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STATEMENT OF FAITH
I believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.
I believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of
the virgin Mary and is true God and man.
I believe that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and
thereby incurred not only physical but also spiritual death which is
eternal separation from God, and that all humans inherited sinful nature
through Adam's fall into sin and, in the case of those who reach moral
responsibility, become sinners in thought, word, and actions.
I believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice and that
all that believe in Him are justified (declared righteous) on the ground
of His shed blood.
I believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, His
ascension into heaven, and His present life there for us as a High
Priest and Advocate.
I believe that all who receive by repentance and faith the Lord Jesus
Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit, and become children of God.
I believe in the spiritual unity of the believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is Lord of the Seventh-Day Sabbath
(Saturday) and as the fourth of the Ten Commandments is binding on all
Christians in all ages.
I believe that no one knows the day of His return (Advent) , except the
Father, but that the hour is very very near and the biblical signs are
all fulfilling the many prophecies.
I believe that the gift of prophecy was given to God's remnants to guide
and sift through the maize of the Heinz variety of Christianity
Divisions God calls "Babylon the great".
I believe that
Protestants and Catholics should only re-unite on biblical principles
and not on the basis of Spiritualism and cheap emotions.
The Unity of
the Church as Eschatological “People of God”
The
New Testament unanimously witnesses to the fact that the church is the
continuation and fulfilment of the Old Testament people of God. The
covenant, which was directed towards “all the peoples of the earth”
(Gn.12:3), achieves its fulfilment of in the “newness” of the new
covenant, which is expressed especially in its universality.
Two moments must be distinguished in the coming about of the
eschatological people of God, the christological
(representation) and the pneumatological
(incorporation). The church’s inclusion “in Christ” shows the
specifically christological structure of the locum-tenency, in which both the oneness
of and the distance
between the representative and those represented find expression. While
a person is object-ively
included in Christ, as subject
he is incorporated into the salvific events by the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost is the ecclesiological parallel to the incarnation.
The
unity
of the church follows necessarily from its theological (people of God),
christological (body of Christ) and pneumatological (temple of the Holy
Spirit) foundation. Many churches would betoken many Lords, many
Spirits, many gods.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
The Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible;
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only begotten Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
light from light, true God from True God,
begotten not made,
of one substance with the Father.
By Him all things were made.
For us men and our salvation
He came down from heaven,
was made flesh from the Holy Spirit
and Mary the virgin and became man.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
suffered and was buried.
He rose again on the third day,
according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into heaven.
He sits on the right hand of the Father
and will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His Kingdom will never end;
And in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and life-giver, who proceeds from the Father.
Together with the Father and the Son
He is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets;
And in one holy catholic*
and apostolic church.
We confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the age to come. AMEN
(*
NOTE: use of the word ‘catholic’ here does not refer to a
particular denomination. It simply means ‘universal’. In this creed
it refers to the fact that in God’s eyes all who affirm what is
stated in this creed belong to one Christian church, regardless of
race, denomination or sect.)
please read the following paragraphs
carefully... This is one of the most basic of all
Christian ‘statement of beliefs’ but there are groups calling
themselves ‘Christian’ which do not completely agree with this creed
(often because they don’t believe in the Trinity). There will always
be doctrinal disputes between Christians, but at some point we must
draw the line and say: “this is what I consider to be the minimum
belief for someone to call themselves Christian”. |
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