Minimum required understanding

This is something that has been rattleing round in my head (tells you about the state of the interior) for quite some time...It seems only reasonable that there is a level of understanding...things that MUST be known or you can't be a Christian...NOT things that IF you know you ARE a Christian, but things that you must know before you can possibly be.What are the questions that make up the minimum required understanding--What answers MUST you be able to giveAs usual, I might be way out in left field. If so Please feel free to put my head on straight.thanksmatthew

I got a good sermon on this from this site, but it no longer available here. It was RC Sproul talking about what makes up saving faith. The first element was the "notitia" which is the facts that we must believe. You can be charismatic and loving, but without the "notitia" you are just a Mormon, JW, etc. Like you said, believing these facts is a necessary but insufficient element of saving faith.I often wonder when I watch TBN, etc, how far off the notitia can be before it has gone too far. Most Christians agree that the Mormons, JW's, etc have gone too far. Most also agree that Roman Cathloicism is too far off in that many of the sheep may be saved, but only because they dissent from some of the doctrines of the church. They have officially declared that anyone who believes in justification by grace through faith alone is cursed! One wonders where the threshold is, but I guess it is better to stay near the bullseye and not spend too much time worrying about it.I have these thoughts, too, so you're not the only oddball!

Yeah, I think I've thought about this too. I think the basic requirements to be a Christian are; Realizing you are as sinner, realizing you need a Savior, believing in what Jesus did for you, living a changed life.An example I can see of is in one of the gospels. Where Jesus heals a blind man and immediately he is changed and tells others about Jesus. He was blind, which I'm sure he knew. And he knew he couldn't change it by himself. And he instantly believed that Jesus could and had healed him. And he was changed. He tells the people, that all he knows is that he was once blind, but now he can see. He didn't know anything else about following Jesus, but that he was saved. All these things that Christians argue about don't really matter to your salvations. The one thing they are useful for is understanding our God and His character even better.

Vance Havner used to say, in regards to his salvation that (I'll paraphrase), I didn't understand much, but I knew I was "under new management!"

Vance Havner used to say, in regards to his salvation that (I'll paraphrase), I didn't understand much, but I knew I was "under new management!"Ha ha! Exactly!

Knowing Christ lives. In ChristJeff