I often grieve for those who’ve fallen off the cliff of life and are in bad sorts, resulting from some unique cocktail of wounds, circumstances beyond their control, personal choices, and/or the chains of some addiction.
The good news for them and for all of us is: “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18, NIV)
But what if you’ve been raised to think about or care little for God? Or what if you view yourself as Christian but have no serious interest in learning what the Bible teaches about following Jesus? These represent some of the greatest discipleship challenges for the Church today.
Along with going to a good church—where often one first learns to belong and then believe, here are ten essential beliefs for building a Christian life and legacy. These are what I’ve tried to integrate into my own parenting (see the classic Easter shot of Matt, Tim, and Emily above!), as well as other ministry efforts over the last thirty years.[1] To reflect the unity and diversity of the Christian witness and for clarity, I’ve combined them with quotes from some of the Church’s most passionate and articulate voices, past and present:
- Hope, confident expectation in God’s promises like we celebrate in Christ’s resurrection, brings light to every darkness and difficulty in our lives — including broken relationships. This is because God’s love for us does not change like everything else in this world, including our love for Him. Further, it is something that nothing can destroy or remove (Rom. 8:24-25,38).
“The Christian hope is the hope which has seen everything and endured everything, and has still not despaired, because it believes in God. The Christian hope is not hope in the human spirit, in human goodness, in human endurance, in human achievement; the Christian hope is hope in the power of God.”
William Barclay, The Letter to the Roman
- Grace, unmerited favor, is the power God gives to help us grow and change. It stands above and behind all human effort, merit and achievement (Eph. 2:8-9).
“During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. ‘What’s the rumpus about?’ he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, ‘Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.’ After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish covenant and Muslim code of law — each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.”
Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing about Grace?
- Humility, seeing ourselves as needing help, is the necessary prerequisite for receiving God’s grace that helps us grow, changing us from the inside out (James 4:6; Matt. 5:3).
“If you see another commit a grievous sin, or whose faults are flagrant, do not regard yourself as better, for you do not know what you would do if similarly tempted. You are in good disposition now, but you do not know how long you will persevere in it. Always keep in mind that all are frail, but none so frail as yourself.”
Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
- The Fear of the Lord is the starting place on the journey of all who desire wisdom and transformed lives with eternal significance (Prov. 1:7; Matt. 10:28).
“The fear of the Lord is more than ‘reverential awe’…fear is the anticipation of harm. The intelligent person recognizes that his or her well-being lies in being in harmony with God and what God is doing in the ‘kingdom.’ God is not mean, but he is dangerous. It is the same with other great forces he has placed in reality. Electricity and nuclear power, for example, are not mean, but they are dangerous. One who does not, in a certain sense, ‘worry’ about God, simply isn’t smart.”
Dallas Willard, The Renovation of the Heart
- Sin, the way things ought not to be, is a reality that permeates our existence. Sin (the word “sin” comes from an archery term meaning “to miss the mark”) entered the world through Adam, the first human father, and consequently, brought God’s judgment upon the entire human race (Gen. 2:17, 3:14-19; Rom. 5:12). As a result, all people are born into this world with a sinful nature (Psa. 51:5; Eph. 2:3; John 3:36) and stand as sinners before God in need of salvation (Rom. 3:9-10, 22-23; Isa. 53:6).
“Human sin is a violation of our human end, which is to build shalom [the Jewish word for peace] and thus glorify God and enjoy God forever…shalom is God’s design for creation and redemption; sin is blamable human vandalism of these great realities and therefore an affront to their architect and builder.”
Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin
[Being a sinner does not mean that] “nobody is capable of any good, but rather that no part of any human person (mind, emotions, conscience, will, etc.) has remained untainted by the fall.”John Stott, Authentic Christianity
Next week, we’ll look at Ten Foundational Beliefs for Building a Christian Legacy, Part 2 of 2
Happy Easter, dear friends! Social distancing, ugh- yes, hopefully for just a few more weeks but… Christ is Risen!
[1] I have adapted these ten core concepts from a resource I wrote for National Fatherhood Initiative that was endorsed by the late Chuck Colson called InsideOut Dad Christian.