I’ve been doing the Bible Answer Man broadcast for over two decades and I’m always exhilarated to help people with their questions, but I’m particularly motivated and excited about a new resource we have called Memorable Keys to Essential Christian D-O-C-T-R-I-N-E. It’s a great resource that codifies exactly what you as a believer have given your life to.

There was a recent Barna survey that examines changes in worldview among Christians over the past 13 years. Quite frankly, it’s chilling. Some of the findings are:

·        Less than half of the born again adults (46%) believe in absolute moral truth.

·        A minority of born again adults (40%) are convinced that Satan is a real force.

·        Less than half of all born again Christians (47%) strongly reject the notion of earning salvation through their deeds.

·        Less than two-thirds of the born again segment (62%) strongly believes that Jesus was sinless.[1]

It is absolutely astounding that one can say today, I’m born again, not just born physically, but that I am born again spiritually, I have taken on the spotless robes of righteousness of Jesus Christ and, therefore, I will not stand before God dressed in my own filthy robes of self-righteousness, but I will be in the spotless robes of Christ and, therefore, I will be accounted as righteous before a just and holy God because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and yet not believe some of the issues above.

I have taken essential Christian doctrine and I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. How can I give this to people in such a way that they’ll have something that they can put in their purse or pocket that codifies exactly what they have given their life for? Not just the statement of what you believe but the statement of why you believe.

Quite frankly, I came across this idea with my wife Kathy. We were at a golf tournament that one of my kids was playing in, and we were at the Pro Shop, and we saw a laminated flip chart that contained the rules of golf. The rules of golf can be very daunting, detailed, and difficult to digest, and here in a flip chart format with little illustrations we had the rules of golf made simple. Easy to reference, you could stick it in your golf bag. If there was a question about what a ruling should be, you could flip it open, and you could have a quick answer.

I thought that would be the best way, not just a good way, but the best way in which I could present essential Christian doctrine. That’s precisely what I’ve done. I’ve developed a laminated flip chart. It’s durable, almost virtually indestructible. You can put it in your pocket or purse, and you can use it as a ready reference for exactly what you’ve given your life to. These are the very hills upon which the martyrs bled and died.

So often we forget about the significance of essential Christian doctrine. These are the hills that the early Christians were willing to die on. These are the very doctrines that form the lines of demarcation between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the Cults. In fact, I would say they are the North Star by which the course of Christianity is set. Just as the North Star is an unchanging reference point by which sailors safely guided their ships, so essential Christian doctrine has safely guided the church through the doctrinal storms that have sought to sink it. It forms the very foundation on which the Gospel of Jesus Christ rests from His deity to the eschatological certainty that He will appear a second time to judge the living and the dead.

All other religions confuse, compromise, or contradict essential Christian doctrine. Muslims dogmatically denounce the unique doctrine of Christ’s deity, they call it the unforgivable sin of shirk. They readily affirm the sinlessness of Christ, but deny His sacrifice on the cross, and His resurrection as the only hope of salvation.

I want you to internalize what you believe, and because I’m so focused on that outcome I’ve organized the main and plain things of Scripture around the word D-O-C-T-R-I-N-E. Please check out this resource, Memorable Keys to Essential Christian D-O-C-T-R-I-N-E at our Website at www.equip.org or by calling us at 1-888-700-0274.