"Christ is the centre of Christianity; everything else is peripheral." --John Stott
According to Karl Gustav Adolf von Harnack, Christianity's Wesen, or essence in German, can be reduced to two universal claims: the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. This was gleaned from his book, What is Christianity? by theologian R. C. Sproul. The affirmation is false: fatherhood only applies to born-again believers; likewise to a brotherhood. Many scholars have attempted to reduce Christianity to something other than what it is--knowing God and making Him known.
You cannot reduce Buddhism or Islam to knowing Buddha or Muhammad, because these men are not essential to those religions. You can remove them and the religion remains intact. The Pharisees tried to reduce Judaism to man-made rules and laws, to make it nothing but externalism and legalism, but Jesus said that neglected the more important parts of the Law--justice, mercy, and faithfulness (cf. Matt. 23:23).
If we remove Christ from Christianity the faith is disemboweled and there is nothing left! It would be nearly nice ethics and pie-in-the-sky thinking. We need to realize that it's more than a creed but putting it to work and turning it into deeds. God is only pleased by faith in action (cf. Rom. 15:18), not our successes or achievements; Christianity is about God's accomplishment, not our feats. He wants our obedience, not our exploits! Richard of Chichester put it rather succinctly and eloquently: "to know Jesus Christ more clearly, to love him more dearly, to follow him more nearly."
The Bible spells it out in what Jesus claimed, "I am the way, and the truth and the life." A. W. Tozer said that Christ is "not the best way or one of many ways, but the only way." Thomas a Kempis said, "Without the way, there is no going; without the truth, there is no knowing; and without the life, there is no living." Yes, Christians claim to know the Way, and the faith was first called the Way. Christ is the center of the faith and all else is circumference and even "peripheral." Those who are mere do-gooders and know not the Lord have missed the boat. Christians are meant to be the salt and light of the world and to show people the way by virtue of knowing Christ.
They say Christianity is not a religion or system of dos and don'ts, but a relationship, and this has become a cliche, but the Bible says that if you want to boast, boast (cf. Jer. 9:24) in the Lord, that you know Him. I prefer to think of it as a to-know list (know the Lord, know the Bible, know sin, know God's will). Buddhism a not really a religion, but a philosophy of life and good advice and enlightenment for the ignorant, but it offers no salvation and doesn't know of man's problem with sin. Why is it that Muslims don't sing about how Muhammad loves them or worship him--he has many flaws and is not worthy--that's why! With all due respect to the founders of all the great religions, none of them claimed to be God but Jesus!
According to The Westminster Shorter Catechism, "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." John Piper reinterprets this as "by enjoying Him forever." This is taken from Isaiah 43:7, NIV, that says God created man for His glory sake: "[E]veryone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." God has a purpose for everyone, including the wicked (cf. Prov. 16:4). "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;..." (Psalm 138:8a, ESV).
This means only in Christianity does man have dignity, meaning, and purpose from God. Christianity is primarily a religion of salvation and a rescue operation; its good deeds and acts of charity performed in the name of Christ have been a light to the world, but it's more: a faith; a communion; a relationship; a walk with God; a fellowship, and, of course, a camaraderie with God and fellow believers.
The ultimate goal of the Christian life is to let Christ live through you, as a surrendered, relinquished, substituted, inhabited, exchanged, and Spirit-filled life in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit's indwelling ministry. All that ultimately counts is expressing our faith through love (cf. Gal.. 5:6). We no longer live, but Christ lives in us! The mature believer is Christlike and is a work in progress towards perfection/holiness, which will only be completed upon glorification.
The true believer will produce works and fruit to demonstrate faith, or it's dead faith and won't save. Saving faith isn't inert or static, but growing and demonstrative with fruit! Faith cannot but express itself! It is said that the faith you have is the faith you show! The wonder is that it's done by God's power working in us both to will and to do His divine pleasure.
In the final analysis, Christianity is not a religion or a works proposition, but a faith-and-grace one; religion is a do-it-yourself activity, and lifting yourself up by your own bootstraps, while God works for you in Christianity. The devil is not out to make us as ungodly as possible (that's why there are so many false religions), but godly or good without God--the epitome of humanism, which deifies man and dethrones God, as man seeks to make a name for himself (Christ didn't come to make bad men good, but dead men alive!). Only in Christ is the sin question and problem solved by God. Instead of doing, it's done; we don't achieve, we receive!
Christianity is a faith of facts, history, prophecy, and assurance, while you never know in a works religion where you stand as to your eternal destiny--Christianity alone offers the full assurance of salvation. The man of faith has nothing to fear from the facts, the truth, or scrutiny, for all truth is God's truth and meets at the top according to Thomas Aquinas. Soli Deo Gloria!
According to Karl Gustav Adolf von Harnack, Christianity's Wesen, or essence in German, can be reduced to two universal claims: the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. This was gleaned from his book, What is Christianity? by theologian R. C. Sproul. The affirmation is false: fatherhood only applies to born-again believers; likewise to a brotherhood. Many scholars have attempted to reduce Christianity to something other than what it is--knowing God and making Him known.
You cannot reduce Buddhism or Islam to knowing Buddha or Muhammad, because these men are not essential to those religions. You can remove them and the religion remains intact. The Pharisees tried to reduce Judaism to man-made rules and laws, to make it nothing but externalism and legalism, but Jesus said that neglected the more important parts of the Law--justice, mercy, and faithfulness (cf. Matt. 23:23).
If we remove Christ from Christianity the faith is disemboweled and there is nothing left! It would be nearly nice ethics and pie-in-the-sky thinking. We need to realize that it's more than a creed but putting it to work and turning it into deeds. God is only pleased by faith in action (cf. Rom. 15:18), not our successes or achievements; Christianity is about God's accomplishment, not our feats. He wants our obedience, not our exploits! Richard of Chichester put it rather succinctly and eloquently: "to know Jesus Christ more clearly, to love him more dearly, to follow him more nearly."
The Bible spells it out in what Jesus claimed, "I am the way, and the truth and the life." A. W. Tozer said that Christ is "not the best way or one of many ways, but the only way." Thomas a Kempis said, "Without the way, there is no going; without the truth, there is no knowing; and without the life, there is no living." Yes, Christians claim to know the Way, and the faith was first called the Way. Christ is the center of the faith and all else is circumference and even "peripheral." Those who are mere do-gooders and know not the Lord have missed the boat. Christians are meant to be the salt and light of the world and to show people the way by virtue of knowing Christ.
They say Christianity is not a religion or system of dos and don'ts, but a relationship, and this has become a cliche, but the Bible says that if you want to boast, boast (cf. Jer. 9:24) in the Lord, that you know Him. I prefer to think of it as a to-know list (know the Lord, know the Bible, know sin, know God's will). Buddhism a not really a religion, but a philosophy of life and good advice and enlightenment for the ignorant, but it offers no salvation and doesn't know of man's problem with sin. Why is it that Muslims don't sing about how Muhammad loves them or worship him--he has many flaws and is not worthy--that's why! With all due respect to the founders of all the great religions, none of them claimed to be God but Jesus!
According to The Westminster Shorter Catechism, "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." John Piper reinterprets this as "by enjoying Him forever." This is taken from Isaiah 43:7, NIV, that says God created man for His glory sake: "[E]veryone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." God has a purpose for everyone, including the wicked (cf. Prov. 16:4). "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;..." (Psalm 138:8a, ESV).
This means only in Christianity does man have dignity, meaning, and purpose from God. Christianity is primarily a religion of salvation and a rescue operation; its good deeds and acts of charity performed in the name of Christ have been a light to the world, but it's more: a faith; a communion; a relationship; a walk with God; a fellowship, and, of course, a camaraderie with God and fellow believers.
The ultimate goal of the Christian life is to let Christ live through you, as a surrendered, relinquished, substituted, inhabited, exchanged, and Spirit-filled life in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit's indwelling ministry. All that ultimately counts is expressing our faith through love (cf. Gal.. 5:6). We no longer live, but Christ lives in us! The mature believer is Christlike and is a work in progress towards perfection/holiness, which will only be completed upon glorification.
The true believer will produce works and fruit to demonstrate faith, or it's dead faith and won't save. Saving faith isn't inert or static, but growing and demonstrative with fruit! Faith cannot but express itself! It is said that the faith you have is the faith you show! The wonder is that it's done by God's power working in us both to will and to do His divine pleasure.
In the final analysis, Christianity is not a religion or a works proposition, but a faith-and-grace one; religion is a do-it-yourself activity, and lifting yourself up by your own bootstraps, while God works for you in Christianity. The devil is not out to make us as ungodly as possible (that's why there are so many false religions), but godly or good without God--the epitome of humanism, which deifies man and dethrones God, as man seeks to make a name for himself (Christ didn't come to make bad men good, but dead men alive!). Only in Christ is the sin question and problem solved by God. Instead of doing, it's done; we don't achieve, we receive!
Christianity is a faith of facts, history, prophecy, and assurance, while you never know in a works religion where you stand as to your eternal destiny--Christianity alone offers the full assurance of salvation. The man of faith has nothing to fear from the facts, the truth, or scrutiny, for all truth is God's truth and meets at the top according to Thomas Aquinas. Soli Deo Gloria!
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