‘Principles’ are beliefs which govern one’s personal behavior and attitudes. With this in mind, first principles can be appropriately applied to Christianity.
First and foremost, the Scriptures (Bible) is God’s sole authority to mankind. No other book can be a substitute. Why? “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).
Christians believe there is only one God (the Father), God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit (God’s presence in the Christian).
Through the prophet Micah, God has expressed what should be the three distinctive natures of our lives in this present world. These are justice, kindness, and humility. Micah 6:8 says: “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
“To be a “good Christian” requires more than merely performing religious rituals. Rather, to live the Christian life is to allow Jesus to live His life in and through us. God wants us to show the world what He is doing inside of us—and that takes humble, merciful, just action—behavior just as Christ would exhibit” (Dr Charles Stanley, Life Principles Bible pg. 1085 NKJV).
God also expects His children to demonstrate kindness and mercy to others, and by careful consideration keep away from evil thoughts. The Bible says, “And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another . . . and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart” (Zechariah 7:8-10).
Only believers in the Lord Jesus Christ can truly obey and apply these godly requirements to their lifestyles. The unsaved individual is incapable of doing so.
First principles of Christianity means that man is a sinner and he is in need of a Savior for the forgiveness of his sins.
Sin is a violation of God’s spiritual laws. The Bible says, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).
The Scriptures conclude that no one is sinless because “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Romans 3:10-12 states: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
The point is, God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:4-6).
The text states there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Not many mediators as some would have us to believe. The one and only remedy for sin is in the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. And whoever trusts Him as their personal Savior “should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
That is precisely why the gospel of the grace of God must be preached worldwide to tell people of their need to be reconciled to God. The word ‘gospel’ means good news.
The Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians says, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received; that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and to the twelve” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5).
The fact that Christ was buried is proof of His death. And the fact that He appeared to Cephas, and to the twelve is absolute proof that He was raised on the third day.
These events are foundational to the Christian faith. Paul goes on to let it be known “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ” (1 Cor. 15:14,15).
Jesus Christ Himself declared “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me , though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25,26). In doing so, Christ has conquered sin, death, hell, and the grave.
The resurrection means there’s absolutely no doubt that life has gloriously triumphed over death and despair, and good over evil. Also, the resurrection is a demonstration of God’s unique great power.
The Lord Jesus now lives seated at the right hand of God in heaven. He will never die again. The Scripture says, “For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God” (Romans 6:10).