Christianity is the most prominent religion in the world. The early fathers and church councils analytically defined between “orthodoxy” from “heresy” in pursue to preserve what they understand as the true Christian message. During the Middle Ages era, the decisions of the ecumenical councils and the teachings of apostolic succession made sure that right belief was protected. However, some people like Thomas Aquinas explored and questioned all the aspects of Christian theology within the limits of orthodoxy.
In the 16th century, when Protestant Reformation was in effect, the attention shifted once again to preserving the real message of Christianity. Reformers appealed for the stripping away of the many superfluous and even erroneous doctrines that had developed over the centuries . They also pursued that theology should be based on the Bible alone. The significance of true belief was brought even more with the reformers’ stress on true faith as the only “need” to be saved. This brought many denominational partitions and divisions since the Reformation. Many religions focus in matters of doctrine rather than practice.
For some, Christian doctrine can be a very sensitive case to tackle especially for newly-converted Christians. However, many people still believe that the only way to understand the truth is to read the main source – the Bible. Here’s a review of what the Bible tells:
The Trinity
Christianity believes that God has three personas, God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. Although some religions are monotheistic (they only believe in the existence of one true God), the Bible still proves the existence of God the Son who is Jesus Christ and the Helper, which is the Holy Spirit.
God
The Christian God is a personal God. This does not mean that God is a human being, but that God is the Creator of all things and that He has the capability to love every human being. There are supporting verses in the Bible that states about His strong love for His creations, the humanity. This is seen clearly in both the Old and New Testaments, in which God is described in strongly personal terminologies like Father, Shepherd and establishes relationships with human beings.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is mostly termed in the Bible as the Son of Man, the Messiah, the Branch, the Savior and much more. His life on earth is written on the first parts of the New Testament of the Bible. This consists of all His teachings, miracles done (healing, casting out demons, feeding a multitude of people, walking on the water, etc.) and His great suffering on the cross of the calvary for the salvation of all. It is written in the Bible, as what Jesus says, that He is the only way to eternal life and nobody goes to the Father except through him (John 14:6, John 3:17). That means that believing in Jesus Christ as God and following His teachings is the way to salvation. Most people call it faith.
The Holy Spirit
When Jesus ascended to Heaven after His resurrection, He said that He will leave a Helper who will guide the people in knowing the truth. The Holy Spirit is one of the Trinity of God. When Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist, the latter saw the Holy Spirit descending from heaven, looking like a dove but it does not actually look exactly like that creature (John 14:16-18, John 16:17, John 15:26).