Christians from different types of churches often wonder on what grounds they can be united in faith with others. Is pentecostalism really compatible with roman catholicism, or methodism?  Can a traditional Anglican really enjoy true unity in the faith with charismatics?

The Bible teaches that we can be united, indeed we MUST be, because it's when we reach unity in the faith that He will come again. (Ephesians 4:13)

So, with such diverse practises and beliefs, how we can be united?

There are four essential doctrines that MUST be believed in order to own the name of Christian.  All other teachings and doctrines are a matter of personal belief/preference.

We can be united on these four doctrines, and respect, each others rights to other beliefs and practices, as each of us is answerable to God individually.

Because we do not worship in the same way does not mean we are right, or they are wrong, or vice versa.  It means we are different.  Praise God for differences and diversity.

My personal belief is that none of us are 100% right, but I believe all expressions of the Christian faith have something to offer each other, if we can only be open minded and less spiritually/denominationally proud.

OK - back to the four beliefs that we are united upon. The Bible itself reveals those doctrines that are essential to the Christian faith. They are
1) the Deity of Christ,
2) Salvation by Grace,
3) Resurrection of Christ, and
4) the gospel.

These are the teachings (doctrines) the Bible says are necessary. Though there are many other important teachings, these four are the only ones that are declared in the bible to be essential.
A non-christian, or a member of a cult will deny one or more of these essential teachings.


The Deity of Christ
Jesus is God in the flesh (John 8:58 with Exodus 3:14 also John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Colossians 2:9; Phillipians 2:5-8; Hebrews 1:8

1 John 4:2-3 "This is how you can recognise the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."

John 1:1,14 the Word was God and the Word became flesh.

1 John 4:2-3 is saying that if you deny that Jesus is God in flesh then you are of the spirit of Antichrist.

John 8:24 "I said, therefore, to you, that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins."

Jesus should be the target of our faith.  Faith alone is not enough alone.  Faith is only as good as what it is put in.  You must place your faith in the right target.  Cults have false objects of faith; usually people who as leaders are still living, or inanimate objects; their faith is wasted no matter how sincere they are.

If you put your faith in a vacuum cleaner, then you will be in a lot of trouble on the day of judgment.  You might have great faith, but so what? It is in something that can't save you.

The teaching of the deity of Christ includes:
The Trinity - There is one God who exists in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  They are all God (not Gods).

Monotheism - There is only one God in all existence (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5,14,18,21,22; 46:9; 47:8).

The Hypostatic Union - That Jesus is both God and man.

The sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ - The sacrifice of Christ is completely sufficient to pay for the sins of the world

As God - Jesus must be God in order to offer a sacrifice of sufficient worth to redeem (save) mankind.

Jesus had to die for the sins of all mankind (1 John 2:2). Only God could do that.

As man - Jesus must be man in order to be able to be a sacrifice for man.

As a man He can be the mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5).

Salvation by Grace

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

"You who are trying to be justified by law (keeping to strict rules and regulations) have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace" (Galatians 5:4).

These verses and their context plainly teach that if you believe that you are saved by faith and works (including obedience to rules) then you are not saved at all. This is a common error in the cults. Because they have a false Jesus, they have a false teaching of salvation. (Read Romans 3-5 and Galatians 3-5 ).

You cannot add to the work of God. Galatians 2:21 says, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin" (Romans 3:20).
"However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness" (Romans 4:5).

"Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law" (Galatians 3:21).

The Resurrection of Christ

"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (1 Corinthians 15:14). "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" (1 Cor. 15:17).
To deny the physical resurrection is to deny Jesus' work, sacrifice, and our resurrection.
These verses clearly state that if you say that Jesus did not rise from the dead then your faith is useless.

The Gospel
"But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!" Galatians 1:8-9.

These verses from Galatians are a state quite clearly that you must believe the gospel. The gospel message is: that Jesus is God in flesh, who died for our sins, rose from the dead, and freely gives the gift of eternal life to those who believe.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 tells us what the gospel is: "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures". Within these verses are the essentials: Christ is God in flesh (John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Salvation is received by faith (John 1:12; Rom. 10:9-10, therefore it is by grace; and the resurrection is mentioned in verse 4. Therefore, this gospel message automatically includes the essentials.

So if any person believes all the above, they are your brother/sister in Christ.  Hallelujah.