00 Buntin - Basic Christian Training
Christian Basic Training Charles T. Buntin Dedication to Christian Basic Training
Foreword to Christain Basic Training
Preface to Christian Basic Training 01 Regula Fidei (The Rule of Faith) What Distinguishes a Christian from a Pagan?
02 The Essential Christian Worldview What is Truth? Why are We Alive?
03 “Thy word is Truth” The Inspiration, Inerrancy, and Authority of the Bible 04 The Nature of God
05 The Trinity 06 The Person of Christ 07 The Work of Christ 08 Saved by Grace 09 The Necessity of a Consistent Christian Life 10 Appendix 1 The Holy War--A Spiritual Warfare Primer 11 Appendix 2 A Good Tool Chest 12 Appendix 3 Study Questions and Projects for The Essential Christian World View
13 Appendix 4 Study Questions and Projects for The Inspiration, Inerrancy, and Authority of the Bible 14 Appendix 5 Study Questions and Projects for The Nature of God 15 Appendix 6 Study Questions and Projects for The TrinityCharles C. Bing 16 Appendix 7 Study Questions and Projects for The Person of Christ 17 Appendix 8 The Empty God Dedication to Christian Basic Training
By:
Charles T. Buntin , M.S., M.A.R. to my wife, who put up with 20 years of military life, to Rev. Tom James and Shirley James, the Brothers on Guam at Country Church and Grace Chapel, and Bob Knight who discipled me in the Faith Once Delivered to the Saints to Dr. Jim McColl, Rev. Barry Horner, Dr. Gary Long, Dr. John Grove, Rev. Mike Garrigan, and Dr. Tom Branson who taught me the deep things of the gospel, to Rev. Jim McCay, now with the Lord, and to A. W. Pink, a giant unknown in his time, but mostly to the Glory of God Foreword to Christain Basic Training
By:
Charles T. Buntin , M.S., M.A.R. The Lord Jesus Christ came into my life in 1973, while I was serving in the U.S. Air Force on the island of Guam. I was no stranger to religion--in fact, I had been raised in a churchgoing family. However, the church in which I had been raised was a mainline Protestant church that taught “liberal” theology. By liberal theology, I mean the church and its spokesmen in my childhood denomination tended to deny some or all of the elements of Biblical faith. They thought there were errors in the Bible, they questioned the literal truth of some or all of the miracles of the Bible, and Jesus to them was not the Sovereign Lord which the Bible says He is. Their version of the Savior was something less than fully divine. The result of growing up in such a church was predictable, and was shared by the overwhelming majority of mainline Protestant children of my generation--by the time I was 16, I was a confirmed skeptic, and by the time I was 18, I was more-or-less a pagan. To me, religion was a joke, and churches were social clubs where people came to see who was there and what they were wearing. I was familiar with some Bible-believing Christians, but I considered them ignorant fanatics.
I went to college for a couple of years, and had some association with students who were Bible-believers. For awhile, I even professed conversion, but “the root of the matter” was not yet in me--it was not real and it did not hold. I re-adopted a religion of sorts, a kind of deal with God for some Hell insurance (in case there was a hell), but it was all just playing church--my life did not change. Then came Guam. I did not want to go to Guam, but the Air Force sent me anyway. I could not take my young wife, then pregnant with our first child, because I did not have sufficient rank to qualify for government travel and housing for my family. So, it was as a single, alone, and unsaved man that I arrived on the island.
Soon after arriving in Guam in January 1973, I attended a chapel service called “Country Church.” That name seemed safe enough, and I went expecting a good, down-home singing. What I got was something else. There was a large crowd of mostly young, mostly men there--like me, these were mostly lower-ranking personnel, so only a few of us had our wives with us on the island. There was an Air Force Staff Sergeant preaching like no one I’d heard before, and saying things I’d never heard before. I was captivated, convicted, and overcome with wonder. I was not really sure what was happening to me at the time, but God was opening my heart and mind to understand the gospel and believe in His Son for salvation. It was the beginning of an experience that would dominate the rest of my life, even to eternity. The preacher, that Air Force Staff Sergeant, his wife, and the dozens of young believers there on Guam took me under their wing and discipled me in “the faith once delivered to the saints,” (Jude 1:3 ). Though my Christian life took many turns, twists, ups, and downs over the years since that 15-month period on Guam, the Lord has delivered me from all snares, and He has guided my path. The foundation for steady growth and progression in my life as a believer, however, was the discipleship given to me by those wonderful people on Guam.
Many years ago, as I was teaching Sunday School classes and Bible studies, I noticed that there were large doctrinal gaps in the understanding of many believers--sometimes even in believers who had walked with the Lord for years! I realized that the 20th century American churches were not thoroughly teaching new believers the basic doctrines of the faith. Now, there are many teaching ministries that do a good job of teaching--about finances, prophecy, life issues, marital relations, etc. These are all worthy areas for our study and attention--but how many of the believers studying through these ministries can discuss the basic issues of the Christian faith with any degree of authority? How many of the believers in your congregation can discuss the doctrine of the Trinity, for instance? How many members of your congregation can explain the vital doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone, which Martin Luther called the doctrine upon which a church stands or falls? As I realized the need for believers to come to know the basics, I felt a burden from God to teach those doctrines, and I was obedient to that leading. This little book is the result of over ten years of studying and teaching the basics of the Christian Faith to believers from all types of backgrounds. To the skeptic, the cynic, the cultist, the existentialist, and any other nonbelieving “ist” that might be out there--you are welcome to read this book; I implore you to read this book--but it is not addressed to you. However, I pray that if you do read it, God may open your eyes to the Truth and bring you to Himself--but that is not my purpose in writing. This book is not meant to convince anyone; I seek to prove nothing to the unbeliever. However, God has often used broken reeds to fell mighty oaks, so read on. To the believer--this one’s for YOU! This is a book written to build up the family of God, all truly purchased by and washed in the blood of Christ, that we may all arrive at the maturity and unity of the faith that God desires of us.
Preface to Christian Basic Training
By:
Charles T. Buntin , M.S., M.A.R.
What is Truth? This is an age-old question, but in late 20th century Western civilization, it has become an accepted fact among most “learned” people that we can know “truth” (with a small “t”)--but that we cannot know “Truth” (with a big “T”). We can identify pieces of data, events, conditions, etc., as being real and factual--but the big questions of the universe, ultimate Truth, are impossible to answer. In the mundane, important, tragic, comic, or happy events of everyday life, the sages of our age will allow us to perceive little bits of reality, without admitting the possibility or at least the knowability of Reality. This has been somewhat changed in the past decade by the growing popularity of so-called New Age thinking, which takes in various forms of mysticism and superstition, and which is no “newer” than ancient Babylon or Egypt. But the mushy, all-inclusive concept of Truth prevalent among these groups of neo-pagans is no closer to the real thing than the secular version.
Christianity--that is, real, Biblical, evangelical, orthodox, born-again Christianity--has the only answer to the quandary of modern men and women as they face an uncertain future with either no foundation, a false foundation, or a foundation of sand. The problem is that our churches and our professing believers (at least in America) have been so influenced by materialism, “touchy-feely” psychology, and existentialism that we are in danger of becoming a non-factor as the world plunges headlong into a great abyss. We organize politically, we write our legislators, we demonstrate, boycott, rally, and vote, but what are we accomplishing? Where is the revolutionary effect that the church had on the world of the first four centuries of the modern era? The early church revolutionized three continents without the benefits of modern communications or democratic rights, and in the face of great personal danger--where is that power today? Where is the radical, society-challenging and changing power that our spiritual forebears exercised in the Reformation, the Puritan Revival, and the Great Awakening? Has the Holy Spirit abandoned us? Or, have we abandoned His way? Oh, there are those who speak of real revival--we often hear it prayed for. There have been tiny moves of the Spirit in various places. And, there are voices popping up to urge us on to excellence. There is smoke--but where is the fire? Some polls have claimed that 60 million people in the U.S. claim to be born-again Christians. I wish it were so. If there were 60 million true believers in the U.S. consistently following Christ, abortion, the drug culture, rampant poverty in a land of richness, physical and sexual abuse, pornography, and many of our other evils would be ground into powder!
Only the Holy Spirit of God can bring the revival of true Christianity that this evil age calls for. This is not a day for the weak, apathetic, or uncommitted. This is a day for God’s people to arise and follow Him (John 10:27).
There is no magic equation that will fix the 20th century American churches--there is no computer program that we can load, start, and then forget about it while it runs. What is required is what the first church did--and it has nothing to do with controversial gifts, extraordinary phenomena, or any of the organizational ideas of the first church. The four things the first church excelled in are listed in Acts 2:42 “and they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” The results? Thousands (eventually millions) were saved, and the church grew to worldwide proportions! Did extraordinary phenomena take place? Yes, the Spirit was pleased to grant such things. Were gifts in evidence? Yes, once again, the Holy Spirit was pleased to give gifts to the churches. These things, however, were by-products of revival--they followed the church’s obedient, steadfast devotion to the basics. We in the 20th century American church are sadly lacking in these areas, especially in the areas of teaching and prayer--and without these two legs, the table falls, however strong the other two.
We are woefully inadequate in the area of teaching the truths of the gospel to our people, in equipping them for ministry, for being salt and light in our world. “But,” someone says, “there are so many wonderful teachers, so many books, video tapes, and other materials available.” True, and that only increases our guilt--for we have done little with such riches. Simply put, we may know a lot about end-times prophecy, we may be well-schooled in denominational positions on Baptism, the gifts of the Spirit, Eternal Security, etc., but are our members well-versed on the fundamentals of the faith? We may have a social outreach program of some sort to all different groups in our community, but what do we do with those we reach? How long does it take for a new believer in our congregation to become well-versed in the doctrines of Christianity? If our new believers do know essential doctrines, have they “internalized” them--do the teachings affect the way they live? The goal of this book is for local churches to awaken to their need to teach and live the basic doctrines of the Faith Once Delivered to the Saints, and to provide a supplemental textbook for that purpose. (Only the Bible can be the main text). This book is not written for scholars, but for students. It is not written to evangelize the lost, but to build up the saints. It is not written to convince the agnostic or the cynic, but to confirm the seeker and comfort and edify the believer. May God’s Holy Spirit aid in that task. Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be the Glory).