The essentials of the Christian faith that align with early Church doctrines and are broadly affirmed across most orthodox Christian denominations—whether Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox—form the foundational core of Christianity. These are considered non-negotiables; compromise in these areas typically leads to heresy, apostasy, or the formation of a cult.
The Bible, the apostles, the early Church, and the ecumenical creeds affirmed these fundamental truths.
Compromising on the essential doctrines of Christianity places a person or a church outside the bounds of biblical Christianity and puts his/her salvation at stake.
These core truths are not optional. They define what it means to be a true follower of Christ. To reject or distort them is to embrace false teaching, which Scripture warns can lead people away from saving faith and result in eternal separation from God (Galatians 1:6–9; 2 Peter 2:1–2; John 8:24).
For this reason, it is vital that all churches and denominations stand united on the essentials. Unity in truth preserves the gospel, protects the church from heresy, and ensures that the message of salvation remains clear and uncompromised for every generation.
Here are the Essential Doctrines of the Christian Faith:
- The Authority of Scripture
Doctrine: The Bible is the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God.
Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–21
Early Church View: Affirmed in early councils and creeds (e.g., the Muratorian Canon).
- The Trinity
Doctrine: One God in three Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Scripture: Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14
Early Church View: Central to the Nicene Creed (325 AD).
Compromise = Heresy: Modalism, Arianism, or Unitarianism.
- The Deity and Humanity of Christ
Doctrine: Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.
Scripture: John 1:1,14; Colossians 2:9; Philippians 2:5–11
Early Church View: Defended against heresies like Docetism and Arianism.
Compromise = Heresy: Denying either His divinity or His humanity.
- The Virgin Birth
Doctrine: Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
Scripture: Matthew 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–35
Early Church View: Affirmed in Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.
- The Death, Burial, and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus
Doctrine: Jesus physically died, was buried, and rose bodily from the grave on the third day.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:3–4; Luke 24:39
Early Church View: A central tenet of apostolic preaching and the early creeds.
Compromise = Heresy: Gnosticism, spiritual resurrection only, etc.
- The Resurrection of the Dead and Final Judgment
Doctrine: All people will rise bodily for judgment; believers to eternal life, unbelievers to eternal separation.
Scripture: John 5:28–29; Revelation 20:11–15
Early Church: Included in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.
Compromise leads to: Universalism or annihilationism.
- Salvation by Grace Through Faith
Doctrine: Salvation is by grace through faith, in Christ alone. Faith is a working faith and not merely a mental assent.
Scripture: Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5; Romans 3:28
Early Church View: Paul’s epistles affirm this and so do the early church fathers.
- The Second Coming of Christ
Doctrine: Jesus will return personally, visibly, and gloriously to judge the living and the dead.
Scripture: Acts 1:11; Revelation 22:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Early Church View: Consistently affirmed in creeds.
- The Final Judgment and Eternal Life
Doctrine: There will be a resurrection of the dead and final judgment; believers will inherit eternal life, and unbelievers eternal separation from God.
Scripture: John 5:28–29; Revelation 20:11–15
Early Church View: Apostles’ Creed: “...the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.”
- The Universal Church
Doctrine: There is one holy, catholic (universal) and apostolic Church—the Body of Christ.
Scripture: Ephesians 4:4–6; 1 Corinthians 12:12–13
Early Church View: Defined in the Nicene Creed.
Note: This refers not to a denomination but to the spiritual unity of all believers in Christ.
The essentials are perfectly summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed.
While essentials define what makes someone truly Christian, non-essentials are areas where genuine believers can disagree without compromising the gospel or affecting their salvation. These are often called "secondary doctrines" or "disputable matters" (see Romans 14).
It’s disheartening to see Christians who may know the essential truths of the faith intellectually, yet fail to live them out in practice. So often, denominations tear each other down—sometimes without even realizing that the other group actually holds to the same core beliefs. Imagine the unity we could have if we all recognized this!
Protestants bash Catholics, Catholics bash Protestants, and both bash Orthodox together. This division grieves the heart of Christ and is from the pit of hell.
If you belong to one group—say, as a Catholic—yet speak with contempt about a Protestant believer who truly follows Christ and accepts the essentials as you do, then you're not walking as a true disciple. You're missing the heart of the gospel, the love of Christ, and you're deceiving yourself into thinking you're right with God when you are not and are doomed to destruction because your faith is without works per se.
According to Scripture, you're on the broad path that leads to destruction. I must lovingly warn you. God does not honour it. Repent, and begin to treat every true follower of Christ—regardless of denomination—as a brother or sister, without partiality. God shows no partiality, neither must you.
Romans 2:11 For God shows no partiality.
"In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."
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