Gospel Essentials

Gospel Essentials

Ashley Bragg

Grand Canyon University: CWV 301

March 31, 2017

Gospel Essentials

        Christianity is the largest religion in the world. Like any religion, it is very complex. Within the one religion it is extremely diverse. This paper will summarize and analyze the essentials of the Christian worldview and reflect on implications for my own worldview.

        Summary of the Christian Worldview

Worldview is how we view the world around us. Everyone has their own worldview, however, there are not two worldviews that are the same. They may come close but never the same. We make moral and ethical decisions based off our personal worldview. “As a Christian, you are described as a person who has committed your life to the teaching of Jesus (Lamca, 2017). The essentials of Christian worldview include God, Humanity, Jesus, and Restoration.

God

        There are multiple meanings of god within the Christian worldview. God is bigger than everyone. Because of this, it is very difficult to describe god or try to establish all his characteristics. Everyone has at least one thing in common that we believe best describes god. For each of the descriptions, we look to god to reveal existence of those specific characteristics.  God does this through his son Jesus and the bible. God is a living spirit, a living being who acts (Psalm 115:3-7). God allows us to come to him as we are. We do not need to be perfect nor religious. God loves and accepts us as we and accepts us as we come. “The lord is here to all that all on him, to all who call on him is truth” (Psalms 145:18).

People fall into sin by doing things their own way instead of following gods way. God has outlined his way in the bible and expects us to abide by it accordingly. In today’s time, people look for the easy way out of things or a quick fix to their problem. They fail to realize that god sees and knows all. He does not overlook sin. However, he is very forgiving if an individual comes to him and follows his path. The son of God, Jesus gave away his life for our sins on the cross (Merrick, 2014). He offered us forgiveness by rising from the dead. “We are made right in god’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. We are made right with god when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us” (Romans 3:22, 25). God reassures us that everything he shares about himself and about us as humans is reliable information. God expects us to believe his information and abide by it.

Humanity

Human nature refers to the way humans naturally think, feel, and act. Humans differ from any other creation. One distinctive difference is our ability to reason. This attribute is a unique gift to mankind from god. We can reflect on our nature, god’s nature, and the knowledge of his will. Creation of the universe was with purpose, not at random. Humanity was created to have life, but the fall introduced sin into the world and this led to death (Romans 3:23). The fall was the act of rebellion that changed the nature of humanity (Diffey, 2014). For example, Adam and Eve were told to be “fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). They were also asked to rule over the Earth, take care of the animals, and be faithful to one another (Lamca, 2017).  Unsatisfied with their rolls as man and woman. They did not accept their humanness. They changed who they tried to change who they were but the outcome was not as they expected. Humans are created in the image of god (Genesis 1:26-28). After the fall, they became sinful by nature and separated from god because of sin.

Jesus

Jesus is the Messiah. He is the son of god and part of the trinity. Jesus is the root of the Christian worldview. John 3:16 states “For god so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” In Matthew 20:28 Jesus says he did not come to serve, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus is God’s son, he gave up his power at birth to serve others. Jesus Christ is described as the prophet, priest, and king. The prophet because he speaks to the people for god. The priest because he cleanses us from our sins, and the king because he is the ruler of all people. Jesus’ identity is extremely important to the Christian worldview because it gives us the opportunity to understand everything that he has sacrificed.

Restoration

        Although god created all, humanity is not perfect. For example, humans idealize one another instead of idealizing god. This can only be changed if god is made the center of our lives. Believing in god and putting him first is the only way of making it right. When it comes to Christianity grace and faith are key principles (Shuster, 2013). Individuals are led to god through grace and faith. From there to salvation and then they are free from sin. In Christianity people can make mistakes and can ask for forgiveness after. God has set a foundation within Christianity, reassuring that he is always there and is not a judgmental god. This allows people to come to him openly and confess their sins, giving them a second chance to improve themselves.