Here are five facts about Christianity that can help anyone understand a lot about how this religion works quickly...
We could each spend a lifetime pursuing the knowledge and wisdom of Christianity. Actually, pursuit of the understanding of our Christian faith is an important goal, and we should pray for that understanding. However, there are just a few fundamental principles of the Christian faith that, once understood, can explain a lot.
Here are five facts about Christianity that can help us understand a whole lot about how it all works.
#1: The Sinful Heart
The first principle is the naturally sinful heart. As human beings, we are driven towards sinful motives. This is call “original sin”. It sounds like a nasty mark, but when you accept it as fact, you start living in reality instead of fantasy. If you honestly look at your own motives, you would prefer to put yourself ahead of others in ways that lead you towards things like lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride, and more. Certainly, we live lives resisting these motives, but they do seem to be engrained in human nature.
Being aware of our sinful nature does a couple of things that are actually beneficial: 1) shows us what we actually deserve in terms of God’s wrath; 2) motivates us to seek salvation from God’s wrath. In general, a Christian walk over a lifetime has us growing in our awareness of just how sinful we actually are.
#2: The Holiness and Goodness of God
The second principle is the degree of God’s holiness and goodness. Our God is defined by a righteous and loving character that is beyond our understanding. The good news is that our Bible gives us description and illustrative examples of just how holy He is. Thus, reading the Bible helps us understand the character and motives of our God towards goodness and a personal relationship with each of us. Again, over a lifetime, we try to grow in our awareness and appreciation of just how holy and righteous God is
#3: God's Law
The third principle relates to God’s law. This is something that turns many Christians away, and rightfully so given a lack of understanding of its true context. Unfortunately, the law has been used to shame far too many people away from Christianity. However, the law has a completely different set of purposes that are good that include the following:
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#4: The Gift of Jesus Christ
The forth principle is the gift of Jesus Christ. We have heard that Jesus Christ died for our sins. But what does that really mean? Well, it means that once we accept Christ as our Savior, God sees us as he sees Jesus – this perfect man who never sinned. Guess what that means for you? That means you don’t have to experience the wrath of God for your lifetime of sin, both past and future. Hallelujah! What a gift!
#5: Heart Idolatry
A fifth principle is known as heart idolatry. Simply put, this is the act of “worshiping” anything other than God. While few of us are at risk of falling to our knees and chanting for the sun, wind, or small carved statues, we often worship things other than God. For example, we may find ourselves worshiping money in a way that drives us to work 80 hours a week. We may find ourselves worshiping the ability to play guitar and practice so much that we skip time with God. We may find ourselves worshiping our kids in ways that are unhealthy for our relationship with our spouse. None of these things are inherently bad, we only need to make sure they have a right position below our #1 priority – God.Conclusion
I realize that these principles do not capture every single aspect of being a Christian, but I hope they help you understand some of the big ideas of the Christian faith.
Please feel free to leave a comment below on how these principles have helped you grow in your own faith.
