Christian Beliefs

Christian Beliefs by Wayne A. Grudem covers all the major topics of Christianity. It answers questions such as “Who is God?”, “Why were we created?”, and “What does sin have to do with our relationship with God?” Grudem’s book covers from before time, when only God existed, through creation, the fall, redemption, the Christian’s life, all the way to the final judgement and the future for Christians. Though there are many things in the Bible that can be controversial, this book presents the beliefs that are foundational to Evangelical Christianity. With twenty different topics, separated into twenty different chapters, Grudem gives an easy to understand yet deep look at these twenty basics that every Christian should know.

Grudem starts his book by talking about the bible. The bible is the basis of all our beliefs, it is where we find our information about who God is, which Grudem touches on next. God is perfect, sinless, all-knowing, all-powerful, and many more amazing things. Why did God create everything? He created to bring Himself glory and to show His greatness. He created man in His own image, to be a representation of His greatness. Everything was good. Then we sinned and evil entered the world. Sin ruined our perfect relationship with God, and the perfect image we were of God. Our punishment for sin is death and eternal separation from God. Grudem does not stop there though, he goes on to tell us God’s plan to save the world. God sent His son to take our place. Jesus, who was perfect and never sinned, took the punishment for our sins. He rose from the dead three days later, defeating death.

What does that mean for us? Well, this is where Grudem introduces some big words. The first is “atonement”. Someone needs to atone, or pay, for the sins that are committed. There is nothing we can do that is good enough. God’s way, through Jesus, is the only way our sins can be atoned for. The next big word is “justification”. Grudem says that “justification is God’s response to our faith.” (Pg. 95) It is only by God’s grace that he sees us as being justified.

The last few chapters of the book talk about the future. There are many different views on what the order of events will be when Christ returns and we are finally judged. Grudem gives a brief overview on a few of these different views. What we do know is that God will be judge and there is nothing that any of us could do to be make right in God’s eyes. But if we have accepted Jesus as our savior, then God sees Jesus’ righteousness on us, and our sins are paid for by Christ. That is amazing grace from God. Some people may have heard most of this hundreds of times; but this may be new to others. No matter how many times we may hear these truths, we can always learn more and be reminded of what our faith is built on.

Grudem uses these twenty different topics to present the truth of the gospel. Although he covers an abundance of information, there are a few main themes that run throughout every chapter. Everything was created by God, and everything was created for his glory. A great verse that Grudem gives to show this truth is Revelation 4:11, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Just like God created to bring glory to Himself, everything God does is to bring glory to Himself. Everything is a part of God’s plan, and He is in control. These main truths are what every Christian’s belief should be based on. These truths should be a comfort for the believer and a conviction for the seeker.

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to read yet had some deep truths that made me think. I loved that it covered so many different topics in each chapter. It really went into the center of what Christians believe. Grudem explained even some of the harder to understand topics like election or predestination. He gave a lot of good that gave context to what he was saying. At the end of each chapter were a few questions pertaining to the text. The questions were really helpful in thinking more deeply on what I had just read. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone: long-time Christians, new believers, those who are curious, and even those who have never heard of God.

Christian Beliefs can be found in the “Doctrine” section of The Study Room library, in the subsection “The Gospel”. There are many other books in this section that present the gospel in easy-to-understand ways. Basic Christianity by John R.W Stott, A Simple Christianity by John MacArthur, and What Is the Gospel by Greg Gilbert are some of the books we have in this section of our library. Wayne Grudem has another book called Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith that is a more in depth look at the truths presented in Christian Beliefs.

Written by Lindsay Brunt
Edited by Nathalie Davidson and Kayleigh Perry

Grudem, Wayne A. (2005). Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know.
English Standard Version Bible

*All verses in this article are taken from the English Standard Version of the Bible.

A blog post by Lindsay Brunt

July 24, 2021.