FOREWORD
More than two centuries ago in Germany, a new fellowship of
Christian believers was formed. The established churches
had become rich, powerful, and corrupt. They no longer proclaimed
the simple message of the New Testament. Alexander Mack and
other Pietists set out to form a church as nearly like the First
Century Church as possible, and they took the New Testament as
their rule of faith and practice. The Church of the
Brethren is the present name given to that new fellowship. Most
of the Brethren migrated to America in the 1720s. In basic
orientation and background, the Brethren are Anabaptist
(reject infant baptism) and Pietist (emphasize holy
living). Brethren have historically accepted the basic Christian
doctrines along with practices sometimes neglected by major
groups of Christians. These include a commitment to peace and
reconciliation, an emphasis on simple living, an opposition to
taking oaths, the maintenance of a strong and wholesome family
life, service to neighbors, and the practice of outward symbols
taught in the New Testament (such as feetwashing and the
sisters' veiling).
The Brethren have sometimes become careless in applying
biblical mandates, and because of this, a loosely knit network of
people have formed the Brethren Revival Fellowship, which is a
renewal movement in the Church of the Brethren. Brethren Revival
Fellowship distributes this Handbook of Basic Beliefs
within the Church of the Brethren, recognizing that at
different periods in history, similar statements were made, not
to become creeds, but to give guidance, and to point to the great
truths of the Christian faith.
The only authoritative statement of what Christians should
believe is to be found in the Scriptures themselves. Creeds and
doctrinal statements can be dangerous when they alone are
accepted as standards of belief. The doctrines outlined in the
Handbook of Basic Beliefs are not a complete list
of truths taught in the Bible, but it is hoped that this brief
statement will encourage the reader to search the Scriptures more
diligently.
--Harold S. Martin,
For Brethren Revival
Fellowship
A HANDBOOK OF BASIC BELIEFS
WITHIN THE CHURCH OF THE
BRETHREN
1. THE SCRIPTURES
The Bible is the Word of God (Deuteronomy 4:1-2). It was written by
men who were divinely inspired (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21), and it
is God's revelation of himself to man. The New Testament is
the last will and covenant of our Lord (Hebrews 9:15), and is our
final authority for faith and conduct. If one is to have a true
understanding of the will of God, he must always accept the New
Testament interpretation of the Old Testament. What was seen only
vaguely (in the Old Testament) in the dim starlight of promise and type,
is now seen clearly (in the New Testament) in the bright sunlight of
God's complete and perfect revelation in Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2;
Matthew 5:43-44). The New Testament builds upon the Old, fulfills
the Old, and reinterprets the Old.
The Bible is inerrant in the original writings, and is the
supreme standard by which all human conduct and religious
opinions should be tried (Acts 17:11; Psalms 19:7-11; Psalms
119:105).
2. GOD
There is one and only one living and true God (Genesis 1:1; Hebrews
11:6; Ex. 20:3). He is an intelligent, personal, spirit Being
(John 4:24). He is one God, eternally existing in three persons,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God as Father reigns with providential care over his universe
(Acts 7:48-50), and the stream of human history moves according
to the purpose of his grace. He is Father to those who become
children of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:26),
and he is fatherly in his attitude toward all men (Matthew
5:45).
God the Son was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the
virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18). He is true God and true man (Romans
1:3,4). In his death on the Cross, he made provision for the
redemption of men from sin by becoming a substitutionary
sacrifice (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 2:24). He was raised from the
dead with a glorified body, ascended into heaven, and is now
exalted at the right hand of God (1 Corinthians 15:1-25; John 16:27-28).
He will return in power and glory to receive his disciples, and
then to judge the world (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians
1:7-9).
God the Holy Spirit is a divine Person distinct from the
Father and the Son, and yet united to both the Father and the Son
in the mysterious oneness of the holy Trinity (Matthew 28:19,20).
He enables persons to understand truth (John 16:7-13), he imparts
new life to those who meet the conditions of salvation (Titus
1:5), and he imparts gifts for service to every member of the
church (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
3. MAN
Man was created by the special act of God, in his own image,
and is the crowning work of God's creation (Genesis 1:26-30). In
the beginning man was innocent of sin, and was endowed by his
Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice, through the
temptation of Satan, man sinned against God, and thereby incurred
not only physical death, but also that spiritual death which is
separation from God (Genesis 2:16).
All human beings are born with a sinful nature (Psalm 51:5),
and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become
sinners in thought, word, and deed (Isaiah 6:5; Romans 5:12, 19;
Romans 1:18-32). When David spoke of being conceived "in
sin" (Psalm 51:5), he spoke not of the act of conception,
but of the inherited bias to sin that is transmitted at
conception.
The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God
created man in his own image, and in that Christ died for human
beings, and therefore every individual is worthy of respect and
Christian love (1 Peter 2:17).
4. SALVATION
Salvation is the entire work by which God rescues people from
their sinful state. It is offered freely to all who accept Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior (John 3:3-21; Revelation 3:20). Regeneration
is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:8,9; 2 Corinthians 5:17-19).
Justification is the gracious and full acquittal which
is wrought by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23-25),
and is symbolized by trine immersion baptism (Romans 6:4-5). In the
early church, those who believed were baptized immediately (Acts
16:33). Jesus spoke of the necessity of water baptism, when he
said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved" (Mark 16:16).
Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to
progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the
presence of the Holy Spirit who dwells in him (1 Corinthians 6:19,20; 2
Peter 3:18). Holiness is God's standard of living for his
people (Luke 1:74-75; 1 Peter 1:15).
Glorification is the culmination of salvation, and is
the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed (Romans
8:16-18; 1 Peter 1:3-4). Jesus spoke of the final glory of the
saved, when in figurative language he said the reapers will
"gather the wheat into my barn" (Matthew 13:30).
5. THE CHURCH
A New Testament church is a local body (1 Corinthians 1:2) of
baptized believers, composed of bishops (elders), deacons, and
the saints (Philippians 1:1), who operate through democratic processes
under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Each member of the
congregation is equally responsible for its ongoing work,
although there are those who are called to special
responsibilities (Ephesians 4:11-12). The Church is also the Body of
Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all ages (Matthew
16:15-19; Ephesians 1:22-23).
Evangelism: It is the duty and privilege of every
believer, and of every congregation, to make disciples of all
nations (Matthew 28:19-20). Each child of God should seek
constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort (Acts
1:8).
Ordinances: Ordinances are commandments that require
more than one Christian to perform, and are essential factors in
the development of the Christian life. The Scriptures teach the
three-part love feast -- feetwashing, supper, communion -- (John
13:1-20; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34), the anointing with oil for
healing (James 5:14-18), the laying on of hands (Acts 8:17; 1
Timothy 4:14), the assembling together for worship (Hebrews 10:25), and
the Christian salutation of the holy kiss (Romans 16:16; 1 Peter
5:14).
Ideals: God is the author of peace, and peace with God
brings peace within ourselves, peace with members of the family
within the home, and as far as is possible on our part, peace
with all men (Matthew 18:15-20; Romans 12:18-21). The ideals of
temperance (1 Corinthians 9:25), purity (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), and simple
living (Matthew 6:28-33), are to be taught and observed. Christians
are stewards of their possessions, and should contribute of their
means cheerfully, regularly, systematically,
proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of
Christ's cause on earth (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 8:7; 2 Corinthians
9:7).
Principles: It is unscriptural for Christian people to
participate in war (Matthew 5:44-45; Matthew 26:52), to go to law
against brethren (1 Corinthians 6:1-9), to divorce and remarry (Mark 10:
11-12), to swear oaths (James 5:12), to follow worldly fashions
and wear immodest clothes (1 Timothy 2:8-10), and for the Christian
man to appear with long hair and the Christian woman with short
and unveiled hair (1 Corinthians 11:3-16). These prohibitions are given
for our benefit, and need to be respected in the
Church.
Those who are born again, have the goal of obedience to God,
walk in newness of life, cultivate self-denial and humility, and
constitute the true Church of which Jesus Christ is the Head
(Col. 3:5-15).
6. THE SOCIAL ORDER
Methods used for the improvement of society can only be truly
helpful when they are rooted in the regeneration of the
individual (Mark 7:21-23), by the saving grace of God through
faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 26:18). People who are converted to
Jesus Christ will then have the capacity to live up to the
Christian command to "love thy neighbor" (Matthew
22:39).
The Christian should oppose, in the spirit of Christ, every
form of greed and selfishness and vice (Matthew 5:13-16). He should
work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the aged, the
helpless, and the sick (Matthew 25:35; Luke 10:27-37; Acts 6:1-7).
Christians should be ready to work with persons of good will in
worthy causes, always being careful to avoid compromise of
loyalty to Christ (Galatians 6:10; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10).
Civil government is ordained of God (Romans 13:1-7), and it is
the duty of Christians to render obedience to the government in
all things not contrary to the clearly revealed wilt of God (Luke
20:25; 1 Peter 2:13-17). The Church should not resort to the civil
power to carry on its work. Jesus vigorously rejected every
attempt to make him a political Messiah. The rebuke to Satan
(Matthew 4:8-10), and to Peter (Matthew 16:21-23), and the statement
to Pilate (John 18:36), all indicate his persistent refusal to
place political change in society ahead of personal change in
individuals.
7. LAST THINGS
God will bring the world to its appropriate end in his own
time and in his own way (Matthew 24: 42- 51; Revelation 1:18). According
to the Scriptures, Jesus Christ will return personally and
visibly in glory to the earth (Acts 1:10-11); the time of his
coming is unrevealed, but always imminent (Mark 13:33-37). The
dead will be raised (John 5:29) and Christ will judge all persons
in righteousness (Acts 17:31; 2 Corinthians 5:10). The resurrection
"unto life" will occur at the second coming of Christ
(1 Corinthians 15:23), and the resurrection "unto damnation"
will occur after the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4-6).
The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of
everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-26). The
righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies (Philippians 3:21;
1 John 3:2) will receive their reward and will dwell forever in
Heaven with the Lord (Matthew 25:46; John 14:1-3).
Jesus Christ will finally deliver up the Messianic Kingdom to
God the Father, in order that He, as the Eternal Son, may reign
with the Father in the new heaven and the new earth eternally (1
Corinthians 15:24-28; Revelation 21:1).
The message of Christianity centers around a Person -
Jesus Christ. 1 John 5:11-12 says, "And this is the
record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is
in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not
the Son of God hath not life." Have you turned from your sin
and received God's Son as your Savior? Do you know the
forgiveness of sin? Do you know God as your Father by becoming
his son? John 1:12 says, "But as many as received him, to
them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name."
Many have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ, and they
often sing, "Oh happy day that fixed my choice on Thee, my
Savior and my God." They remember the day they committed
their lives to Jesus. They believed that the atoning work of
Christ on Calvary could save them; they repented of their life of
sin; they accepted Christian baptism as an outward sign of their
inward change. They remember the joy that Fame into their hearts,
and the peace that filled their souls. That was a happy day --
and what God has done for others, he can do for you.
The statements in this Handbook do not in any
way exhaust the whole message of the Bible, nor are they intended
to set a limit beyond which faith (within the boundaries of the
Word of God) cannot go -- but we believe that insofar as these
statements extend, they are a true presentation of the sound
doctrine taught in the Scriptures, and are therefore binding upon
us as Christian believers.
For additional free copies of this Handbook,
write:
Brethren Revival Fellowship
P.O. Box 543
Ephrata, PA 17522-0543
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