What we believe
What we believe
Basic Truths
The following are some of the basic truths that we believe the Bible teaches:
- God is the creator of the universe and everything in it (Genesis 1). Because He is the Creator of all we believe that He is sovereign overall of His creation.
- God placed mankind in the garden of Eden, a paradise where man would live forever. Everything was good until man disobeyed God’s instruction, which produced death (Genesis 2-3; Romans 5:12).
- Disobeying God’s instruction is called sin (1 John 3:4; Romans 7:7). Those who have not experienced the miracle of being born again are under sin’s curse, which is death. The apostle Paul refers to this as “the law of sin and death” (Romans 6-8).
- God has a name which is given to us in Exodus 3:15. English Bibles usually translate this name as “LORD” in all capital letters. We pronounce this name “Yahweh.” There are other reasonable opinions about how to pronounce this name, but we think “Yahweh” is the most likely ancient pronunciation.
- The prophet Moses wrote down God’s (Yahweh’s) instructions (Deuteronomy 31:9). These instructions were also called “The Torah (or Law) of Moses” (Joshua 8:32). Those who followed Yahweh’s instructions would live, but those who did not would receive the curse of death (Deuteronomy 30:15-18). Yahweh made a covenant with the nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 5:2), and with all who would sojourn with them (Numbers 15:16). That covenant stated that he would be their God, and they would be his people (Leviticus 26:12) and keep his instructions (Exodus 24:3).
- Israel failed to keep Yahweh’s instructions and broke his covenant (Jeremiah 31:32). One result of this was the people of Israel ended up scattered among all the nations (Ezekiel 36:19).
- God (Yahweh) sent his Son, Jesus Christ also known as Yeshua (born of a virgin – Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-25), to provide a solution to the problem of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Yeshua is the Hebrew name that is transliterated into English as “Jesus.” Yeshua’s name means “Yahweh saves.”
- Christ the Messiah (Yeshua) was born of a virgin, died, and was resurrected to be a living example of the Father’s plan of salvation for His people.
Jesus’ Accomplishments
Jesus (Yeshua) accomplished many things, including:
- He taught us how to follow Yahweh’s instructions (Ephesians 4:17-24),
- He started the process of regathering Israel from the nations, so that they can enter into a new covenant with God (Yahweh) (Matthew 10:6; James 1:1; Jeremiah 31:31)
- He paid the penalty for our sins (1 John 2:2), so that we are no longer under the law of sin and death and can have eternal life with God (Romans 6:5-11).
- Jesus Christ (Yeshua) was sentenced to death, crucified and buried, but he came back to life after three days (Acts 10:39-40), as he had foretold (Matthew 27:63). Those who have faith in him will also be resurrected, and they will reign with him on the earth for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4-6).
- After Jesus’s (Yeshua’s) reign on the earth, all mankind will be resurrected and judged (Revelation 20:11-13). Those who followed his instructions will be rewarded, while those who did not will be punished (Matthew 25:31-46).
Details of Truth
Here are some more details concerning these truths:
- We are saved because of Yahweh’s grace (Ephesians 2:1-9). We were spiritually dead and were objects of God’s wrath, but God (Yeshua) paid the price for our sins (Romans 5:6-8). We can do nothing to earn such mercy and grace.
- All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), so everyone needs Yahweh’s grace to be saved (Romans 3:9). Nobody can gain salvation because of their ancestry or their moral perfection.
- Yahweh is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). Yahweh does not change (Malachi 3:6), and Yahweh’s instructions have not changed (Matthew 5:18). They were never abolished nor made void. Yahweh’s grace removes our sin, but that does not mean that we should continue sinning (Romans 6:1-2). We should still follow Yahweh’s instructions today (Romans 6:12-13).
- When we do sin, Yahweh is gracious to forgive us if we confess our sin and return to righteous living. Yeshua’s blood will cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7-9).
- All of God’s (Yahweh’s) instructions are based on love (Matthew 22:36-40). God (Yahweh) gives us his instructions because he loves us (Psalm 119:124). We respond to his love in two ways: 1) by loving him back, which means keeping his instructions (Deuteronomy 6:5-6; 1 John 5:3), and 2) by loving other people, who are made in Yahweh’s image (Leviticus 19:18; 1 John 4:20-21).
- Jesus Christ (Yeshua) was “the word made flesh” (John 1:14). The fullness of God dwelled in him (Colossians 2:9). He and Yahweh are one (John 10:30, meaning Yeshua’s will was aligned with his Father’s will; he did exactly what his Father wanted him to do (John 17:4). As Christians (which, in Greek, means “followers of Christ”), our calling is to “walk even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). That is, we should strive to do exactly what the Father wants us to do, just like Yeshua did.
- God (Yahweh) empowers us to follow his instructions by changing our heart and putting his spirit within us (Ezekiel 36:26-27). His spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13). His spirit will cause you to obey his instructions. (Ezekiel 36:27)
- We are not saved by works, but by grace through our faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, what we believe in our heart—our faith—will manifest itself in our works (James 2:18, 22). A person who has faith in God will also obey him (John 3:36).
Of course, the Bible teaches much more than just what we’ve mentioned here, but these are some of our fundamental beliefs. We do not claim to know everything. We want to remain teachable and ask that you compare what we teach with the scriptures to see if they agree. Don’t take what we say because it might be new to you or different than what you have heard. Read and study the Bible for yourself, pray for God’s wisdom, and listen to his Spirit. Our prayer is that God will sanctify you in his truth, which is his word (John 17:17).