I do not represent a church, but to let you know about our faith I’ve put together the material below:
In order to join with the Holiness of the Bride in our commitments to holiness and restoration in the Kahol (Church), we ask for agreement to the central biblical Christian doctrines. (1 below) This short statement should also let you know that I’m basically kosher, so to speak.
For the purposes of my writing and teaching, I work on a more detailed and thorough doctrinal understanding. (2 below) This should also let you know more about me.
1: Central Tenets (required to join)
We expect any member who formally joins us to accept the central doctrines commonly and historically accepted. These include the inspired inerrancy of Holy Scripture, the spiritual nature of Elohim (He is perfect spirit, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent etc…), the fallen nature of humanity (Original Sin), the tri-personal nature of God (Trinity), the full Deity and humanity of Yeshua (Hypostatic Union), the Virgin Birth, that the Word of Elohim was made flesh in the womb of Miriam (the Incarnation), Yeshua’s atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, the need for faith in Yeshua for everlasting life (He is the only path, not one of many), the need for repentance in salvation, the bodily resurrection of all flesh, Yeshua’s coming return on clouds of glory, His final judgment of all the earth, the soul’s final resting place eternally in either heaven or hell
**although it seems unnecessary to list the moral law among core Christian doctrines, times being what they are I need to put this in writing: naturally our faith includes the moral law, which has not changed in regards to fornication, sodomy or the nature of marriage; it also respects natural law, hence also not permitting trans-sexualism or trans-humanism for that matter. We respect the full dignity of the human being from conception to natural death.
2: Larger Playing Field (not required to join)
While I cannot endorse every point of the longer and more detailed doctrinal statements, I would be close to the Westminster Confession of Faith or the London Baptist Confession of Faith. I share a lot with traditional Mennonites as well. I also respect a great deal of teaching of the orthodox Church, and do not know any other which has such a good and consistent body of ethics. These include the respect for human life from conception to natural death and the rejection of anti-fertility drugs and devices.
My belief on various points (some of which are obvious by my writings here):
1) Millennium: Christ brought in His Kingdom in the 1st century AD and reins over everything in heaven and on earth right now. God is putting all things under His feet, in part through the work of the Church in restoring the world. Faith in God and in Christ will spread across the world, as will righteousness, peace, and justice. Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead, and bring us a world fully without sin for an eternity.
2) Baptism: I am a Credo Baptist. Baptism should be done immediately upon belief in the Lord Yeshua. It is the outward experience of the inward death and rebirth we experience upon faith. Baptism carries real grace toward salvation. We cannot know for sure someone is saved without it. However, if one died after having believed, and never was baptized, one would enter heaven by grace through faith.
3) Communion: Communion is, according to Holy Scripture, the New Covenant memorial meal, a holy gathering of the saints and the very divine body and blood of the Son of God. Communion is not merely a symbol, but is the true consuming of Yeshua’s divine body and blood through a miracle of the Almighty. This is according to His word.
4) Marriage: Marriage is a holy covenant before God which makes man and wife one flesh. It is instituted for bearing and rearing children in the Lord, for growing spiritually as man and woman and for providing a picture of the salvation vessel: Christ and Church. The marital union cannot be separated by man. Even if man and wife physically separate, the union still exists before the eyes of God. The take a second wife or husband is the sin of adultery, as the Lord Yeshua says. Any who commit this form of adultery must repent, by leaving their adultery.
5) Miracle Sign Gifts: The sign gifts of the 1st century have certainly not continued. Other common Continuationist doctrines are false, including healing in atonement, Word Faith, “little gods,” and the expectation of health and wealth. God still acts today and still works miracles according to His will, but they are no longer dispensed through saints with special gifts who do them regularly.
6) Women in ministry: I respect the plain reading of the Bible, which limits the woman’s role in ministry, preventing her from teaching or having authority over men. I also respect the plain reading of the Bible regarding women’s role in keeping the home, in bearing children, and in being submissive toward their husbands.
7) Creation: I am a biblical, young earth Creationist.
8) Apparel: Believers should dress modestly, especially women. This means covering most of the flesh, and not wearing tight body-hugging apparel. Dress should be simple and not seek to attract attention. Men and women should dress in distinctly male and female clothing, and have short and long hair respectively as Scripture assigns. Scripture also instructs women to cover the head during worship. This cover reflects the headship of the man.
9) Separation: The doctrine of separation is biblical, and contains many facets. Without getting into detail, the child of God should have a minimal connection with a non-Christian culture, and should not make imbibing non-Christian entertainment and literature a normal thing. The easiest way to avoid these things is to live without a TV or radio, and put a heavy filter on print media as well. The believer’s music, art, literature and entertainment should be oriented around the Word of God, the family and the community.
10) Education: The Christian parent should provide his children with an education rooted in the Bible and the Christian faith. The first place for this is the home, as God instituted the family and instructed parents in teaching godliness to their children. The second place is the local church community, which God also instituted. While I am not against all Christian schools, I encourage parents to start education in the home, and to be cautious of Christian or Catholic schools, as their influences are often secular and liberal.