Many years ago my close and very dear Friend, Pastor Freddy Cortez, taught me that when I find a church, ministry, or person which may influence me or folks who read my writings, the first thing I should look at is their Statement of Faith, i.e., what they believe. For what they believe - is what they teach.
And I would not want to subject myself nor any of my Friends and readers to false teachings or false theologies. The only times I might share from a false teaching, I will clearly and distinctly assure that my readers are warned that it is a false teaching or theology - and that is why I am sharing it, to highlight the error in that teaching.
Years ago, in my research, I came across the web site of a church in the Midwest. I could not find their Statement of Faith, aka Statement of Beliefs, on the web site, so I sent an e-mail asking why I could not find this vital bit of information about their church. Right away I had a response telling me, "We do not post our Statement of Beliefs because we do not want to offend anyone."
Whoa! You are afraid that what you believe and teach about God - will offend someone? Really?
I replied, "Well, you have most certainly offended me. And I have no doubt that you have also offended God."
Yes, I realize that I may sometimes sound like a broken record. But if we, as Christian believers, do not understand what we believe about God, salvation, and our Christian faith well enough to put it in writing - how can we say, or be sure of, what we believe? When witnessing to a non-believer and they ask, "What does your church teach?" What will you tell him or her?
So yes, I am hung up on knowing and understanding our Statement of Faith, personal and corporate.
Today my faithful and long time Christian brother, Paul Wilson, posted about the scrumptious food he is preparing for their church's Worship In Food Fellowship tomorrow at Goleta Valley Church. You might guess that Paul's lovely bride, Jhing, is a Filipina and they spent years in our Fil-Am Church of Irvine (CA), before moving to Santa Barbara. Thus the well prepared Food Fellowship!
Paul's post led me to take a look at their church we site. I found their Statement of Faith to be very complete and well written. I want to share that statement as a good example of a Christ-Centered, Bible-Teaching church fellowship. This is taken from their web site but the bold and indented emphasis is mine. By the way, Paul, I did find one word misspelled - but that did not distract from the fullness of your Statement of Faith:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What We Believe (Goleta Valley Church):
1. We believe in the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God, and inerrant in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life. 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:21; Psalm 119:89.
2. We believe in one God eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14.
3. We believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We rejoice that He answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. Genesis 1:11; Isaiah 40:28.
4. We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true man. Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:18,19.
5. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from God to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and comfort those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ John 16:7-123; Titus 3:1-5.
6. We believe that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and not only incurred physical death but also spiritual death which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who have reached moral responsibility, became sinners in thought, word, and deed. Romans 3:19,20; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3,12.
7. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. Romans 4:25; 5:16,18; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5.
8. We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His Ascension into heaven, and in His present life there, as our High Priest and Advocate. Acts 1:1-11; 2:32,36; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:1.
9. We believe in the “blessed hope” - and the personal pre-millennial and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17.
10. We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit, and thereby become the children of God. Ephesians 2:8,9.
11. We believe that every born again person has been baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ and therefore has the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13.
12. We believe that every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ still has an old sinful nature which wars against the soul. Romans 7:15-25.
13. We believe in the existence of Satan who:
14. We believe in the divine guarantee that all who are born again shall never perish. John 10:27,29; Romans 8:35-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5; Colossians 3:3.
15. We believe that all the saved are called into a life of separation from all worldly and sinful practices. James 4:4; Romans 12:1-3; 1 Corinthians 5:14.
16. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost. John 5:28,29; 11:25,26; Revelation 20:5,6; 20:12-15.
17. We believe in the sacredness of the Lord’s Day in commemoration of the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, to rest from our common work, and to serve and worship our Master. John 20:19; Luke 24:3-45; Acts 2:1-4; 20:6,7; 1 Corinthians 16:2.
18. We believe in separation of our church and state, with each having definite and distinct spheres of responsibility. Mark 12:13-17.
19. We believe in the priesthood of all believers and that:
20. We believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and that:
21. We believe in the importance of the local church and that a New Testament church is a local assembly of born again baptized believers united in organization to practice New Testament ordinances, to work together for worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching, a united testimony, and to actively engage in carrying out the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19,20; Hebrews 10:25; Acts 2:41-47.
22. We believe in the independence and autonomy of the local church, and that:
23. We believe the ordinances given to the local church are two: baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, and that:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So, my Friend, can YOU tell us the Statement of Faith, with Scripture references, you and your local church fellowship believe and teach? If not, what are YOU going to do about it?
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
And I would not want to subject myself nor any of my Friends and readers to false teachings or false theologies. The only times I might share from a false teaching, I will clearly and distinctly assure that my readers are warned that it is a false teaching or theology - and that is why I am sharing it, to highlight the error in that teaching.
Years ago, in my research, I came across the web site of a church in the Midwest. I could not find their Statement of Faith, aka Statement of Beliefs, on the web site, so I sent an e-mail asking why I could not find this vital bit of information about their church. Right away I had a response telling me, "We do not post our Statement of Beliefs because we do not want to offend anyone."
Whoa! You are afraid that what you believe and teach about God - will offend someone? Really?
I replied, "Well, you have most certainly offended me. And I have no doubt that you have also offended God."
Yes, I realize that I may sometimes sound like a broken record. But if we, as Christian believers, do not understand what we believe about God, salvation, and our Christian faith well enough to put it in writing - how can we say, or be sure of, what we believe? When witnessing to a non-believer and they ask, "What does your church teach?" What will you tell him or her?
So yes, I am hung up on knowing and understanding our Statement of Faith, personal and corporate.
Today my faithful and long time Christian brother, Paul Wilson, posted about the scrumptious food he is preparing for their church's Worship In Food Fellowship tomorrow at Goleta Valley Church. You might guess that Paul's lovely bride, Jhing, is a Filipina and they spent years in our Fil-Am Church of Irvine (CA), before moving to Santa Barbara. Thus the well prepared Food Fellowship!
Paul's post led me to take a look at their church we site. I found their Statement of Faith to be very complete and well written. I want to share that statement as a good example of a Christ-Centered, Bible-Teaching church fellowship. This is taken from their web site but the bold and indented emphasis is mine. By the way, Paul, I did find one word misspelled - but that did not distract from the fullness of your Statement of Faith:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What We Believe (Goleta Valley Church):
1. We believe in the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God, and inerrant in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life. 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:21; Psalm 119:89.
2. We believe in one God eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14.
3. We believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We rejoice that He answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. Genesis 1:11; Isaiah 40:28.
4. We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true man. Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:18,19.
5. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from God to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and comfort those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ John 16:7-123; Titus 3:1-5.
6. We believe that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and not only incurred physical death but also spiritual death which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who have reached moral responsibility, became sinners in thought, word, and deed. Romans 3:19,20; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3,12.
7. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. Romans 4:25; 5:16,18; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5.
8. We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His Ascension into heaven, and in His present life there, as our High Priest and Advocate. Acts 1:1-11; 2:32,36; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:1.
9. We believe in the “blessed hope” - and the personal pre-millennial and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17.
10. We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit, and thereby become the children of God. Ephesians 2:8,9.
11. We believe that every born again person has been baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ and therefore has the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13.
12. We believe that every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ still has an old sinful nature which wars against the soul. Romans 7:15-25.
13. We believe in the existence of Satan who:
a. originally was created a holy and perfect being but through pride and wicked ambition rebelled against God.
b. became utterly depraved in character and the great adversary of God and His people.
c. is the leader of all other evil angels and spirits and the deceiver and god of this present world.
d. has vast powers, but is strictly limited by the permissive will of God who overrides all his wicked devices for good.
e. was defeated and judged at the cross, and, therefore, his final doom is certain.
f. we are able to resist and overcome only in the armor of God by the blood of the Lamb and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 28:11-19; Luke 4:1-13; Ephesians 6:10-12
14. We believe in the divine guarantee that all who are born again shall never perish. John 10:27,29; Romans 8:35-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5; Colossians 3:3.
15. We believe that all the saved are called into a life of separation from all worldly and sinful practices. James 4:4; Romans 12:1-3; 1 Corinthians 5:14.
16. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost. John 5:28,29; 11:25,26; Revelation 20:5,6; 20:12-15.
17. We believe in the sacredness of the Lord’s Day in commemoration of the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, to rest from our common work, and to serve and worship our Master. John 20:19; Luke 24:3-45; Acts 2:1-4; 20:6,7; 1 Corinthians 16:2.
18. We believe in separation of our church and state, with each having definite and distinct spheres of responsibility. Mark 12:13-17.
19. We believe in the priesthood of all believers and that:
a. Christ is our Great High Priest and through Him every born again person has direct access into God’s presence without the need of a human priest.
b. The believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scriptures guided by the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 2:5-9.
20. We believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and that:
a. He alone is Head of the Body of Christ, into which all true believers are immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit.
b. All members of this one spiritual body should assemble and identify themselves in local churches. Philippians 2:11; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 4:4-16; Hebrews 10:25.
21. We believe in the importance of the local church and that a New Testament church is a local assembly of born again baptized believers united in organization to practice New Testament ordinances, to work together for worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching, a united testimony, and to actively engage in carrying out the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19,20; Hebrews 10:25; Acts 2:41-47.
22. We believe in the independence and autonomy of the local church, and that:
a. Each New Testament church is free to govern itself without ecclesiastical interference.
b. We should cooperate with other New Testament churches as the Holy Spirit leads.
c. It is responsible to follow the pattern of the New Testament church and is directly accountable to God.
23. We believe the ordinances given to the local church are two: baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, and that:
a. Baptism is by immersion of believers thus portraying the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
b. the Lord’s Supper is the partaking of the bread and cup by the believer as a continuing memorial of the broken body and shed blood of Christ. Matthew 28:19,20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34; Romans 6:1-10; Acts 16:30-34.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So, my Friend, can YOU tell us the Statement of Faith, with Scripture references, you and your local church fellowship believe and teach? If not, what are YOU going to do about it?
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Click on the image to enlarge:
No comments:
Post a Comment