Bredell Family Fellowship 2.9

OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH
What We Believe

• In essential beliefs – we have unity.

“There is one Body and one Spirit…there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all…” Ephesians 4:4-6

• In non-essentials beliefs – we have liberty.

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters… Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls… So then each of us will give an account of himself to God… So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.” Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22

• In all our beliefs – we show charity.

“If I hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but the very secrets of God, and if I have
the… faith which can move mountains – but have no love, I amount to nothing at all.”
I Corinthians 13:2 (Phillips)


I. THE ESSENTIALS WE BELIEVE:


THE BIBLE

The sole basis of our belief is the Bible, composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testament. We believe that Scripture in its entirety originated with God and was given through the instrumentality of chosen men. Thus Scripture, at one and the same time, speaks with the authority of God and reflects the backgrounds, styles and vocabularies of human authors. We hold that the Scriptures are infallible and inerrant in the original manuscripts. They are the unique, full and final authority on all matters of faith and practice, and there are no other writings similarly inspired by God.


GOD

We believe that there is one true, holy God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – each of Whom possesses equally all the attributes of deity and the characteristics of personality. In the beginning God created out of nothing the world and all the things therein, thus manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom and goodness. By His sovereign power, He continues to sustain His creation. By His providence, He is operating throughout history to fulfill His redemptive purposes.


SALVATION

The central purpose of God’s revelation in Scripture is to call all people into fellowship with Himself. Originally created to have fellowship with God, man and woman defied God, choosing to go their independent way. Thus they were alienated from God and suffered the corruption of their nature, rendering them unable to please God. The fall took place at the beginning of human history and all individuals since have confirmed and suffered these consequences and are thus in need of the saving grace of God.

The salvation of people is, then, wholly a work of God’s free grace, not the result, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness and must be personally appropriated by repentance and faith. When God has begun a saving work in the heart of any person, He gives assurance in His Word that He will continue performing it until the day of its full consummation.


JESUS CHRIST

Jesus Christ is the eternal second Person of the Trinity who was united forever with a true human nature by a miraculous conception and virgin birth. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father and voluntarily atoned for the sins of all by dying on the cross as their substitute, thus satisfying divine justice and accomplishing salvation for all who trust in Him alone. He rose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He lived and died. He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father, where He, the only Mediator between God and people, continually makes intercession for His own. He shall come again to earth, personally and visibly, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.


THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (THE HOLY SPIRIT)

The essential accompaniment of a genuine saving relationship with Jesus Christ is a life of holiness and obedience, attained by believers as they submit to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. He was sent into the world by the Father and the Son to apply to people the saving work of Christ. He enlightens the minds of sinners, awakens in them recognition of their need of a Savior and regenerates them. At the point of salvation, He indwells every believer to become the source of assurance, strength and wisdom and uniquely endows each believer with gifts for the up-building of the body. The Holy Spirit guides believers in understanding and applying the Scripture. His power and control are appropriated by faith, making it possible for the believer to lead a life of Christ-like character and to bear fruit to the glory of the Father.


SANCTIFICATION

Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit by which He enables the believer to be separated from sin and to love God with all one’s heart. Sanctification begins at the moment of salvation and is experienced in its fullness when an individual asks by faith, to be filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit.

This is followed by a commitment of lifelong growth in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The life of holiness (sanctification) evidences itself by loving obedience to God’s will.


HUMAN DESTINY

Death seals the eternal destiny of each person. For everyone, there will be a resurrection of the body into the spiritual world and a judgment that will determine the fate of each individual. Unbelievers will be separated from God into condemnation. God’s judgment will reveal His justice in consigning unbelievers to hell for their own rejection of God. Believers will be received into eternal Communion with God and will be rewarded for works done in this life.


THE CHURCH

The corollary of union with Jesus Christ is that all believers become members of His body, the Church. There is one true Church universal, comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Scripture commands believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, the teaching of the Word, the observance of Baptism and Communion as the sacraments established by Jesus Christ, fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world.

Whenever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the church. Under the watch care of elders and other supportive leadership, its members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ.


FAITH AND PRACTICE

Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. This church recognizes that it cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where Scripture is silent. Rather, each believer is to be led in those areas by the Lord, to whom he or she alone is ultimately responsible. We believe the Statement of Faith to be an accurate summary of what Scripture teaches. All members shall refrain from advocating doctrines that are not included in the Statement of Faith in such a way as to cause dissension.

*For definitive and detailed information on Wesleyan belief and doctrine, go to: ( www.wesleyan.org )