Spiritual Laws

What is Christianity? Even as early as the founding of the first churches at Antioch and Jerusalem, this was a difficult question. The two decades after Christ's death on the cross, when all Christian teachings were oral, saw much debate between Christ's disciples and followers. Some of Christ's disciples went to Egypt and Ethiopia, others to Sumeria and Armenia, and some (such as Paul) went to Greece and Rome. The teachings varied from disciple to disciple, place to place, and of course from time to time. Christianity in the 4th century (Council of Nicaea) was a different beast than it was in the 1st century. But right now I want to look at early Christianity, when the witnesses of Christ's miracles were still alive.

20 years after the death of Christ, various individuals saw the necessity of putting Christ's teachings in writing. Peter, Paul, Mark, Matthew, Luke and John are the most well-known, though many others also contributed to the writings of early Christianity. The Gospel according to Mark is the first canonical gospel ever written (although it is placed second in the bible). Matthew and Luke chose to expand on Mark's gospel in different ways, to better help specific subgroups of Christians. Matthew wrote for Hebrews and Luke wrote for Greek-speaking Gentiles. John wrote independently, drawing from his own experiences with Jesus and focusing a lot on God's love for us. These four books are further supplemented by the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of Saint Paul to form the New Testament.

Fast forward to the present. Christianity has many denominations, but there are still some common elements that unite all Christians. One modern Christian mentions these unifying principles as seven truths, that we can choose to believe in or not believe in. These seven truths exist regardless of our individual beliefs:

1. There is one God, eternally existent in three persons.
2. God created everything in this universe, including all the physical laws.
3. God gave humans free will, to choose Him over sin.
4. Humans rebelled, and sin was introduced.
5. All mankind is inherently sinful.
6. The penalty for sin is eternal separation from God.
7. God is not willing that any of us should have to pay that penalty, so he came to earth, assumed the form of man (in the person of Jesus Christ), and paid the penalty for us; The gift of salvation is free to all, but the choice to accept it is up to each person.

The seven truths above may or may not be an accurate summary of the basic beliefs of Christians around the world, but I think it is pretty darn close. And the basic concept behind them is that they are true whether we believe in them or not, whether we like them or not. As for myself, I'm more familiar with the four laws than I am with the seven truths.

When I was a baby Christian, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the New Testament, so I relied on a booklet titled the Four Spiritual Laws to summarize the foundation of my faith. It's basically a short, cutesy way of looking at the Gospel message. Over one and a half billion copies of the little booklets have been published so far (that I know of).

The Four Spiritual Laws are written as follows:

1. God LOVES you and offers a wonderful PLAN for your life.

"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" - John 3:16.
"I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" - John 10:10.

2. Man is SINFUL and SEPARATED from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23.
"The wages of sin is death" - Romans 6:23.

3. Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.

"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8.
"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." - 1 Corinthians 15:3-6.
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" - John 14:6.

4. We must individually RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.

"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" - John 1:12.
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" - Ephesians 2:8,9.

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.

These two circles represent two kinds of lives:












Finally, we end with a prayer...
"Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."