What Do Christians Believe? Christianity 101

The Faith of Christians

I’ve been asked a lot of good questions. One of the best is simply: what do Christians believe? That may seem like an easy question. It’s actually harder to answer than you may initially think.

What do Christians believe? There are a lot of different denominations, groups, and cults that all claim to be “Christian.” All of these differing groups have different belief statements that make them distinct. However, there is a core set of beliefs that make a group Christian or not. Within this core is a belief that Jesus is the Son of God and that salvation is found in Him.

If you ask any individual Christian what they believe, they will surely say more than this. However, to be genuinely Christian this is the foundation they are building on. Not believing these basic things would make for a non-Christian faith.

Christianity 101

Since there is so much variation between groups and denominations, you have to understand that even when the same terms are used the same meaning is not intended. For example, “Jesus,” “Faith,” and “Salvation” can all mean very different things depending on the group. It’s important to define all your terms.

All of the different groups that claim to be Christian stem from the same historical foundation. The person, Jesus of Nazareth, who lived in the 1st century AD is the foundation. All of the differences of belief come afterward.

There are differences of interpretation. There are different assumptions about historical events. But at the root is the historical Jesus. A man who lived and taught. Who died by crucifixion as an enemy of the state of Rome after being handed over by His own Jewish people. A man whose earliest followers claimed was risen from the dead in fulfillment of Scripture. Who was then worshipped as God throughout the Roman empire by a growing multitude.

To try and examine all the different sects and groups to identify “Christian Belief” would be like trying to examine the leaves of a tree to understand the root system. It’s better to look at the root itself.

To do this, for this post, we’re going to use the Bible merely as a history text. Full disclosure: that’s not how I read the Bible. However, this isn’t about my beliefs in particular. It’s about what Christians believe.

Of most importance to understanding the basics of Christian belief will be the basic beliefs expressed by the first generation of Christians. We will purposely avoid difficult passages that are interpreted differently. Instead, we will build our foundation on ten essential passages which describe what Christians believe.

The Name “Christians”

1. The First Christians

The term “Christian” wasn’t a name the earliest believers called themselves. They were first called Christians by others.

And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. (Acts 11:26)

Christianity began primarily as a Jewish movement. Jesus was Jewish. The Apostles were all Jewish. After the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, the belief in Christ exploded amongst faithful Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost.

But in Antioch, something different was happening. Gentiles were beginning to believe and fellowship together with believing Jews. They were beginning to gather with the Jews in worshipping God together. As one people.

This was radically different than normal. Jews and Gentiles didn’t worship together. But in Antioch, they were.

It was so obvious, so different, so visible, that these Jewish and Gentile disciples were called Christians in Antioch by outsiders to the faith. It was obvious to outsiders that this group believed something different than everyone else. That’s why this is the perfect verse to start with.

In the modern day, people identify themselves as Christian based on their own criteria. In the original context, outsiders called these people Christians because their faith was obvious and the effects of their faith was radical.

We can see the fruit of what these first Christians believed because it caused them to act differently than ever before. The next passage makes clear the content of their faith.

The Content of Christian Faith

2. Saved By Grace Through Faith

What was happening in Antioch caused a stir amongst outsiders. It also caused controversy amongst other believers. There was some discussion necessary to make sure everyone was on the same page. So, believers from Antioch went up to Jerusalem to have a conference.

They needed to discuss how Gentiles could participate in the faith with Jews.

The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.” (Acts 15:6-11, bold added)

The council comes to agreement. They have some stipulations which will make fellowship between these very different cultures easier. However, the basic message is clear. Both Jews and Gentiles are able to have their sins cleansed by the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus.

As Jews and Gentiles put their faith in Jesus, they are saved. They then become one people who worship Christ together. That’s why outsiders look at them and call them Christians. They were not unified by their culture, status, or station in life. Their unity was not found in their shared interests and hobbies. They were unified by a shared content of faith that Jesus of Nazareth was God in the flesh, the promised Messiah who had come to rule all the nations.

The Gospel Truth

3. First Importance

In the Acts 15 passage above, Peter says that he preached the gospel to Gentiles by God’s choice. You can read that account in Acts 10. For the purpose of this article, we are going to look at a very short passage from the Apostle Paul. In this he defines the gospel which he received from Jesus and which was agreed upon by all the Apostles.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)

Paul didn’t make this truth up. He received it. He preached it as first importance.

Paul preached the gospel about Jesus’s death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation at the right hand of God. All of this was done in fulfillment (or according to) the prophecies contained in the Hebrew Scriptures. That’s what Christians today call the Old Testament.

The first Christians believed they were saved by faith in Jesus. The faith they had was that Jesus died for their sins, was buried, and was risen again as the Lord of heaven and earth in fulfillment of God’s promise in the Scriptures.

For more on this, see our article: Christology 101.

A Public Faith

4. Common Confession

Paul tells us very plainly what the common confession of the earliest Christians was.

By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

This common confession expresses similar truth to the received truth about the gospel.

It speaks of the revelation of Jesus in the flesh. He came from heaven and was born of the virgin Mary. His vindication in the Spirit was by His working of miracles and His resurrection from the dead. He was seen by angels when He ascended to heaven and took His seat at the right hand of the Father in glory.

This Jesus is the one who is proclaimed to the nations. This Jesus is the one who people are putting their faith in. This Jesus was taken up to His rightful place in glory.

Trustworthy Statements

5. A Trustworthy Statement

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. (1 Timothy 1:15)

Jesus didn’t come to call the righteous. He came to save sinners. The power of Christ to forgive sins was available even to the worst of the worst. If they would simply turn to Jesus and no longer be unbelieving, but believe upon the Son of God who came into the world to save sinners. This statement is trustworthy. It deserves your full acceptance, if you are a Christian.

The Savior of All

6. Savior of All

It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. (1 Timothy 4:9-10)

While this text has been variously interpreted, it is plain that Paul did not believe that everyone will be saved. If he believed that, he wouldn’t have worked so hard.

Instead, this text says that both he and all the early Christians labored and strove based on their faith in Jesus, knowing that all who put their faith in Christ will be saved. This message was not meant to be kept secret. It wasn’t to be hidden in their hearts. It was to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth.

Jesus was able to save to the uttermost. There was no one He was unable to save, if they would fix their hope on Him through faith.

A Faithful God

7. Faithful To The End

It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

This trustworthy statement contains both an encouragement and a warning. Both are built on the faithfulness of God.

The earliest Christians believed they must endure until the end. They believed they must confess Christ before men. They believed that if they failed to endure, if they denied Christ, if they were faithless, that God would remain faithful.

The faithfulness of God guaranteed that He would do as He said. He would not change His mind. Therefore, if they endured, God would be faithful to allow them to reign with Him. If they denied Him, God would be faithful to deny them. False teachers twist this truth to offer comfort where the earliest followers of Christ saw a warning.

Fruitful Followers of Jesus

8. Good Deeds

Although salvation was by grace through faith in Christ alone, the importance of a faith that produces good works was also emphasized.

This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. (Titus 3:8)

There was a confidence in the inevitability of belief in God bringing forth a desire to engage in good deeds. This was a task that Christians were to take seriously. To be careful to put into practice. The earliest followers of Jesus affirmed true grace, not fake grace.

False Believers

9. False Professions

Claiming to believe wasn’t enough for the first Christians. There must be evidence.

They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed. (Titus 1:16)

By denying God, they were not truly in the faith. No matter what they claimed about themselves. They professed with their lips what they denied with their lives. For the early Christians, this meant they were not truly in the faith.

A Firm Foundation

10. The Foundation

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. (Hebrews 6:1-2)

This final text clearly lays out the foundational teachings of Christianity. The elementary teachings of Christ have already been covered above.

The foundational teachings for the early church were:

Repentance from dead works
Faith toward God
Instruction about washings (baptism) and the laying on of hands
The fact of a coming resurrection of the dead, and
Eternal judgment.

As the gospel about Jesus was preached, some believed. Those who believed were baptized into the community of faith. Leaders were commissioned and recognized by the laying on of hands. This distinguished them from false teachers.

People were believing in Jesus because they believed in the coming judgment. They wanted to be saved from the wrath of God against them for their own sins. They placed all their hope on a resurrected Savior who came into the world to save sinners.