You Think You Know Jesus?

The what and why of Christianity as well as some false beliefs (heresies) to recognize and avoid.

2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” (New Living Translation)

YOU MIGHT THINK THAT WITH CHURCHES ON EVERY STREET corner and televangelists on every channel, most people in North America have heard the Gospel, or at least know the basics of the Bible and Christianity.

But you'd be wrong if you think that all those people base what they believe on the Bible, or have confidence in the beliefs that they do hold. The fact is, a lot of what many people think about Christianity is simply handed down through our culture: television, radio, movies, figures of speech.

As Christmas approaches, our culture is going to assault us with materialism and Santa Claus--and plenty of misinformation about the significance of Jesus' birth, life and resurrection. When every holiday movie is telling us that the reason for Christmas is the "spirit of giving" or just sharing love with our family, we really mss the greater point: God entered the world as a man and gave his innocent life to save us from the consequences of our sin. that truth comes from the Bible, not a made-for-television move.

If you really want to know what to believe, don't ask around: ask God! He gave us His Word (the Bible) with all the guidance we'll ever need (the Holy Spirit). Here's a good rundown of the basics of our faith, based on what the Scriptures say.

basics of faith	the bible says	bible reference	some heresies
Who is God?	God is personal, all-powerful, the Creator of the universe who wants to have a relationship with us. God is a Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.	Genesis 1	Pantheism: God is everywhere and in everything. Deism: God exists, but he does not work in the lives of people personally. Gnosticism: An evil god created all matter. Only spirit is good.
Who is Jesus?	Jesus is God in the flesh, part of the Trinity, born of the Virgin Mary. He was completely God and completely man.	John 1:1-12; Matthew 1:18-25	Unitarianism: God is one person; Jesus is not God. Docetism: Jesus was God but not human. Ebionism: Jesus was human, not God.
What is sin?	Sin is disobedience to God. Man’s sin is the result of a fallen nature and choices made by our own free will.	Genesis 3; Romans 3:23	Men are born morally perfect, but choose to be sinful. It is possible to live a sinless life.
What is the result of sin?	Sin results in eternal separation from God. God’s presence is in the world so complete separation takes place only after death.	Romans 6:23a	Reincarnation: Salvation after death through an endless cycle of rebirth until all bad works are atoned for. Purgatory: Salvation comes after a period of torment and punishment.
how are we saved?	Trusting in Jesus as God’s Son is the only escape from the penalty and power of sin. Salvation cannot be earned: it comes as a gift from God.	Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9	Works-based salvation: Salvation comes by living a good life and doing good things.

Orthodoxy—Literally, “right belief.” If a doctrine is orthodox, then the Christian community accepts it as true. Beliefs and doctrines that are not orthodox are called heterodox, and some of those are heresies.

Apostasy—Surrendering to heresy. False teachers and people who give into a heresy are apostates.

Doctrine—An important belief about God that is held to be important and true. False doctrines are heresy.

Heresy—A false belief condemned by Scripture. Some beliefs people call heresies are misunderstandings about the Bible, and others are additional teachings of men that people have made equal in authority to the Bible.

more helps & hints
Still confused about exactly what you believe? Don’t worry—you’re not alone. Even the early church struggled against false teachings, and that struggle continues today. So how can you avoid the perils of false teachings? Here are a few pointers:

01 Don’t major on minors. So many heresies come from focusing on one doctrine or scripture, but forgetting about all the others. This is where doctrines like salvation through works and practices like snake handling come from. Don’t turn one Bible verse into a whole new system of belief.

02 Look to spiritual forefathers. People make mistakes, even when their intentions are good. We can learn a lot from the mistakes of the past and what those errors resulted in. Also, many spiritual giants of the past wrestled with issues and had something to say about it. Find out what they learned by reading what they wrote.

03 Examine the “fruit” of the belief. What effect will believing something have on the way I live? You can tell a lot about the rightness of a belief by what kind of action it produces.

04 Continue studying the Bible, and view the whole Bible as the whole truth. The more you become familiar with the Bible as a whole, the less likely you are to latch onto a suspect belief. The Bible will correct many errors outright; but first you have to know that those answers are there, so read and keep reading.

Most importantly, pray and ask God for spiritual guidance, discernment and wisdom. God’s Spirit wants nothing more than for you to believe the right things. God doesn’t author confusion, so trust in His Spirit and He’ll help you find the right way. Remember that being a Christian isn’t about answering a Bible quiz when you get to heaven, its about having a real relationship with a Person, Jesus Christ. If you really believe that, then it matters what you believe about who Jesus is, what He did, and what He does for us today.

weird heresies
Some things that people have decided is the truth is just plain nutty! Have you heard of these heresies?

Marcionism: Marcion believed that the God of the Old Testament was evil. The real God was uncovered by Jesus; the Old Testament prophets never really knew God at all.

Ophitism: Ophites, an early breakaway group from Christianity, believed that Eve’s temptation by the serpent was a wonderful thing for the world since it brought knowledge to man. They didn’t even have a problem with the Devil! Every time they had communion, they would have the wafers licked by snakes! Yuck!

Cataphiggianism: Cataphiggians would put their index and middle fingers up their noses as a symbolic gesture of faith while they prayed. Again, I say, yuck.

Catharism: The Cathari were French Christians who adopted a heresy they were exposed to in the Holy Land during the Crusades. The Cathari were dualists, believing in two gods, one good the other evil, and both were at war with each other. The Cathari were strict vegetarians, but sometimes they didn’t even eat at all. Cathari believed that once they had reached a point of enlightenment (or being condemned as a heretic by the Catholic Church) they could only reach heaven by dying. Some even believed in ritual suicide by starvation. Yikes!