What do you absolutely HAVE to believe to be a Christian?

[IgnatioDeLoyola]

Dear All,

I've started this thread out of genuine interest in the response. The question is, what is absolutely mandatory to believe in to be called a "Christian"? Or, are there beliefs that, if you profess that you hold them or do not hold them, we can be certain that you are not in the Body of Christ (the Church)?

There are some obvious answers to this for me:

1. That God exists. (yes, I know, this is really basic, but I've met atheists and agnostics who claim to be Christians)

2. That God is made up of 3 persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

3. That man fell into sin and was seperated from God as a result, that God made a series of covenants with man to save him from sin, and the final covenant is the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, the perfect and spotless Pesach lamb who died on a cross at Calvary for all of us.

4. That the only known path out of sin, and towards reconcilliation with God, is through uniting ourselves with the sacrifice of Jesus.

5. We do this through professing inwardly and outwardly that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, and committing to listen to him and follow him, however imperfectly, in all we do.

After that it gets hard. There are many other statements in the Nicene and Apostle's creed that add to this theologically. But would I say that, if you disagreed with one of those, you cannot be a Christian? 

There are epistemological statements you could add: do you believe the Bible? How much of it do you believe? What other sources of truth are there about God, in your opinion?

There are statements on sacraments and salvation: have you been, or do you intend to be, baptised in water? Do you believe that baptism is necessary to belong to the Church? etc.

There are many moral statements also that one might add to this also - could you be a Christian if you think murder is okay, for example? 

I would love your opinions on this, and to understand how other people see this question.

Best

I

[RdJ]

1. Yes

2. Not necessary

3. Everyone has sinned and you need Jesus to forgive your sins. He died for your sins. Rest is not necessary. A 4 year old can become a christian without having heard about/ understanding all that stuff.

4 and 5 yes

That's it I guess.

[Rick-Parker]

Jesus died on the Cross for forgiveness of sin. Without the Cross, there is no forgiveness of sin.

[other one]

Quote

Rom 10:9-10
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
ESV

 

That sounds simple, but there is a lot to declaring Jesus as your Lord.  A lot of responsibility goes along with that so as not to make yourself out to be a liar.

If he is your Lord, you must do as he says, and lead a life of righteousness.   Basically by living by his two commandments...   Every day all day and night.

[IgnatioDeLoyola]

Dear @RdJ

4 hours ago, RdJ said:

2. Not necessary

Hmmm. Not sure I agree there. If someone, for example, believed that only God the father existed and had no son, I don't think they could be Christian. Jewish, sure, but not Christian.

4 hours ago, RdJ said:

A 4 year old can become a christian without having heard about/ understanding all that stuff.

Agreed. I was sort of assuming we are dealing with an adult. Imagine, for example, that I didn't believe that Jesus was the lamb of God - that I specifically denied that. Would that still be Christian?

I guess I was also thinking: are there other things, besides the 5 I wrote that people think are necessary?

Dear @Rick-Parker,

Obviously agreed. 

Dear @other one,

2 hours ago, other one said:

That sounds simple, but there is a lot to declaring Jesus as your Lord.  A lot of responsibility goes along with that so as not to make yourself out to be a liar.

Agreed. I think it "sounds" simple. But when you actually start asking hypotheticals, it's harder.

For example, John 3:16 says that "whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." But when you look at it, it can't just be intellectual belief. Satan believes in Jesus, knows exactly who Jesus is, met and tempted him to try to disrupt his ministry, and is absolutely convinced of His truthfulness, love and power of His name and blood. But Satan isn't saved or a Christian for sure.

Edited April 24, 2024 by IgnatioDeLoyola

[other one]

1 hour ago, IgnatioDeLoyola said:

whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Actually the original Greek doesn't say shall, it says might not perish or should not perish.  The not is a  conditional thing.   There is more to it than just believe.  One has to believe to even start.

[RdJ]

1 hour ago, IgnatioDeLoyola said:

Dear @RdJ

Hmmm. Not sure I agree there. If someone, for example, believed that only God the father existed and had no son, I don't think they could be Christian. Jewish, sure, but not Christian.

Yes that's true. I was thinking about Oneness pentecostals here.

1 hour ago, IgnatioDeLoyola said:

Agreed. I was sort of assuming we are dealing with an adult. Imagine, for example, that I didn't believe that Jesus was the lamb of God - that I specifically denied that. Would that still be Christian?

No. That's a basic thing you have to believe.

 

[IgnatioDeLoyola]

13 hours ago, other one said:

Actually the original Greek doesn't say shall, it says might not perish or should not perish.

Oh wow really? Could you link me into an explanation of the original Greek and explanation of that translation @other one?

[Daniel Marsh]

I cor 15

[other one]

On 4/25/2024 at 5:09 AM, IgnatioDeLoyola said:

Oh wow really? Could you link me into an explanation of the original Greek and explanation of that translation @other one?