The Depravity of Man

 

The third doctrine that we will discuss is the belief that we are born into a world of sin, we are sinful creatures, and we will all die in sin (if we do not accept the gift of salvation, given to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that is). Nobody can be saved by good deeds, positive thinking, giving to charity, treating others nicely, or anything else.

Not all roads lead to God. In fact, the Bible makes it very clear that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” [John 14:6, ESV]

There is nothing we can do to save ourselves, and there is no way that anybody can save us, aside from Christ. This doctrine explains why people of different faiths cannot have salvation. In order to receive the gift of salvation, one must confess with his mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in Him.

Only through Christ can we be justified. We are saved by grace, through faith, not as a result of our works.

The Trinity

The next core doctrine that we will discuss is the doctrine of the Trinity. The Trinity is easily the most complicated of Christianity’s doctrines, but one cannot be a Christian if he does not understand the Trinity.

Before I explain, I would like to show an excellent diagram of the Trinity. This diagram will be referenced later in this essay.

As we can see, the diagram has three interconnected points, with all three points being connected to a single point in the center of the diagram. The simple explanation of what is being shown in this diagram is that God exists in three distinct Persons. These Persons are known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (or the Holy Ghost). These are three separate Persons, existing at the same time. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father, but all three Persons are God.

There is a difference between “little-g god”, and God. All three Persons are God, as in the one true God (see the previous part of this series for more information). The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God.

I can write more about how the Bible supports the doctrine of the Trinity, but this is supposed to be an introduction to Christanity’s doctrines, not an in-depth essay about the Trinity in Scripture, so I will leave that subject for a separate discussion.

The Persons of the Trinity are equally God. All three Persons of the Trinity have always existed.

The word “heresy” is used to describe beliefs that contradict the core doctrines of Christianity. To believe in a heretical doctrine would be to reject Christianity. In order to better understand the Trinity, let us examine two heresies that are fairly easy to fall into:

1. Tritheism

Tritheism is the belief that each Person of the Trinity is a god, rather than the Persons of the Trinity being God. The prefix “tri” means three, while “theism” describes the belief in a god. In other words, tritheism means, “belief in three gods”. The reason why tritheism is heresy is that it rejects the Christian doctrine of their being one God. Three Persons, one God, not three gods.

2. Modalism

Modalism is the belief that there is one God, and God “transforms” into one of the three Persons of the Trinity. As previously discussed, the Trinity consists of three coequal, coexisting Persons. A modalist would assert that God turned into Jesus, then turned into the Holy Spirit. Such an assertion would be false, and would be a rejection of the existence of our triune God.

There is One God

 

The first of the core doctrines of Christianity that we will discuss is the belief that there is one God, and only one God. Let us examine some passages from the Bible, in order to better understand this doctrine:

1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. [Genesis 1:1, ESV]

This is a very well known verse from the Bible. In this verse, we learn that God created “the heavens and the earth”. In the beginning, “God created”, meaning that God has always existed, and through Him all things exist.

2. For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth — as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords” — yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. [1 Corinthians 8:5-6, ESV]

Paul explains how, despite there being many “gods” and many “lords”, we know that there is one true God, and one Lord. This passage also describes Jesus Christ as being God, which is part of the doctrine of the Trinity (I will explain this in another section). Not only are we told that there is one God, this passage also explains that it is God through whom all things exist, and through God we exist. This passage supports what is written in Genesis 1:1, in that God created everything, and He has always existed.

3. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,... [1 Timothy 2:5, ESV]

This verse is another example of why Christians believe there is one God (beside the fact there is only one God). We are told, yet again, that there is only one God. The second half of this verse describes Jesus Christ as being the “one mediator between God and men”, which is true, but is not what we are discussing right now. I will explain what is meant by Jesus being the “one mediator” in another essay. In my explanation of the Trinity, I will also explain why this verse describes Jesus Christ as a man.

4. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [Deuteronomy 6:4, ESV]

This verse comes from Deuteronomy, when Moses had received the Ten Commandments. After telling the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, Moses declared that “the LORD is one”.

The reason why “Lord” is capitalized whenever the Tetragrammaton is used in the Hebrew (which is the language that the majority of the Old Testament was written in). For more information about the Tetragrammaton, click here.

As you can see, the Bible makes it clear that there is only one God, and we are not to worship anybody other than God. In the next part of this series, I will describe the second core doctrine of Christianity: the Trinity.

Introduction

 

As I have continued to write more about my faith, I have seen my website increase in popularity by leaps and bounds. In less than a month of being online, my website has received hundreds of viewers, from more than 20 countries. My writing has been viewed by people in China, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, and many others. I have felt like I should be providing more for the people who want to know more about Christianity, so that they can make the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I have several individuals in mind as I write this, and I have several nations in mind as well.

After praying about what I should do, I began to have ideas for what to write about. Before I write about any other topic, I want to create a guide to the core doctrines of Christianity. One of the most disturbing issues that I have seen is that many people claim to be Christians, yet they lack an understanding of what Christianity is about. In order to address the aforementioned issue, and to help non-Christians come to know Christ, I have created this series. I will explain each of the core doctrines of Christianity and explain why we believe them. Aside from my verse-by-verse Bible study, this is the first series that I publish on my website.

To the person who is reading this:

I hope that you come away from this with a solid understanding of what it means to be a Christian, and I really hope you make the decision to become a Christian yourself. Becoming a Christian is easy, you can do it right now, and you can watch as God changes your life. Only you can make the decision to follow Christ. I made the decision to follow Christ, and I have never regretted that decision. The life of a Christian is not easy, but it is more fulfilling than any other lifestyle, and you will be able to rest at night, knowing that you have received the gift of eternal salvation.

May God bless you all.

        - Daniel Teberian