The Christian Faith is Founded Upon the Fact and Experience of Jesus
Christ.--Without Him there would have been no such faith.
1. The fact of Christ. This faith bases itself primarily not upon
reason or feeling, but upon Jesus Christ, a historical person, and
what He said and did while upon this earth in bodily form. The early
disciples and preachers declared themselves to be witnesses. They were
sent forth as witnesses (Matthew 28:18-20; John 15:27; Acts 1:8; 2:
32). The speeches of Peter (Acts 2:14-40; 3:12-26; 4:8-12), Stephen
(Acts 7:1-56) and of Paul (Acts 13:16-41; 22:1-21) are recitals, of
certain well attested occurrences, which have for their chief point
the setting forth of the fact of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the
Saviour of men and hope of the world (Acts 2:38,39).
2. The experience of Christ. By this is meant the experience which men
have who receive Christ as their Saviour and Lord. There is a
historical Christ; and there is a spiritual Christ who enters into a
communion of happiness and joy, with believers in Him. Jesus Christ,
when on earth in bodily form, promised the coming of the Holy Spirit
who should glorify Him (John 16:13,14); He also declared to His
disciples, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world"
(Matthew 28:20). Wherever this gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and
men under its power truly repent of their sins and accept Him as their
Saviour, as in the past so now, men may enter into personal relations
with their risen and glorified Lord (Acts 2:40-42; John 7:17; Acts 8:
5-7; Romans 8:1-10; Colossians 1:27; Acts 26:15-19).
Essential Elements.--In the Christian faith there are six component
elements.
1. Belief in God as The Spirit, "infinite, eternal, and unchangeable
in His being, wisdom and power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth"
(John 4:24; Exodus 20:2-7; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:6; John 17:3; 1
Corinthians 8:4,6; Psalm 19; 104:24).
2. Belief in man, as a child of God, whose spirit is destined to live
forever (Genesis 2:7; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Matthew
6:25; 5:29,30).
3. Belief in sin which taints and corrupts the heart of man, making it
finally, if unchecked, the dwelling place of all evil. The effects of
sin are everywhere plainly manifest. Men not only sin through
ignorance and carelessly but willfully. The worst sins are those which
are of the spirit, anger, pride, malice and envy (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6;
Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8; Romans 1:18-3:23; 8:7).
4. Belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Saviour of men, who
can cleanse the heart of man and save him from his sins. Jesus Christ
came not only to reveal God, the Father, to man but also to purge his
heart from evil. "He is the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 2:1,2;
Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:24,25; Matthew 20:28; Romans 3:24,25; 5:8; 8:3;
Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Matthew
9:2-6).
5. Belief in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians
6:11; Ephesians 3:16; Galatians 5:22) who "testifies of Christ, as the
Saviour of sinners, unites us to Him by faith, and makes us partakers
of all His benefits." Jesus said, "When the Comforter is come, whom I
will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which
proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me" (John 15:26).
"The Spirit of truth ... will guide you into all truth.... He shall
glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you"
(John 16:13,14; 14:26; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Titus 3:5,6; Matthew 28:
19; John 3:5,6).
6. Belief in the resurrection and the life to come, the issues of
which are declared to be eternal. "The hour is coming in which all
that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth;
they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that
have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28,29;
Matthew 25:31-46; 25:1-13). The great rainbow of promise that spans
the future, for those who trust in Christ, is in the fact that He
said, "I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and
believeth in Me shall never die" (John 11:25,26; I Thessalonians 5:23;
John 6:47; 14:2,19). The resurrection body "will be spiritual,
immortal, incorruptible, and like unto the glorious body of Jesus
Christ" (Philippians 3:20,21; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23,35-57).
Definiteness.--There is a marvellous directness and definiteness in
the statements of the New Testament writers, in proclaiming the
Christian faith, because they believe that they are dealing with the
tremendous facts of life and destiny. God has manifested Himself and
spoken in Jesus Christ as He has never manifested Himself before. "God
who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His
Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things" (Hebrews 1:1,2). The
eternal things of God, kept secret from the foundation of the world,
are now made known to man; why should he not, in spite of any
punishment or threatened ignominious death, proclaim these truths
definitely and plainly to his fellow man (Acts 4:13-20)?
The keynote of all of Paul's work is sounded in a very definite and
direct way in his first Epistle to the Corinthians (2:2,5) where he
says, "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified.... That your faith should not stand in the
wisdom of men but in the power of God." Paul consistently maintains
throughout his Epistles that the sole basis of salvation is the grace
of God through Jesus Christ, to be appropriated by faith on the part
of man.