There are too many churches out there who proclaim that theirs is the only way to Heaven, when the reality of the problem is that a church, though known to some as the "house of God" is really only just another building. It doesn't matter if what you are looking at is a Synagogue, a Cathedral, a Mosque or the Little Brown Church Down the Lane, if God is present in that place then it is God's house. If He is not present in that place than it's a building that is just as holy as Bernie's Bar and Grill. The expression, "praise the Lord and pass the peanuts" would be an apt one.
Many people are confused as to what a true Christian is. Some folks think that Christianity means you go to church every Sunday, prayer meetings on Wednesdays. They think that if you read your Bible and shout, "amen!" once in a while while the preacher is speaking, you're automatically a Christian. The trouble with that philosophy is that these very same people practice their churchianity only on Sundays or other church-related days. They don't give up hard liquor and extra-marital affairs, or smoking dope and gambling away their life savings because they believe that if you are not a Jew for example, or a Muslim, or a Buddhist, then you must, by default, be a Christian.
But these people are Christian in name only, because there is a certain lifestyle that true Christians follow, just as there is a lifestyle that Jews follow, and Muslims follow and Buddhists follow. If you are preaching without practicing, then logically, you are the proverbial tree in the forest. Nobody can get anything out of what you believe because you believe to suit yourself. You may as well be speaking into the wind and watching your words get whipped back over your shoulder out of hearing range. The fact is, a true Christian is just like that church where God is present. They believe that they are the "temple" of the Holy Spirit. In other words, that God resides within them.
That does not mean that Christians believe that they are God or are possessed by God, but instead, they believe that God is a very active part of their lives. They believe in Him as a real person that they know and love, not just as an invisible all-powerful entity that resides somewhere to the far, far North of Pluto. God is their shelter in the storm, an ever-present help when they need Him most, and by far the most telling belief of the true Christian is that Jesus the Christ is their Messiah.
If you believe in God but do not believe in the Holy Trinity, then you are not a Christian. If you believe in God but not in Jesus as God, then you are also not a Christian. Christians believe in Christ as their personal Savior, that's what the word Christian implies. If you take Christ out of Christianity then you are not a Christian. Technically, that would make you a Mono-theist. This is a person who believes in one God, one being that is God, not a trinity. Christians believe in the triune God-head: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit--three that are one. Or if you prefer, the One that is Three.
Here are a list of the beliefs of the Christian:
- You must be born again. This means accepting Christ as your Personal Savior, accepting His free gift of Salvation, and trying to live your life as close as possible to how He would live. Christians believe this to be the only way into Heaven. John 3:16 in the Holy Bible is the verse to read here. Whosoever believeth in Me (Jesus) shall not perish but have everlasting life. What this means is that without Christ as your personal Savior you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Jesus was a Jew, born of a virgin in Bethlehem. This one sentence packs in all three of the most basic tenets of Christianity....A Jew, born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem. Without these three you might as well call it something other than Christianity.
- Jesus was crucified, conquered death and Hades (hell) and rose again three days later, spent some time on Earth in a glorified form, and then ascended into Heaven. Of all the different faiths of the world, Christianity is the only one that features a resurrected Savior who went to Heaven in bodily form, rather than as a spirit.
- Jesus will return with His army to defeat the army of the devil. This is the final end times prophecy known as the "Battle of Armaggeddon". Armaggeddon is actually a place, not a war. It is the Valley of Meggiddo, a place that many people visit today.
Naturally, there are other beliefs as well, but these four are the most prominant and most important to the Christian believer. Without these four basic elements of the faith, Christianity would be nothing but an empty, worn-down, decrepit old church building, without a soul, and would not be worth believing in.
