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Post by mike on Nov 8, 2017 19:28:24 GMT -6
Comments on this statement of beliefs please:
The Bible is God’s Word. It is accurate, authoritative and applicable to our everyday lives.
God is the one eternal God who is the Creator of all things. He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He is totally loving and completely holy.
Sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives.
The Lord Jesus Christ is both God and man is the only One who can reconcile us to God. He lived a sinless and exemplary life, died on the cross in our place, and rose again to prove His victory and empower us for life.
In order to receive forgiveness and the ‘new birth’ we must repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to His will for our lives.
In order to live the holy and fruitful lives that God intends for us, we need to be baptised in water and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to use spiritual gifts, including speaking in tongues.
We believe in the power and significance of the Church and the necessity of believers to meet regularly together for fellowship, prayer and the ‘breaking of bread’.
God has individually equipped us so that we can successfully achieve His purpose for our lives which is to worship God, fulfil our role in the Church and serve the community in which we live.
God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy and blessed lives in order to help others more effectively.
Our eternal destination of either Heaven or hell is determined by our response to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again as He promised.
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Post by Natalie on Nov 8, 2017 19:39:02 GMT -6
If I had to guess, this is a Pentecostal type church. Not sure "God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy and blessed lives" is biblical, but it's an understandable statement if this is a Pentecostal church. What about the person who is dying from cancer but points to God every chance they get? "He is totally loving" -- Wonder what they exactly mean with this statement. That's just what stands out to me.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2017 19:41:45 GMT -6
mike, are you asking if this a "good" statement of faith? Not sure what kind of comments you are seeking...
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Post by mike on Nov 8, 2017 19:47:49 GMT -6
I guess what went on in my head didn't quite make it to the screen huh 😂
I think Natalie took a good stab at it. I didn't want to give too much about the intent. It is a statement of faith that I want feedback about. General thoughts, "doctrine" sound ok or not, come across any similar, parts you'd cut or add to clarify.
Hope that helps a little better. Sorry for making my intent clear
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2017 20:38:54 GMT -6
Right off, I will say that I am not a fan of Statements of Faith. If one reads through the Hearing God Thread they will begin to understand why. A statement of faith, to me, is basically a wall that hinders me from hearing God and properly interpreting his word. Having said that, I will play along and “critique” this SOF.
The Bible is God’s Word. It is accurate, authoritative and applicable to our everyday lives. No problems with this other than the words accurate and authoritative. Those words are very subjective. “Authoritative” usually implies, “as the church interprets it.” and “accurate” really depends on what translation.
God is the one eternal God who is the Creator of all things. He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He is totally loving and completely holy. This phrasing seems “surfer” to me. But I don’t disagree with what it says. Totally, dude. Also, I would say, He is the only God. Not the only eternal God.
Sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives. Yeah. Ok. Simple. But effective.
The Lord Jesus Christ is both God and man is the only One who can reconcile us to God. He lived a sinless and exemplary life, died on the cross in our place, and rose again to prove His victory and empower us for life. Grammatical complications but acceptable. “Empower us for life” cheapens the actual accomplishment of the resurrection, but states something that many other SOF’s leave out - that it does empower us for this life, not just the next.
I disagree with most of the rest of the points within this SOF accept for the last one.
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Post by barbiosheepgirl on Nov 14, 2017 0:22:44 GMT -6
In order to receive forgiveness and the ‘new birth’ we must repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to His will for our lives.
This one reeks of "works" for me. In fact, I think the claim "to receive forgiveness" you have to do these three things is heretical.
just my two pennies...
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Post by socalexile on Nov 14, 2017 5:48:34 GMT -6
In order to receive forgiveness and the ‘new birth’ we must repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to His will for our lives.
This one reeks of "works" for me. In fact, I think the claim "to receive forgiveness" you have to do these three things is heretical. just my two pennies... That's exactly what it is. BTW "repent of your sins" is never a phrase used in the context of salvation in the Bible. "Repent" means a "change your mind", as in you can't save yourself by your works, and put your faith in Christ for righteousness. "submit to His will for our lives" usually means things like following the Law, or following what laws an institution, pastor, or tradition has claimed is necessary for salvation.
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Post by mike on Nov 14, 2017 6:55:14 GMT -6
Thanks barbiosheepgirl & socalexile - helps me with the reason I put this out there. This is a "Statement of Faith" from a website. I feel the same way as described by you and others, but want to make sure I dont lead the conversation with my "opinion".
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