The Reformation Project: Thesis Four

4. Biblical doctrine teaches that Jesus, both God and man, was the Word of God who dwelt among us, was perfectly sinless, and by His sinless life and substitutionary death He both perfectly fulfilled the requirements of the Law and paid the penalty for the Curse upon all who are His, and His bodily resurrection validated the truth of His claims.  There is no sufficient reason to follow and worship Jesus apart from these doctrinal claims. 

This is one of several theses that ask the reader to interact with assertions as to the central core of Christianity. Identifying the central elements of Christianity should in turn serve to direct the church toward its core functions.

Modern church movements, in both evangelical and progressive expressions, center evangelistic efforts and their raison d'etre around a variety of themes: the creation of meaningful community, a mechanism for psychological wholeness, a basis for social justice, and so forth. These often are good things worth pursuing, and in some instances they may be proper emphases for the regenerate, but do these things really form the core of Christian teaching?

Scripture as a whole -- and Jesus in particular -- made claims regarding the person and work of Jesus, claims that are subject to historical examination and theological reasoning. Whether these claims are true is a matter of eternal significance. That being the case, they should form the center -- and much of the periphery -- of any properly constituted church.

See here for a Table of Contents for The Reformation Project.