the first thing sin kills is communion with God.

Humanity inherently knows there’s a Creator God because we’re created in the LORD’s image, but also senses that a separation of sorts exists, which has given birth to religion. The Latin root word for ‘religion’ is re-ligare. Ligare means “to bind” or to “connect” and so adding re before ligare brings about the thought of “re-binding” or “re-connecting.” Thus religion is the human attempt to reconnect with God, which usually involves things like good works, certain rituals or adherence to the supposedly correct doctrine.

However, Christ pointed out the failure of religion when his disciples asked him who could be saved:

“With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

Mark 10:27

In other words, salvation through the flesh — through religion — is impossible. But with God salvation is not only possible, it’s available to all, regardless of race, culture or social status. This is Christianity — real Christianity, not the counterfeit legalism, which is religious “Christianity.”

For more on the difference between religion and Christianity see this video:

5. God has made a way for forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation

Humanity’s problem is that we have a sin nature, which separates us from our holy Creator and puts us on a collision course with eternal death. God’s conundrum is that the LORD is love and thus loves humanity (1 John 4:8 & John 3:16), but God is also just and must therefore issue out the just wage of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23 & Matthew 10:28). God is willing to forgive sin, but the LORD cannot ignore sin. Thus the Almighty came up with an ingenious plan to save humanity from eternal death by providing a way to forgive a person’s sin by providing someone without sin willing to die in his/her place (2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15  & 1 John 3:5).

Consider this little parable: An entomologist lived by some woods where he studied the various insects. There was a huge ant hill of which he became particularly fond. When news came that the nearby road was going to be extended through the woods and it was on a collision course with the ant hill the entomologist longed to save his beloved ants, but it was impossible to communicate the dangers to them. The only way he could do so would be to become an ant!

This is the Christian message in a nutshell: God become a human being in the form of Jesus Christ to warn us to repent or perish (Luke 13:1-9) and, more than that, sacrifice himself for us by dying in our place (Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Peter 3:18 & Hebrews 9:14, 9:26). Think about it, God could’ve just kicked back in Heaven and destroyed us all for our sin, which would’ve been a just act. Instead, God was born into this humbling, brutal planet and suffered & died for us.

Yet it doesn’t end there, Christ was raised from the dead for our justification (Romans 4:25).

Thus the penalty of sin, death, is paid for and those who believe & repent are saved from eternal death (Mark 1:15 & Acts 20:21) and reconciled to their Creator (Romans 5:10 & 5:11). Belief, by the way, simply means you believe the message and repentance means to “change your mind” in response to that particular truth, which naturally has an impact on your actions or lifestyle.

6. God gives us the spiritual “software” to escape bondage to sin

‘Gospel’ literally means “good news.” The good news of the message of Christ isn’t just that we escape the penalty of eternal death, but that we escape the power of sin through spiritual regeneration (Titus 3:5 & 1 Peter 1:3) and the ensuing renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2).

Along with spiritual rebirth, believers receive the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is our Helper, teacher and advocate (2 Timothy 1:14 & John 14:26).

On top of all of this, the LORD has provided believers with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the benefits that come with this awesome gift, which you can read about here (shh, Christians aren’t supposed to talk about spiritual gifts these days).

If you’re struggling with some kind of life-dominating sin — whether it’s something sexual, or drugs, alcohol or whatever — I understand; freedom is available for you through Christ and the benefits of the gospel. To walk free of any sin bondage simply put into practice the 3-point plan revealed in this article and corresponding video:

Freedom may not take place overnight because it involves the transforming of your mind — your thinking and identity — but I guarantee you that it will occur as you apply yourself and you’ll one day laugh at your current struggles.

7. Believers can know and walk with their Creator on a 24/7 basis

While atheists like to make fun of Christians for having a relationship with their “invisible friend,” people were created to have a relationship with their Creator. In other words, fellowship with God is perfectly normal and is actually the first order of life. This explains Christ’s statement “seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). (Please notice that it says seek first and not seek only).

As far as personal relationship goes,

• Adam communed with God in the Garden of Eden, even after his fall (Genesis 3:8-13);
• Enoch “walked with God” and they were so close that the LORD simply “took him away,” presumably so they could be together in Heaven (Genesis 5:22-24), but also as a type of the future Rapture;
• Moses communed with God in the Tent of Meeting wherein the LORD dwelt on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant between the two gold-sculptured cherubim (Exodus 33:11);
• Asaph walked with his Creator so closely that they figuratively held hands (Psalm 73:23-25); and…
• David, of course, was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14 & Acts 13:22).

All of these people from the Old Testament had a relationship with the LORD despite the fact that they had an inferior covenant with God. Today a vastly superior covenant is available to all people through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 8:6-7). This is the awesome message of the gospel — we can reconcile with our Creator, be forgiven of sin, have a relationship and receive eternal life & immortality (2 Timothy 1:10).

So how do you develop a relationship with God? We have to get away from this erroneous idea that we only encounter the LORD when we go to church gatherings once or twice a week. The Bible speaks of “praying without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV) and the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14), which suggests developing a 24/7 rapport with God. You can have conversations with your Creator throughout the day, every day — when you wake up in bed, when you’re in the shower, when you’re driving, when you’re walking down the hall, in the evening, etc.

Just remember prayer protocol. You pray:

1. To the Father (Matthew 6:9)
2. in the name of Jesus Christ (John 16:23)
3. by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13)

As far as more ‘official’ personal prayer sessions go, start with “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Turn off the gadgets and get away from the noise of the crowd. Instead of glancing at God while gazing at your needs learn to gaze at God while glancing at your needs.

There’s a difference between the 24/7 fellowship noted above and personal prayer sessions. Christ said “when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). Jesus was simply talking about finding a solitary place for prayer sessions, known only to you and the LORD. This is in contrast to religious hypocrites who love to pray in front of others, which really isn’t communion with God, but rather putting on a show to impress people, which is fakeness (Matthew 6:5). ‘Hypocrite’ literally means “actor.” This isn’t to say, by the way, that it’s wrong to pray with other believers, as is shown in the Bible (Acts 12:12), just that’ it’s wrong to pray in front of others for the purpose of impressing them with one’s supposed devoutness.

When the Messiah said to “go into your room, close the door and pray” he was simply talking about finding a solitary place where it’s just you and the LORD. It’s interesting that Jesus “as was his habit” often went to solitary places in the wilderness to pray, as shown in Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23 and Luke 22:39-41. Why did he do this? Because there’s something about nature that’s conducive to encountering the Creator.

I think this is why people are attracted to outdoor activities — like hiking, kayaking, fishing, hunting and so on — because on some primal level they encounter God who is revealed in creation (Psalm 19:1-4, 97:6 & Romans 1:20). Paul & his ministry companions understood this:

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer.

Acts 16:13

For more on relationship with God see this article and this video:

8. God has assignments — objectives/works — for you to fulfill in each season of life

While salvation from eternal death and relationship with God are core to Christianity, something naturally proceeds from that salvation & relationship, as noted here:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8-10

The LORD has works for you to do regardless of which season in life you are in, as well as an ultimate calling. For instance Jesus Christ was called to be a fulltime minister for 3.5 years and ultimately lay his life down for the salvation of humanity but, before that, he had regular assignments while earning a living as a carpenter up to the age of 30, such as drawing close to God, growing in knowledge/understanding/wisdom, learning how to minister and serving particular people in various ways.

Christians tend to think that if they’re not called to be a pastor they’re of no value to God. This is a lie straight from the enemy. The LORD is very interested in your life. In fact, you’re God’s child through spiritual rebirth (1 John 5:1 & 3:9). Any normal, healthy parent is intensely interested in the life of his/her son or daughter; how much more so your heavenly Father? You must get a hold of the fact that God has strategic purposes for every believer, including YOU.

Keep in mind that any work you do for the LORD must proceed from your relationship and not be a substitute for your relationship. For instance, when Christ came to Martha & Mary’s abode Martha focused on running around in a frenzy trying to work for the Lord whereas Mary focused on relationship, quietly receiving from the Lord. Martha was so misled that she arrogantly barked orders at the mighty Christ. Naturally Mary’s actions where commended by the Lord rather than Martha’s works (Luke 10:38-42).

So focus on relationship with the LORD and seek to discern your purpose in each season of life, as well as specific works within that context. Then use the mind God gave you to plan your way and act according to that plan with the leading of the Holy Spirit. This will give you a sense of purpose in life and will build invigorating momentum. As Jesus said, “My food [sustenance, energy] is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). This video details a simple 3-point strategy to do this and it’s easy as pie:

9. God promises the redeemed eternal life

Lastly, Christianity at its core is the answer to humanity’s ultimate quest. Think about it, what is humanity’s greatest desire — a greater desire than wealth, fame, true love or sexual gratification? From the ancient epic of Gilgamesh to Ponce De Leon’s obsessive search for the fountain of youth to our modern-day compulsion to be youthful-looking as long as possible, humanity is obsessed with the idea of immortality, the idea of living forever. The answer is revealed clearly in the Holy Scriptures and this is further reason why the message of Jesus Christ is the “good news”! Religionists may have obscured this truth over the centuries with their tangled web of life-stifling half-truths and lies, but the truth is still there, it cannot be quenched: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

In other words, Christianity is about receiving immortality & eternal life (2 Timothy 1:10) and enjoying a purposeful life in a wondrous new universe without the curse of sin & death, which the Scriptures call the new heavens and new earth in the Bible:

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

2 Peter 3:13

Unfortunately, most believers aren’t looking forward to their eternal life beyond this fallen earth. Why? Because most ministers rarely teach/preach on this amazing topic and, if they do, they pretty much limit it to “spending eternity in heaven,” which naturally gives the impression of sitting on a cloud playing a harp forever and seems fantastical. Needless to say, it’s hardly invigorating.

What exactly are the “new heaven and new earth”?

The “new heaven” does not refer to the spiritual abode where God’s throne is located — heaven (Psalm 103:19 & 11:4) — because heaven is already perfect and therefore doesn’t need restored. After all, how can you restore perfection? Understand that the term ‘heaven’ or ‘the heavens’ can also refer to the physical universe and everything in it. For example, Psalm 19:1 states: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” This is an example of Hebrew poetry known as synonymous parallelism where the second part of the verse simply repeats the first part in different words. In this case “the heavens” in the first part is confirmed as “the skies” in the second.

So the “new heaven” refers to a divinely renovated physical universe. Likewise, “new earth” refers to a renovated earth. The preceding verses of the above passage elaborate on this restoration:

The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

2 Peter 3:10-13

This is where the redeemed will spend eternity. The apostle John elaborated on this in his vision:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

Revelation 21:1-5

Imagine life on earth and in a universe where God is overtly manifest and there’s no more death, grieving or pain! Even more, imagine this life with new imperishable, glorified, powerful and spiritual bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-44) rather than the aging, weak vessels we currently have.

Since believers are going to receive the same type of glorified body Christ did, we can get an idea of what life will be like with our new glorified bodies by simply observing what the Bible says about Jesus after his resurrection and before his ascension. For instance, we’ll be able to walk through solid objects (John 20:26), instantly appear out of nowhere and disappear (Luke 24:31 & 24:36-37); in other words, we’ll be able to teleport at will. With this understanding, we’ll no doubt be able to take “quantum leaps” to anywhere on the new earth, moon, Mars or universe—distances and space will no longer limit us.

For anyone who argues that Christ is deity and therefore our glorified bodies may not have the same capacity as his, the Bible blatantly says that we are “co-heirs with Christ,” which means ‘joint heirs’ or ‘joint participants’ (Romans 8:17). Furthermore, why would the LORD reveal to us the incredible abilities of the glorified body through Jesus’ actions after his resurrection if God didn’t intend for us to have the same incredible capacity when we’re bodily resurrected?

But there’s more, way more. See this article (and the follow-up one too) for amazing answers about what eternal life will be like for children of God (that means you). As we have seen, the Bible encourages us to “look forward to the new heavens and new earth,” which you won’t likely do without relevant scriptural revelation to whet your appetite.

Close

The basics of Christianity detailed in this article are a great starting point for believers, but the Bible itself notes The SIX BASIC DOCTRINES of Christianity, which I encourage you to check out and master (the nine points in this article fit somewhere into these six basic doctrines).

Of equal importance are The Seven Keys to SPIRITUAL GROWTH chronicled in the epistle of 2 Peter. These “keys” will keep you productive and moving forward in your faith and relationship with God.

Lastly, as you grow in the Lord it’s important to grasp the Four Stages of Spiritual Development, not to mention what it means to be a disciple of Christ, which all believers are called to be, from the newest believer to the most seasoned fivefold minister.

This article is also available in book form as the first chapter in…

• The print book is available here  for only $11.99  (299 pages)
• The Kindle eBook is available here  for just 99¢!

Both links allow you to “look inside” the book.

Related Topics:

Why is this World so Messed Up?

REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation

RESTORATION OF ALL THING