Christianity 101
Important Information For New Christians

guidelines for new Christians

This article is intended to be a very brief crash course highlighting important issues in biblical Christianity for all those who are new to the faith and for all those who wish to find out some important facts that all Christians should be aware of.

 

Rule #1:

Don’t blindly trust what anybody says – not your pastor, not some famous preacher on TV or radio. No one! Be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who checked the scriptures to see if what the Apostle Paul said was true…

 

Acts 17:11 – “… they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

 

Rule #2:

Expect people who graduate from seminaries to have a seminary-induced bias about many biblical doctrines – a bias that locks them into a wrong interpretation of things.  And never assume that a religious title or religious degree is a guarantee that some teacher is interpreting scripture properly…

 

1Corinthians 1:26 – “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

 

Rule #3:

Expect to be deceived by the many religious preachers, teachers and authors around you. They know most people don’t bother to really do the kind of research often necessary to determine that they are wrong… 

 

Mark 13:22 – “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.”

 

Rule #4:

When it comes to being really sure about the correct interpretation of many Bible doctrines, don’t expect it to be an easy task.  You may need to do Greek and Hebrew word studies but fortunately nowadays with computerized as well as printed Bible tools such as concordances, you can uncover biblical truths in far less time than it took Bible students in days gone by…

 

Proverbs 25:2 – “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”

 

Rule #5:

Expect to be discouraged by the Christians around you. Many will say all the right things and yet will live no differently than the lost people you witness to every day…

 

Luke 12:1 – “In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

 

Rule #6:

Expect to be have to learn many things yourself without the initiative of church leaders.  Some of those things will include:

  1. Which bible versions are reliable and why?
  2. How do you properly interpret the bible for yourself?
  3. What are the “Doctrines Of Grace” versus the “Free-will gospel”?
  4. What is the social gospel?
  5. What is the ecumenical movement?
  6. Why are tongues and signs and wonders not for today?
  7. Why is it unbiblical for women to teach and oversee a congregation?
  8. Why do people conduct highly structured church meetings in large special purpose buildings when the early church met in ordinary homes?
  9. Why do parents send their kids to public or private schools when the Bible says that it is parents alone who have the primary responsibility for teaching their children?
  10. Why is “tithing” not a biblical practice for the Church? (Giving is biblical, but tithing is not.)

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