What are essentials and nonessentials to the Christian faith?

aprodigal1 · Jul 21, 2009

Looking through some of the posts and threads, I am very interested in what everyone believes are the essentials and nonessential of the Christian faith. I've seen some very dogmatic views on some issues I believe Christ is not at all concerned with. At some point I believe the arguments can become divisive and even offensive to the Cross. What are your thoughts?

BLC · Jul 21, 2009

aprodigal1 said:

Concerning the highlighted in blue, name the issues that you are referring to, that you believe Christ is not concerned with. Then define for everyone what the nonessentials are concerning our faith. If you are going to make statements, as you have, you need to back them up objectively so that others will know exactly what you are referring to. If you leave it vague then readers can can label anything they want as nonessential, as you have allowed. Please don't say that you feel it could cause an argument if you did such a thing because you were just giving your (2) cents worth.

ariannaaa · Jul 21, 2009

aprodigal1 said:

You're right in that there is alot of division in Christianity.. which is a shame, but a reality. I think it is ok to debate things we disagree on in order to better our understanding of issues, but not in the hostile way you've noted and not in a way that will result in anyone not wanting to fellowship with another because of a unnecessary dispute.

I Cor 1:10 "..speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, and that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement."

I Tim 6:3-6 "If anyone does not consent to wholesome words.. he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife,..From such withdraw yourself."

I think the basics of Christianity- the core issues that should be agreed on above all else.. are in the following 4 verses:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that who soever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast."

Rom 3:23-24 "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

II Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and teaching in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

We can argue about predestination, gifts of the Spirit, and eternal salvation until we are all red in the face. But as long as we all realize that ..

(A) we serve a triune God who is alive, (B) who sent Jesus Christ to be crucified on the cross for our sins- (C) without which we could never enter into the Kingdom of God, and (D) that the Bible is truth and the word of God..

We should be able to set all other disputes aside and worship our God as one body.

wwjd_kilden · Jul 21, 2009

I agree with arianaaa, with just one added note: 1. Chorintians 13:

1If I speak in the tonguesa of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,b but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
...

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

aprodigal1 · Jul 21, 2009

BLC said:

Forgive me for being so vague. Concerning the "non essentials I believe Christ is not concerned with". I guess when making the comparisons to the essentials of what is required for salvation the non essentials would have been clearly identified. But for the record I believe some of the doctrinal pitfalls we fall into as the body of Christ is due to the taking of an argument that scripture may present different views on and then WE tend to want to promote what we believe the scriptures are teaching and in some ways attaching these ideas to the gospel message in a dogmatic fashion.

I'm not so much trying to make a point as I am making an observation. Some are very passionate when it comes to:

1. Pneumatology
2. Eschatology
3. Free will

The question is, "are we as passionate about getting the Gospel out to the lost as we are about the things mentioned in the list above?"

2 Timothy 2:22-26
22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

andrew4 · Jul 21, 2009

I think it is essential to take all of the Lord's commandments seriously. I don't think it enough to say, I believe he is my savior so I am saved. In Matthew 5, Jesus says you must be more righteous than the scribes to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Again he says, those who love me follow my commandments. And again, be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is Perfect. While you may have sinned in the passed and repented, I don't think it is the right attitude for someone to say, "and if I sin in the future, I will repent and be forgiven." We should have the mindset that we will never commit another sin again. As it is written, Sin must become exceedingly sinful to us. It is only then that we can see "I believe the Lord is my Savior" and mean it. That is my belief.

starfield · Jul 21, 2009

Essentials:
1) Prayer "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1)

2) Evangelism "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15)

3) Perfection "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48)

4) Holiness "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:14-16)

Non-essentials:
1) Division "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Cor 1:10)

2) Anxiety "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6: 31-32)

3) Riches "Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them" (Psalm 62:10); "And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19: 24)

laurajean · Jul 21, 2009

With a very broad stroke, the essential aspect of true Christian faith is living your life to the full glory of God. Your thoughts, words, and deeds should give glory to God.

BLC · Jul 21, 2009

How can we, who have been born of the incorruptible seed of God's word (1Pt 1:23) and have been commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Mt 4:4), consider any doctrine of the scriptures to be non-essential or some kind of secondary peripheral doctrine? Is giving a cup of cold water, in the name of a disciple, some how non-essential and secondary to the faith? Is putting away lying to one another and not allowing any corrupt communication to proceed from our mouth, qualify as a second class way of conducting ourselves before the presence of God and in our dealings with the brethren that belong to Him?

Is not ALL scripture inspired (God breathed) and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and instruction in righteousness (2Tim 3:16)? Why do we make any of God's word second rate and treat it like it is less holy or less sacred just because people do not agree. Try applying that kind of thinking in any educational system and see how far it gets you? Try building a house and use the wrong cement mix for the foundation or make the opening to small for the new windows or use the wrong gauge wire for your power supply. Jesus said in (Mt 5:18), 'For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled'. It seems that Jesus considered even the smallest comma to be essential and said in (John 10:35) that the scriptures can not be broken. Some of you need to put away this notion that anything outside the cardinal doctrine of the faith is secondary and not worth contending, especially when it comes to eternal redemption that was obtained for us by Jesus Christ.

BTW - Anyone that preaches that you can lose your salvation is preaching another gospel, another Christ and probably has another spirit that is not from God. Salvation is not a debate, salvation is of the Lord and is given as a gift when we believe. Anyone that teaches that they can lose it is an enemy of salvation and the Author of it.

MahogonySnail · Jul 21, 2009

Well you know, BLC you seem to be pretty strict when it comes to nonessential /essential doctrines, yet you are pretty loose when it comes to salvation, concluding with statements that you cannot lose salvation. Doesn't that sound slighly contradictary to you?

watchmen · Jul 21, 2009

What is essential to salvation
#1 you must believe God exist.
#2 you must Believe Jesus is the Son of God.
#3 you must believe Jesus died for your sins.
#4 you must believe God raised Him from the dead.
#5 you must confess Christ as your Savior
#6 you must bear fruit worthy of repentance

Everything else is non-essential

MahogonySnail · Jul 21, 2009

Ok that reminds me of these verses in Hebrews 6. The bible teaches what the essentials are if we bother to notice them.

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ,..

The principles i.e. foundational essentials are:

1. Perfection - " let us go on unto perfection;" - this means a full grown and complete person, more perfect knowledge of God and His ways, the Gospel etc.

2. Repentance from dead works - "not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, "

3, Faith towards God - "and of faith toward God,"

4. Baptisms - note the plurality, baptised with water, baptism with the Spirit , "Of the doctrine of baptisms",

5. Laying on of hands - impartation of gifts and appointments for service " and of laying on of hands"

6. Resurrection of the dead - "and of resurrection of the dead"

7. Eternal judgement. - " and of eternal judgment. ", including the rewarding of good works and punishment otherwise.

Also note we have 7 listed there which represents spiritual perfection.

MahogonySnail · Jul 21, 2009

So I know I personally get a bit dogmatic about baptism in the Spirit and the spiritual gifts, only because I see them as essential doctrines according to Hebrews 6. These are foundational things which every believer in the early church believed in and had. But these days you have a hard time finding a Christian who believes absolutely in every 7 points, particularly points 4 and 5, which simply means they are not yet finished with the principles. As long as we come to terms with every one of those 7 points before we die , can we find the kind of spiritual perfection and completion God desires from each of us.

The issues of tribulation , rapture etc also come under points 6 and 7 so they are not non-essentials.

Neither is the doctrine about baptisms, as you can see in point 4, that is an essential doctrine.

Apart from occasional silliness I can't see that any topics we usually discuss in the forum is outside of essential doctrine.

aprodigal1 · Jul 22, 2009

MahogonySnail said:

.

So in presenting the gospel to the lost would you include the need to have multiple baptisms and spiritual gifts to legitimize there faith?

aprodigal1 · Jul 22, 2009

BLC said:

Must be news to Palagian, Charles and John Wesley and the many other church fathers that taught these different views.

See, this is my whole point. There are many great men of faith on both sides of these, in my opinion "non-essentials". What I believe all can agree on, without much debate are these seven:

#1 you must believe God exist.
#2 you must Believe Jesus is the Son of God.
#3 you must believe Jesus died for your sins.
#4 you must believe God raised Him from the dead.
#5 you must confess Christ as your Savior
#6 you must bear fruit worthy of repentance

Where the Holy Spirit leads you to fellowship, be discipled and minister at, after these issues are received and believed is in the hands of our Great and Mighty God.

1 John 2:27
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

MahogonySnail · Jul 22, 2009

The purpose of these things is not to legitimize faith but to equip believers for practical service, and equip them in their new found desire to love and serve God as a disciple of Christ, in order to make more disciples of Christ. These were not optional extras for the early christians, neither should they be optional extras today. Most in churches today are pew-sitters, and today the church puts more trust and seeks the help of worldly pscyhological counsellers and philospophers rather than using what God has already given. We should remember that the dark ages for the church, was not just about limiting the bible to the a select few, it was also limiting the gifts and equipment for service to a select few (the clergy/laity distinction). Unfortunately, many protestant denominations still operate out of this clergy/laity distinction, and re-naming 'priests's to 'elders' does not really change the situation on the ground.

MahogonySnail · Jul 22, 2009

Unfortunately, we like to draw the line of what is essential, at our own personal salvation. Not realising that the salvation of others is equally as essential and so is the building up /edification of the Church, which is where the gifts and power for service come into play.

MahogonySnail · Jul 22, 2009

The non essentials to me, would be discussions about flavours of music, body art, piercings, outward appearances, Harry Potter, observance of days, food etc, things that don't concern the essential doctrine mentioned in Hebrews 1-7.

aprodigal1 · Jul 22, 2009

MahogonySnail said:

I agree with you. Even though the bible does mention issues such as food, outward appearance and observance of days, as the body of Christ these are not things to divide over or quarrel about. These are good topics to wrestle with as an individual and even better to conclude your own personal convictions about. As for a discussion these and other topics seem to get a lot of attention which is fine.
I just pray no matter what we decide about these non-essentials that we could unite ourselves under the banner of Christ for the purpose of the spreading and the ministering of the gospel for His glory!

BLC · Jul 22, 2009

watchmen said:

But you left out what you really believe about post-salvation and have been preaching on CC.

#7 you must maintain your salvation through repentance because believing is not enough
#8 you must make sure you don't commit any sin unto physical death and go to hell
#9 you must have good works to prove you are saved because the grace of God has no power to keep you

These three nullify the first six and make them all conditional and of none effect.

What are essentials and nonessentials to the Christian faith?

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