Ron Writes
Christianity is a person! Sometimes we’re asked what we believe. It’s not a what, but a who. It’s not a creed, but a person. Paul said, “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). Paul’s faith and trust was in a who, not a what. We believe in a God who created everything, including us. A God who emptied Himself and personally came to live with us in the form of Jesus – Immanuel. He loved us and gave His life for us and was raised from the dead for us.
Christianity is a proclamation! It’s a proclamation about a person. Luke says that he writes to tell us “about all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). The Living Word became the written Word. We proclaim Jesus. Christianity is about the gospel, the good news. The gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.”
Christianity is a people! The proclamation calls for a personal response to the person of Jesus. The creator is calling His creation back to Him. Those who respond to this call have a special relationship with God. So they are the called, the assembled, in Greek the “ecclesia” translated in English as “church.” Church is not a building, it’s the called out. It’s not the building, but those in the building.
Is Christianity the church of Christ? Yes, if you mean by church of Christ those who have been called by God to believe the gospel of Jesus, and to trust in Jesus to have a relationship with Him. Because of that relationship we assemble to worship and honor God. We assemble to love, encourage, and build up one another to be more like Jesus and proclaim Him and be His people.
