C
hrist is the bread of life. If you search for more, you will just find junk food.|
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Christ, not law, not "my rights", not "my opinions" drives the Christian life. We relate to God through Christ - God who became man.
Statements of Core Christian Doctrine
The Nature of God
The only requirements for salvation are to believe in Christ. That does not mean that we can do as we please - belief and action go together. Don't bother searching for some new law or some new principle to relate to God or make your relationships with others go smoother. Humanity's problem is not lack of knowing but a lack of DOING!. As we seek Christ, we will find Him, and our relationship with him is the real guide in our life.
As Christians, we are Jesus' disciples, and disciples are disciplined - the two words come from the same root. As disciples we walk with the Master and talk to Him (prayer). He talks to us (through the reading of the Word, the speaking of the Holy Spirit, the encouragement of other disciples and many other ways). Occasionally we may want this communication to be as focused as possible (through fasting). We will want to spend time with other disciples (through Christian fellowship and corporate worship).
Two ceremonies are Biblically commanded - baptism and the Lord's Supper. Again, these are not "requirements" in the sense that we create a check-list to determine who is and who isn't a Christian. But our relationship with Christ will move us to seek Him by the ways that are described in the Word of God.
For most of my adult life, I was a Sabbatarian, which is one who sets aside a twenty-four hour period of time weekly for doing or not doing certain kinds of activities. The discipline of a Sabbath can be beneficial - but it cannot be used to define who is a Christian and who is not a Christian. Nor can it be use to define who is a "more righteous" Christian and who is a "less righteous" Christian!
"Jesus saves my faith...I tend to spend a lot of time pondering unanswerable questions such as the problems of pain or providence versus free will. When I do so, everything becomes fuzzy. But if I look at Jesus, clarity is restored." -- Philip Yancy, "Unwrapping Jesus" Christianity Today, 6/17/96.
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I welcome your comments. E-mail: John Torgerson |
