The Problem:
From a forensic engineering viewpoint, as with any task, the solution to a problem will not be found without first correctly identifying the problem.
People are dying every day without knowledge. The religions of the world have separated everyone. Most young people today don’t care to know what the differences were that separated the various religious groups. They are busy with life. They want to know:
- How do I go on living?
- Why did this bad thing happen to me?
- Life seems so senseless. Is life worth living?
- I’m overwhelmed, is there something more to life?
- Things look so uncertain. What is my future?
- Is there hope that things will get better?
- If I die, will God accept me? Am I good enough?
- What is needed to enter Heaven?
- What will God accept? What is Essential Faith?
Various religious leaders don’t seem to know the answers to these questions anymore. Most people don’t know the history of their own religion. Many were just born into their religion. Major religious leaders are changing their rules. What was wrong in the past is right, and what was right is wrong.
The Solution:
The focus should be on what we have in common. What is the substance that should unite humanity. We all bleed. We all feel pain, loss, and misery. We all want acceptance, to feel relief, and find rest. We are together on this rock.
I never pretend to know why bad things happen to good people. I’ve read those books. What I do know is God is the master mind in making good come out of every situation. For that reason, I will pray for people.
The Answer:
We need to know what is Essential Faith. What is the faith that gives hope for the future, and love for one another?
The following is my understanding of what I have come to believe is the Essential Christian Faith. You may have another faith, or no faith at all. That is perfectly fine. We all have the God given right to think and make our own choice. That is called free will. We need to respect that and protect that freedom.
Generations and generations of political and religious leaders have not respected that and have deceived the populations. Large groups of people were told that no one outside the leader’s group had the facts right and others outside their camp were not to be associated with, they were basically the enemy. This led to unbelievable human tragedies, human suffering, wars, and murder.
Paths
People were taught that all paths do not lead to God. This caused unbelievable friction and discord, leading to all sorts of separate groups of people looking down on others that did not conform to their belief system.
I have come to believe the opposite. All paths do lead to God. When we die, all will come before God and meet the creator face to face. I believe that there is a 100% chance that everyone will meet our maker.
Opposing Facts
Not long ago, the wise and influential scholars told the population that they knew better and taught that the world was flat.
Obviously, two opposing facts cannot be true. Or in the case of religion, 1000 opposing facts cannot be true. One may be right, or all may be wrong, but in no circumstance can 2 opposing facts be true.
What follows is my answers to the questions:
- What is the Essential Christian Faith?
- Why do I pray for people?
- Why do I have Hope for the future?
The Essential Christian Faith
Creation
All creation screams the existence of a good and infinite God. Science is exploding with evidence of a supreme God of order. There is no logic in saying, “I believe in science” as if science is opposed to God. God created science.
History
If history tells us anything, it tells the story of the depravity of a fallen sinful humanity separated from God that seeks after their own way. History also tells us that we all die, and most are forgotten in just a few years.
The Most-High God
The most-high God is a good God, the creator of everything. A God that wants peace with humans. There is only one God. There are no other gods. God is eternal and infinite in attributes of power, knowledge, goodness, kindness, and perfection.
Sin and Separation
Sin is simply the absence of God. God is good. Sin is evil. A sin situation has a beginning, middle, and an end. Therefore, a sin situation has a range of severity from a hint of evil to being fully saturated in evil. Given free reign, sin will grow to horrible ends. We have seen it over and over, individuals that start out as pure and lovely babies grow up and triadically fall into the depths of deep evil.
What baby is not wonderful to hold. Place a baby in the arms of an older person and their eyes light up with joy. Why? Because they are precious!!
The Sin Condition
Everyone has a sin condition from birth. Sinful parents give birth to sinful children. Temptation is the inclination for people to think, say, or act apart from God’s involvement. Temptation is the urge to basically live a self-centered life; being the final authority.
I had a picture of an apple, but that was not enticing or alluring. A chocolate covered strawberry is somewhat harmless, but we all have our weaknesses to want something which we know is not good for us.
Sinners end up sinning. We grab what we want; however, what sounds like freedom to do whatever you want, eventually turns into bondage. People get stuck in a self-harming life that feels empty with no way out.
Everyone is guilty of personal sin. Anyone denying their sinful condition is deceiving themselves. All are unable to come blameless into the presence of God because of an inherited sin condition and a personal sin condition.
God’s Response to Sin
The one and only infinite, perfect, good God does not tolerate to have sin in his presence. God demands that sin be removed from everything. God is everywhere.
- God knows every thought of every person that ever lived.
- God knows every word that was ever spoken.
- God knows every action ever made.
- God knows every heart.
Therefore, every unrighteous act must be judged.
- No thief ever gets away with anything.
- No wrong is kept private.
- No murder is unsolved.
- No lie is kept secret.
- No sin stays hidden.
Eventually, every sinful thought and deed will be brought to the open and be taken to justice no matter how big, no matter how small. There is only one outcome for sin, just punishment. No sin has gone or will ever go unpunished. There is nothing people can do to change this fact. Humans are hopeless in themselves to change their sinful condition. Therefore, there is nothing humans can do in and of themselves to gain acceptance to come into the presence of God. It is hopeless. Or is it?
Salvation through Jesus Christ
But God, in an act of love, mercy, and grace, provided the way for humans to come into His presence blameless, pure, and clean. Jesus Christ, the son of God, came down from heaven taking the form of a man in obedience to the Father and took the punishment for sin on himself.
- Being sinless, Jesus took our sin, the sin of the past, and the sin of the future and died in our place.
- Being divine, Jesus’s sacrifice was a perfect, holy, and acceptable substitute for all people of every age who had been called, who are called, and who will be called.
- Being raised from the dead, Jesus’s resurrection was evidence that His sacrifice was acceptable to God the Father and broke the sin curse. Jesus conquered sin and death. He can freely take away sin and do away with death.
Jesus as Mediator (A Perfect Hight Priest)
Jesus Christ now acts as a perfect mediator, a perfect sinless living priest on our behalf in the full presence of God the Father and sits at the right hand of the Father on the throne in Heaven interceding for the chosen people of God.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirt of God opens blind eyes to see the truth. The Holy Spirit draws a person to desire fellowship with God. The Holy Spirit offers the free gift of fellowship with God to all that are chosen to believe. If accepted, the Holy Spirit enters the human soul with permission of the individual, bringing peace to those that are being saved. Chains are broken.
Sin is the absence of God. The Holy Spirit fills the absent areas of the human soul making the human soul able to enter into the presence of God.
End of the World
The world news often show us that things are getting worse, not better. The end of the world will eventually come. God will step in at the end of time. Jesus Christ will come at the end of the world
- to judge the living and the dead,
- to gather all believers,
- to bring in a new heaven and a new earth that will be without sin or death.
Only those without sin will enter. This salvation, this restoration of being able to be blameless in the presence of God, comes to individuals by the Grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ of what He has done. Nothing can be added to it.
Hope for the Future
This is the Christian’s hope. This is why Christians love one another and call each other brother or sister, because Christians share in this great amazing hope looking forward to eternity. The Christian faith is a family of like-minded believers that point to the Glory of God.
The Essential Christian Faith is believing in one way to the one God, by the one act of the one Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Essential Faith brings peace and calm with God. That is the Good News. That is the story of redemption.
The Mountain Top Question
Maybe the problem with the world today is there are too many human answers with too many human questions. People have constantly searched for that mountain top experience to answer their questions. Have we fully explored what would be the ultimate mountain top question to ask oneself?
Maybe that question should not come from humans but from God. The narrative of Jesus’s earthy ministry in the Gospels seemed to take a drastic turn when He finally asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Anything short of Peter’s answer should cause us to pause. Peter’s answer in today’s words would be:
“Jesus is the Lord of absolutely everything, the foretold crucified Jewish Messiah, the Son of God, the coming King”
That is the message of the Bible. That is the Essential Christian Faith.
Faith is Simple
I wrote out what I believe would be the Essential Christian Faith as I see scripture has revealed it to be. It fits with all of scripture. It is not complicated. A child can believe it. No big words. According to scripture, if someone were to believe the Essential Christian Faith, they would have fellowship with God.
Anything beyond Essential Christian Faith would be frosting on the cake, non-essential truth. It may very well be important and beneficial truth, but just non-essential.
Anything short of Essential Christian Faith or in opposition (contrary) to Essential Christian Faith would be in danger of disqualifying saving faith and be outside the bounds of scripture.
The Challenge: To Share
Everyone should write out their own statement of faith. Everyone has one whether they claim to have one or not. Search it out, and when you’re finished share it with someone and compare notes.
Why Share
I came near to death in October of 2021. My body was shutting down. Love reached down and slapped me in the face and forced me to look up. Life is short. Material things are fleeting. Eternity is just around the corner.
How to Respond to the Good News
It comes down to Faith; the ability to believe in things not seen. Listening to the stories of how people became Christian in the past, I’ve heard elements of turning direction, surrender, and freedom.
In its simplest form, rescue happens when someone hears the message, believes the Essential Faith, and asks God to come into their life as Lord and savior. A simple prayer from the heart.
What is essential Christian faith? https://abbottforensic.com/faith/
What is the simple gospel? https://abbottforensic.com/gospel/
Do we choose life and death? https://abbottforensic.com/choose/
If I could go back in time. https://abbottforensic.com/time/
My 1st best advice to my children – Study the words of Christ https://abbottforensic.com/words/
My 2nd best advice to my children – Seek answers to your questions https://abbottforensic.com/seek/
My 3rd best advice to my children – Start seeing people https://abbottforensic.com/start/
My Current Charity Adventure - Raising awareness of AFSP https://abbottforensic.com/run/