Upon entering a little country store, the stranger noticed a sign saying "DANGER! BEWARE OF DOG!" posted on the glass door. Inside, he noticed a harmless old hound dog asleep on the floor near the cash register.
He asked the store's owner "Is that the dog folks are supposed to beware of?"
"Yep," the proprietor answered, "That's him."
The stranger couldn't help being amused. "That certainly doesn't look like a dangerous dog to me," he chuckled. "Why in the world did you decide to post that sign?"
"Because," the owner replied, "before I posted that sign, people kept tripping over him."
Now and then I come across people who spiritually trip over Jesus and Christianity. I am not talking about unsaved people, but those who profess to be Christians. And a good reason for this is that many people within the church do not know the essentials of the Christian faith. If someone were to ask you, “What are the essential core beliefs of the Christian faith that under no circumstances can never be compromised,” what would your answer be? We ought to know such things, otherwise we too can trip over Christianity.
Here are seven essentials beliefs that, if you call yourself a Christian, you MUST believe in every one of these truths.
1. God Exist (Heb. 11:6).
The bible teaches that without faith in God, a faith that “must believe that He is,” it is impossible to please Him. This is the starting point. No person can ever be said to be a Christian who does not believe that God exists.
2. God is a Trinity (Matt. 28:19).
When Jesus gave to His church the assignment of fulfilling the Great Commission, He said, “make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name (singular) of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Right at the very start of introducing someone to Jesus and starting them on the road of walking with Christ is an essential understanding of knowing that the Lord is one God who exists in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
3. Jesus is both God and Man (Philip. 2:5-8).
You must believe that Jesus is God. Why? Otherwise you will be tempted to think He had a beginning. You must also believe that Jesus was born a man. Why? Otherwise you will be tempted to believe that Jesus was nothing more than a good person with a noble cause. Paul said that Jesus “existed in the form of God,” and “emptied Himself” (i.e. became a man) “being made in the likeness of men.”
John put it this way: “Every spirit (or person) who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every person who does not confess Jesus Christ is not from God; and this is the spirit of antichrist” (1 John 4:2-3).
If Jesus had not been God, then He would have been your average sinner who did not die for the sins of others, but for his own sins. If Jesus did not become man, how in the world would it be possible for us to know the Father, since it is the Son who reveals the Father to us (John 14:9)?
4. Jesus died for our sins and three days later resurrected (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
The fact that Jesus died is indisputable. The fact that He arose from the dead is undeniable. Yet people trip over the resurrection of Christ all the time, because they do not make the association that Jesus did all this for them! Paul said that if Jesus was not raised from the dead than our faith is useless and so is our preaching (1 Cor. 15:14). In fact, believing in the resurrection of Christ is so critical, that one cannot be saved without such a belief (cf. Rom. 10:9).
5. The Bible is God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
There is no other source on this side of heaven greater than, or equal to, the Word of God. God did not inspire men, but the Scriptures. Every word is God-breathed or God-given and therefore totally inerrant and infallible. You and I can trust the Word of God completely. Only God’s Word has the ability to “save your soul” (James 1:21). No person can call himself an evangelical Christian who does not believe that the Bible is the Word of God.
6. Jesus is coming back for us (John 14:1-3).
Jesus made a promise that He would one day return for His bride. You can be certain that if He kept His promise the first time and was born into this world, you know He will also keep His promise and come again, this time as a conquering king (Rev. 19:11). Don’t let anyone, especially mockers tame your passion to look for and wait patently for the return of Christ (cf. 2 Pet. 3:1-9).
He is right on schedule. He will not be late. Will you and I be ready?
7. Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6).
No man comes to the Father but through Christ. Believing this is paramount. There is no salvation in any other name under heaven given to men (Acts 4:12). Believing that there are more ways to heaven than Jesus is why the popular road to heaven today is wide rather than narrow (Matt. 7:13-14). God’s truth is always narrow. Don’t fall for the notion that you have to keep an open mind on this issue. No you don’t! You want your doctor to have an open mind when he or she operates on you? You want your pilot to have an open mind when he flies the plane you are riding on? You want your spouse to have an open mind regarding who he or she ought to love and care for? Then why would we want an open mind regarding the most critical and crucial issue in life – our eternal destiny? Jesus is the only way PERIOD! That settles it!
Now why are these things important to believe? Why is it essential to understand the truth about Jesus? Because to do so is how lives are transformed forever!
From the pages of The Wall Street Journal comes the story of a Polish man named William E. Wallner who became a Lutheran minister in Prague. Author John Murray writes: "By 1939, Wallner was leading a Lutheran parish in Prague. Shortly after Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia, a doctor in Wallner's parish was sent to a Nazi concentration camp...The doctor, a Jewish convert to Christianity, encouraged his fellow prisoners 'to die bravely, with faith in their hearts.' As a result, the doctor became a target of Gestapo officers.
"Although struck with an iron rod until one of his arms had to be amputated, the doctor would not be quieted. Finally... 'one Gestapo officer beat the doctor's head against a stone wall until blood was streaming down his face.' Holding a mirror before the doctor, the Gestapo officer sneered: 'Take a look at yourself. Now you look like your Jewish Christ.'
"Lifting his remaining hand up, the doctor exclaimed, 'Lord Jesus, never in my life have I received such honor—to resemble You.' Those would be his last words on Earth.
"Distraught by the doctor's proclamation, the Gestapo officer sought out Wallner that night. 'Could Pastor Wallner help him, free him from the terrible burden of his guilt?'
"After praying with him, Wallner advised, 'Perhaps God let you kill that good man to bring you to the foot of the Cross, where you can help others.' The Gestapo officer returned to the concentration camp. And through the aid of Wallner and the Czech underground, he worked to free many Jews over the years that followed." In fact, he helped save more than 350 Jewish children from death at Nazi hands."
The power of Jesus can transform lives -- a Polish minister, a Jewish doctor, a Gestapo officer. He can even transform you and me.
