“Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His
Who sent Me. If anyone desires to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine,
whether it is of God, or I speak from Myself” (John 7:16-17 MKJV).
Until now, we have not posted a “statement of faith” for
several reasons:
One, “statements of faith” are
misnamed; they have nothing whatsoever to do with faith. They are rather
statements of doctrine (usually of religious
affiliation) that often smack of partisanship. “We
believe such and such, so we are so and so...” or, “We
are Baptists, so we believe....”
Two, few if any ”statements
of faith” say it all, and those
that say much, doctrinally, say nothing about the faith of those who
post them, except about their want of it. One does not state the true
faith of Christ, he lives it. The reason there are so-called statements
of faith is because those who publish them don’t have true faith,
therefore not knowing the difference between doctrine and faith.
Three, we suspect there will be those who prejudge us by a doctrinal
statement and thus do themselves injustice, robbing themselves of substance
we offer, because they focus on the doctrinal titles or statements.
Four, many place their faith, not in Jesus Christ, but in presumed
Biblical or religious doctrine, some about Him, some not - indeed much
quite contrary to Him. There are many who believe that if they believe
certain doctrines, they have favor with God. Nothing could be further
from the truth.
The Pharisees had many accurate Biblical doctrines according to the
letter. They believed in one God, the Messiah to come, the authority
of the Scriptures, the Law of Moses, the resurrection and afterlife,
and
the existence of angels; they gathered together for
instruction and fellowship, studied the Scriptures, tithed, fasted, gave
alms, prayed, bore witness to
others, distinguished between clean
and unclean meats, and kept the Sabbath and the
Sabbath feasts.
The blaring lack of faith declared by their lives, however, altogether
drowned out any claim of truth, no matter how accurate or perfect the
doctrines. Their fruits said it all. And when the Messiah came, not only
did they not recognize or receive Him, they killed Him as a blasphemer
and heretic. To add insult to injury, they insisted the Romans clear
away their Messiah’s corpse, lest they should defile the Passover
they were rightly preparing to keep according to the Law, in the Name
of God. So what good did their “statement of faith” do them
or anyone else?
Five, our entire website declares what we believe; our doctrine is
everywhere in our site, fully available for sincere investigators.
While there are many who would want it spelled out to them, we recognize
that if they were seeking truth, they would receive a spiritual witness
as to whether our doctrine is of men or of God. Those who demand a
doctrinal statement are faultfinders, at worst, or only seeking agreement
on their own doctrines and perhaps some association with like-minded
people. In such cases, they serve themselves, wittingly or otherwise;
they are not after truth and do not love the Lord Jesus Christ as professed.
On the other hand, a statement of doctrinal beliefs can do much good,
whatever the intent of the reader. It can provide a resource for sound
doctrine, a handy way to discover and access that which one may be interested
in learning about.
Those whose motives are impure also need to hear the truth. How else
will they be judged? We now see this as a good thing either way.
Let those who stumble on the Stone fall, and let those upon whom the
Stone falls be ground to powder. If any should judge us according to
appearance, they do so to their own detriment, but those who go by the
eye of faith, with an earnest heart for truth, and persevere beyond the
appearance, will be greatly blessed.
There! We have already begun our “statement of faith” and
statement of doctrine. Continuing now:
Our Statement of Doctrine
(Links available for more information)
God created all things as they are, as reported in
the Book of Genesis, without the help of a mythical, and totally
ridiculous, “evolution.” (Evolution)
God created man in
His image, but man has come under evil by choosing what he wanted
and what he thought was best. This is sin. (Iniquity)
God had created evil as a necessary experience for man's spiritual
education and perfection. (The
Purpose of Evil)
Mankind is held
captive by his chosen independence and interpretation of right and
wrong. He cannot change his internal state or its consequences
and needs to be delivered by a Power greater than himself. (How
One Is Saved)
God will bring all men into harmony with Himself, each person
in his or her own order, throughout the ages to come, giving each
a relationship
with Him by faith. (The Restitution
of All Things & What Is Faith?)
No
one comes to God unless God draws that person and establishes a relationship
by His gift of faith, and His grace (power) enables the
putting away of sin and keeping of His Law. (Grace
- The Reality & Law
and Grace)
To perfectly save (complete) mankind, God, at the appointed
time in man’s history, took on human form, through a virgin birth, in the
Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God, Who came into this world
and lived as a human being, except He was divine and sinless, the unique
Son of God Who alone was able to atone for our sins and connect us to
God, redeeming us from our state of enmity with Him. (Who
Is Jesus Christ? & How
Jesus Christ Connects Us to God)
Not having the sin nature of fallen
man, Jesus Christ learned perfect obedience to God in the days of
His flesh, paving the way for those who
believe on Him to obtain like power of grace. In the state of Adam
before the fall, He resisted temptation and overcame for us all. (Could
Jesus
Christ Have Sinned? & Grace -
The Reality)
One
does not need to be clean to come to God; he must come to God to
be made clean. To do this, one must be prepared to receive a man of
God, confess his sins, and obey whatever is required. (Holy
Waters)
Satan is a deceiver who
counterfeits God’s works, coming as
an angel of light. God created him as an adversary to the saints, an
agent assisting in the winnowing and processing of mankind. (Satan’s
Strategies & Diabolical Doctrine 35) “Satan
was once a good being”)
God is over both good and evil, using
the evil to judge mankind. His judgment serves for correction, and
when completed, all will have learned
that walking in independence of God and disobedience to Him (evil)
does not pay; indeed, it is death and hell. (The
Purpose of Evil, The
Sons of Correction, Iniquity, & Obedience)
The
Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the one true, authoritative
book, written and compiled by God, that foretells and describes the
events
that show us Who God is, what He is like, and His dealings with men
to judge and liberate them. (Will
the Real Bible Please Stand Up? & God
and Violence)
There is no single perfect Bible translation, and besides,
men have tampered with some of the Biblical texts. The only way to
know or understand
the Bible is by the Spirit of God and by preachers sent by God who
perceive and teach the Word in His Spirit. (How
We View and Use the
Scriptures & Is the
KJV the Perfect Word of God?)
Many are deceived into thinking they worship God, when in reality
they worship the Bible. God is not contained within two leather covers.
Those who think otherwise are Bibliolaters. The written Word of God
is
not the Word of God made flesh. (False
Christianity Unmasked & Bible
Worship Used by Men to Cover Evil)
“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation
19:10). Therefore, the Bible is not the only means for instruction
in righteousness. Over the millennia, many men of God have spoken and
written
as inspired and directed by the Holy Spirit. (See correspondences in
Blog Wars & The
Issues of Life for examples of this today.)
God
is nowhere to be found in any formal religious group or organization,
and never was. Their very formality and structure tells they have ostracized
Him a long time ago or have never known Him. (The Church & Counterfeit
Christianity)
The Sabbath (Fourth Commandment),
which God sanctified and made for man as the day of rest, is the
seventh day, beginning Friday evening
and ending Saturday evening. It is God’s gift to mankind, and
every bit as relevant today as the other nine Commandments. The Sabbath
is
also a representation of the spiritual rest that God gives to all those
who overcome through
Him. (The Sabbath & Diabolical
Doctrine 13) “Sunday
is the Sabbath”)
The
three annual Feasts - Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles – formerly
kept in the physical Temple of God made with hands, are now kept in Christ,
the eternal Temple of God made without hands, by His Spirit. God confirmed
He fulfilled the Feasts by doing away with the physical Temple and all
outward observance. (The Three
Degrees, Victor Hafichuk’s Testimony, & The
Feast-Keeping that Is Sin)
Passover – Repentance; turning to God
and receiving the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ and trusting
in His righteousness. (Repentance)
The gifts of the Spirit,
which are primarily given to those who experience Pentecost, are
still valid and aid in the spiritual growth and regeneration of the
children of God, until they grow up into Christ, to be perfect as our
Father in Heaven is perfect. (Diabolical Doctrine 3) “Gifts
of the Holy Spirit are not for today” & Imperfection
Tries to Argue Against Perfection)
Tabernacles – The purpose of God’s judgment and work through
His Spirit, which is Christ formed in you, God come in the flesh to dwell
with mankind. This is also called the “rest of God” (Hebrews
4). (Poem 16) The Rest of God & Victor
Hafichuk’s Testimony)
Those
who are baptized into Christ and continue by faith in obedience are
members of His body and constitute His one true Church, which is
invisible to the world. One cannot choose to join His Church, only
God can decide to join you to Himself through Christ. (The
Church,
The Gathering, & Unity:
Here and Now in the Assembly of the Firstborn)
God’s ministers have taken up and preach the cross, which represents
the personal requirements of God for each individual, above, beyond,
and sometimes even apparently contrary to, the Commandments. The cross
addresses the idols of the heart that separate a person from God and
is essential for salvation. (Obedience & Only
the Death Sentence Will Avail)
God is always acting in the present. The
works of men try to duplicate what God did in the past (if even that),
but He is living and working
anew in those who believe, building on the Foundation He has laid.
As a tree is living and growing, so is the House and work of God. (Here
Is the Way It Is)
Water baptism is a thing of the past. Now that Christ
is risen and ascended on high, He baptizes in His Spirit, giving
to those whom He
chooses the substance of what water baptism symbolized. Believers who
are identified with His death also experience the power of His resurrection,
and there is no more need of this shadow ceremony. (Water
Baptism & The
Baptism in the Holy Spirit)
God heals today, His way. There is
divine healing today, as always (praise God!), but those who do not
learn to live by God’s commandments and ways cannot
expect to flourish according to His will. (God
Heals Today, His Way)
God’s teachings are applicable for proper living in all areas
- physical, mental, and spiritual – so that mankind might live
and prosper in all his ways. How we treat God’s creation has critical
consequences for us. As it is written, “God destroys those who
destroy the earth.” (Back
to Basics, Christian Physical
Diet, The
Perfect Diet, & Agriculture
- Abel’s Occupation)
Men should
dress looking like men, and women like women, with modesty. Head
coverings are not necessary, but an attitude of cheerful service
in submission to God’s order. He made man the head of the woman,
but men have been following their wives from the fall of Adam. (The
Man-Woman Dynamic, Submission
According to God, & Diabolical Doctrine 29) “Spouses
are equal, in marriage”)
The Lord Jesus Christ said there would be
many false prophets and
false Christs, and there are. Many preach a false gospel based on a “Jesus” that
men have formed in their own corrupt image. (The
True Marks of a Cult,
Diabolical Doctrines, & Mystery’s Message)
False love presents a false “Jesus,” a sappy version of
God, to replace the “vengeful tyrant” of the Old Testament.
These are equally perverse and unreal notions. God has not changed, but
He was never as men think of Him. “Behold therefore the goodness
and severity of God!” (The
Wrath of God, God and Violence, & Does
God Speak Only Gentle Words?)
Israel was cast off for rejecting
their God, not forever, but in order to bring the Good News to the
rest of the world. (Israel,
Is Your God Unjust?)
Reconciliation for Israel and the Jews will take place when
they recognize their sin in killing their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10).
(The Key for Israel
and the Jew)
The Lord has come to restore that which has been stolen,
denigrated, abused, and destroyed, and He will be 100% successful;
who can stop Him?
(Taking the Land)