Have you heard the phrase, “In a nutshell?” Well, here is Christianity in a nutshell.

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

“The only Jesus worth knowing is the Son of God who lived a perfect life, died an atoning death, was raised as Lord over creation, offers to save those who trust him, and will return with a new creation in final judgment. This is the Jesus of orthodox, biblical, and historic Christianity.” From, “A Grand Illusion,” page 75.

It all boils down to these facts (dogma) being the foundation of Christianity. There’s not much to argue about here. David Young makes another statement that sums up the essential character of the Christian religion,

“Orthodox biblical Christianity unambiguously states that humans are fallen in sin and incapable of saving themselves. Because of our sin, each of us is separated from God and deserves to be punished. But in his great mercy, God became human in the person of Jesus, took our sins upon himself, and bore our punishment on the cross. Rising from the dead, Jesus is now the King of kings, and he calls people everywhere to repent of their personal sin, take up their cross, and follow him. And he is going to return, raise the dead, judge humanity, banish the unrepentant, and establish a new creation.” From, “A Grand Illusion,” page 78.

This statement is David Young’s attempt to sum up the Bible’s message to us. Throughout the history of the church, we have the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Chalcedonian Definition, and others. The Old Testament pointed to Christ, and the New Testament reveals Christ. These statements help us to grasp how much God loves us and what He has done for us through Jesus. Granted, all we have is a pencil drawing of a beautiful tapestry of masterpiece painting, but we have the Holy Spirit in us guiding us, explaining to us, and revealing more and more of it all as we walk with Him.

Live truth; breathe truth; walk in truth.

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,¹⁰ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14

Abba, I pray this prayer for all my brothers and sisters in Christ. May You flood their lives with Your light and Your truth. May they experience Your presence and participation in their lives. Overwhelm them, Abba. When You speak to us, it’s not audible; it’s louder than that (thank you, Jimmy Cox). Speak to our hearts, Lord Jesus, speak that our souls may hear. Amen.