PAPER NO. 86

CHRISTIANITY

An Overview

  1. The Old Testament tells of the person and work of the Messiah that is to come. The New Testament shows how Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled, and is fulfilling, what was written of the Messiah. The substance of the Old Testament continues in effect while the outward form is done away with (ceremonial law), or changed (civil law).
  2. The main events of the life of Jesus are his birth (incarnation); his baptism and temptation; his calling of his disciples; his ministry of teaching and healing; his conflict with the religious leaders (concerning the meaning of the law and his authority); his arrest and trial; his crucifixion, death and burial; his resurrection from the dead; and his ascension to exercise authority for the extension of his kingdom.
  3. The reasons for the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah centered on the question of his identity as not only the son of David but as the son of God, his interpretation of the law in contrast to the traditions of the elders, and the nature of the kingdom he came to establish.
  4. The main point of his teaching concerned the kingdom of God. The opening words of his ministry called for repentance because the kingdom was at hand. His parables were about the nature of the kingdom and its king. The Sermon on the Mount was about the character of the members of this kingdom. He taught the true meaning of the law of the kingdom. He taught entry to this kingdom was by spiritual birth. He revealed himself to be the king of this kingdom. Lastly, he commissioned his disciples to bring all nations into this kingdom.
  5. The prologue of John’s gospel speaks of the Word of God as the one by whom all things were made. This Word that has been rejected as reason, general revelation and Scripture becomes incarnate to restore man to the knowledge of God. In John, Jesus progressively reveals himself, through his miraculous signs and by his teaching, to be the Messiah, the son of God, the Word incarnate, through whom alone man has eternal life (knowledge of God).
  6. The book of Acts records the growth of the kingdom of God. It begins with Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit), preaching and large numbers of conversions in Jerusalem (1-6); persecution and the spread of the gospel to Judea and Samaria (7-8); the conversion of Paul and the gospel going to the gentiles throughout the world (to Asia Minor, Greece and Rome through the missionary journeys of Paul).
  7. The book of Romans is a systematic statement of the Christian faith. All men have clear general revelation of the nature and existence of God and the law of God and so are without excuse for unbelief and sin (1-2). Since no one is righteous, a person is accepted by God on the basis of the righteousness of God which comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Abraham too was accepted by faith (3-4). This reconciliation by grace through Christ’s atoning death has benefits far greater than the effects of Adam’s sin. It not only forgives sin, but frees from the power of sin. It extends to the whole of creation and triumphs over every opposition (5-8). This grace comes into a person by God’s sovereign choice and though Israel does not now believe, God will bring both the gentiles and Israel to believe (9-11). In view of God’s mercy, men are to devote themselves to God and to do his will in all things. The will of God in many applications of the law is urged upon those who believe (12-16).
  8. In the letters to the Corinthians, Paul deals with divisions in the Church particularly with respect to the diversity of gifts. True ministry is a spiritual warfare involving much suffering, ending in triumph. In the letter to the Galatians, Paul affirms that no human effort can be added to or mixed with the free gift of salvation by God’s grace. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of the full extent of salvation in Christ who through his Church is to fill everything in every way. The Church’s maturity consists in attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. In the letter to the Philippians, Paul sets forth Christ’s life as the example of service. In the letter to the Colossians, Paul affirms the believer’s completeness in Christ who is fully God against Gnostic teaching of Christ as a higher being in a spiritual hierarchy. In the letters to the Thessalonians, Paul corrects faulty teaching about the return of Christ and irresponsible behavior connected with this. The letter to the Hebrews shows how Christ is the reality of the types and shadows through which they had been taught about Christ and exhorts them to persevere in faith.
  9. The pastoral letters to Timothy and Titus are teachings and exhortations about the responsibility and conduct of pastors. The general epistles (James, Peter, John, Jude) give instruction and exhortation on living the Christian life.
  10. The book of Revelation speaks of the then current state of spiritual warfare and the eventual triumph of the kingdom of God. The certainty of the triumph is deepened by the repetition of the vision from seven perspectives (the seals, the trumpets, the woman and the dragon, the plagues, the harlot, the great war, the thousand-year rule).
  11. Church councils expressed the Church’s response to challenges to the foundation of Christianity. The council of Jerusalem about 50 A.D. addressed the distinction of the Old and New testaments. The Council of Nicea in 325 affirmed the doctrine of the Trinity, that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The council of Chalcedon in 451 affirmed that Christ is the Son of God incarnate, both God and man. These councils are ecumenical.
  12. Augustine (d. 430) shaped the Church’s thinking for centuries in his development of the doctrine of original sin (the fall of Adam and its effects on mankind), in his teaching about predestination and man’s need for divine grace, in his teaching about the Church in history in its conflict with unbelief.
  13. During the period of the rise of the papacy (500-1200) the major developments were the rise of monasticism (ascetic withdrawal and otherworldliness), expansion during the Dark Ages and admixture of superstition, feudal society and the Church over the State.
  14. Aquinas (d. 1274) dealt with both the defense of the faith and the exposition of the faith. He worked out a synthesis of faith and reason in relating the supernatural and natural realms. He developed the doctrine of the sacraments as administered by the Church as the sole source of divine grace to man.
  15. The main concerns in the first phase of the Reformation (under Luther) concerned the ultimate authority of Scripture vs. the teaching authority of the Church; justification is by faith alone apart from works and sacrament; the priesthood of every believer vs. the need for priests as intermediaries with God.
  16. The focus of the Reformation under Calvin was on the divine sovereignty over all aspects of life; the purity of worship apart from human traditions; Church order is synodical (the joint rule of all pastor-teachers) vs. hierarchical or local independence.
  17. The Enlightenment was the reliance on reason and experience as sufficient guides for human affairs. Some accepted the Enlightenment first by synthesis with Scripture, then in conflict with Scripture (deism), then displacing Scripture (secularism/naturalism), then against the original principle (existentialism/post-modernism). Others reacted. Some reaffirmed historical creeds. Others accommodated experience as valid (evangel­icalism), then literalism vs. liberal rationalism, and fundamentalism vs. apostasy.
  18. The liberals claimed hold to reason and the findings of science and attempted to accommodate the Scripture to this. The conservatives claimed hold to Scripture and those fundamentals necessary for salvation. Some fundamentalists claimed to hold to a strict literal understanding of all of Scripture. This antinomy assumes the possibility of conflict between faith and reason. It can be resolved by critically examining assumptions.
  19. The main dividing lines within Christianity are: the sole authority of Scripture (Catholic/Protestant, liberal/conservative); divine sovereignty (historical/popular); the principle of worship and Church government.
  20. Some of the principal challenges facing Christianity today are: the doctrine of clear general revelation vs. every form of non-theistic thought; the Church’s otherworldliness vs. the this-worldliness of secular thought; faith vs. reason and the very nature of religion.

This paper was originally developed for a World Religions course.


© 1999 Logos Papers Press