Michael Horton - Core Christianity: Finding Yourself in Gods Story

Here we meet a skilled master seeking to train the novice. Taking rich theological concepts and explaining them in a way that is both beautiful and practical, Hortons book proves genuinely inviting to the newcomer. Learn from a master who is not afraid to put things simply and clearly.

KELLY M. KAPIC, Professor of Theological Studies, Covenant College, author of God So Loved He Gave

When I was in college, I needed an introduction to what Christians believe about redemptionnot what my own denomination believed but what all Christians have always believed. A favorite professor told me to read John Stotts Basic Christianity, and that book was a gift of God for me. I still have my underlined copy. In Core Christianity you have a similar book, one fit for a new generation the way Stotts was for his generation. Here you will find what Christians believe about what most matters about the most important topics. You might need an extra copy to give to those who, like me many years ago, need an introduction to core Christianity.

SCOT MCKNIGHT, Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament, Northern Seminary

I read straight through this solid book on the central truths of the Christian faith and was impressed. But when I searched the text for some of the standard technical terms of theology, I found that Horton had managed to deliver the whole message in simple, nontechnical language. Then I was doubly impressed. This is a very useful little book.

FRED SANDERS, Professor, Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University

ZONDERVAN

Core Christianity

Copyright 2016 by Michael Horton

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition March 2016: ISBN 978-0-3105-2507-3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Horton, Michael Scott.

Title: Core Christianity : finding yourself in Gods story / Michael Horton.

Description: Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan, Grand Rapids, [2015] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015038319 | ISBN 9780310525066 (softcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Theology, Doctrinal Popular works. | Christian life.

Classification: LCC BT77 .H637 2015 | DDC 230 dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015038319

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design: MetaLeap Creative

Interior art: MetaLeap Creative, 2015 by Michael Horton

Interior design: Kait Lamphere

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 /DHV/ 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To James, Adam, Matt, and Olivia

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Acknowledgments

Afterword: Tying It All Together

THE FRUIT OF MANY YEARS and many collaborations, I cannot hope to include all of the people to whom I am grateful for this book. I have benefited once again from working with the team at Zondervan. Ryan Pazdur has once again guided me through the process from conception to editing and Christopher Beetham suggested critical improvements. Our team at White Horse Inn, led by Mark Green, has been of inestimable value in developing the concept and giving input along the way. I am particularly grateful to Lydia Brownback, a longtime friend and collaborator, who lent her remarkable editing skills to the project, although I take responsibility for any remaining errors. Finally, I am grateful to my wife Lisa and to James, Adam, Matthew, and Olivia. They not only indulge me in my passion but exemplify in their own lives that growth in grace that has encouraged and challenged me along the way.

YOU BROUGHT YOUR THREE-YEAR- OLD into the emergency room for what you thought was a common cold. Within an hour you learn that its a fatal disease. Your first thought is to pray. Why? Because you believe in a God who intervenes in this world. Your act of prayer assumes you believe that the worldincluding you and your daughterwasnt self-created and that it isnt self-sustaining. There is a God who transcends the world but also created it. He is good and all-powerful. Your prayer reveals that you have a specific worldview, even if you may not be aware of the details or the reasons for your belief, and that worldview arises from a particular storythe story of God as told in the Bible.

But you have a neighbor who had a similar experience. He doesnt pray because he doesnt believe in God. Nature plus chancefor him, thats all there is. In his mind there is no author of the story. Or, in the absence of God, he is writing his own story with himself as the lead character. So then, how can he even conclude that his daughters weakness is somehow a problem? Of course, he experiences it as a problem. But his experience contradicts what he says he believes about reality. If evolution has wired things for the survival of the fittest, his daughter probably should die. Its a thinning out of the herd so she cant pass along her faulty DNA to the rest of the race.

The story we believe determines which of these approaches to life we will take. It is not just a belief here or there as if we could just lift lines at random from the narrative. Rather, it is the story as a whole, from the opening scene until the last page. We experience and live out roles that fit in the broader narrative.

For the most part we take the story were living in for granted. Both believers and unbelievers dont always know why they think, feel, and live the way they do. Its just assumed. When you first learned to ride a bike, you focused on the handlebars and pedals. Or when you started piano lessons, you concentrated on your fingers and the keys. And when people experience a major conversion of some sort, they are typically aware of why and how it happens.

When it comes to life-altering conversions, some people do not come to realize that the story in which they have been operating no longer makes sense, but a new one does. Others can recall a life-altering experience but cannot explain the story they left behind or the one that now shapes their identity, hopes, fears, and actions.

A lot of Christians take their storythe narratives that give rise to their beliefsfor granted. They pray, go to church, perhaps even read their Bible. But they might be stymied if a stranger asked them to explain what they believe and why they believe it. The purpose of this book is to help you understand the reason for your hope as a Christian so that you can invite others into the conversation. This book is for those who are tired of being starring characters in their own life movie. You want to be written into Gods unfolding drama. But where do you start? Before we embark on this journey, I want to make a case briefly for why it is so important in the first place. Let me challenge you to consider the following questions that go right to the heart of where we live.