Friday, April 06, 2018
Authentic Christianity
Eight-year-old
Tommy stared quizzically at the TV screen and wondered out loud, “Why is that
gold medal Olympian biting his medal?”
“Because,”
explained his older, wiser sister, “money used to have real gold in it, so
people would bite it to see if it was authentic. If the coin was too hard they knew someone
was giving them fake money. Those medals aren’t real gold, but they are doing
that to remind us of how it used to be done.”
In
our world it is not always easy to tell the difference between fake and real.
Ironically this is especially true when it comes to the most important things
in life. For example, there now seem to be so many versions of Christianity,
how can someone tell which beliefs are authentic and which are simply
traditions?
The
answer to this question is relatively simple; like any honest researcher or
academic will attest, the key is to go back to primary sources. Providentially,
God has preserved a primary source for those who are willing to let it carry
the weight it deserves. That source is the Bible. It has been challenged,
tested and proven more than any other book on the planet.
For
those who are genuinely discovering what is church tradition and what is
authentic Christianity, the first order of business is to go back and read the
Bible without trying to make it fit a preconceived set of beliefs. For example,
if someone is interested in how the original Christians converted to
Christianity, all they need to do is read the book of Acts, which was written
just a few years after Jesus established the Christian Church. They will discover
that an authentic conversion included repentance, baptism and the infilling of
the Holy Spirit.
A
lot of discussion and activity has taken place in the name of Christianity over
the past 2000 years, and many people have done things in the name of God and
Christianity, but there is something powerful and settling about going back to
the primary source. Rather than trying to understand all of church history or
sort out all of the arguments that have taken place throughout the centuries,
one can simply go back to the original Apostolic historical accounts and personal
letters as captured in the New Testament.
The
Christianity launched by Jesus and His Disciples was not a weak and anemic set
of beliefs that needed centuries of improvement. The original Christian faith
produced a group of people that “turned the world upside down.” (See Acts 2:48) If we want to turn our world
rightside up, we must return to the Authentic Christianity of Scripture. That kind of Christianity will look, taste
and feel like the first century Christianity. In other words, Authentic
Christianity will include miracles, signs, wonders, baptisms, other tongues,
Gifts of the Spirit, and much more.
Life
is too short to waste it on the fake. The stakes are too high to risk not
having the real thing when it comes to eternal issues. Go to the primary
source. Don’t settle for anything less than Authentic Christianity.
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