A Christ Walk Church - Statement of Faith b
Briefly...
We believe that the full, final and Ultimate authority is the Bible,
in its original form, which was written by men acting as God's
instruments. There is only One Living, True, Holy God, Who exists as
the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father created
and maintains the universe. The Son, Jesus, was born of the virgin
Mary, lived a mortal existence, during which He taught and demonstrated
Christian lessons. He was betrayed, crucified, died and was buried,
and arose on the third day. He is now in Heaven, where He awaits us.
His physical death was the instrument of atonement for our sins, which
allows us access to the path to Heaven. He will someday return to
complete God's plan for the world.
Salvation is necessary because of the Original Sin of Adam and Eve.
Salvation is only available by Grace of God through Faith in Jesus
Christ Alone. The Holy Spirit is present to help us both in this
(justification) and in the following continuous Christian development
(sanctification), to be fully prepared to be in the presence of God.
All who are Saved become part of the Church, the living Body of
Jesus. Jesus instructed all Christians to observe two sacraments,
Baptism and Holy Communion (or the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist.)
More Thoroughly...
(With Scriptural References)
The Bible
The Ultimate Authority is the Bible (Original Scripture). (Psa. 19:7-9;
Psa. 119:11; Psa. 119:30; Psa. 119:43; Psa. 119:89; Matt. 5:17-18;
John 3:34; John 10:35; I Thess. 2:13; Rev. 22:6) Our Church looks to
the Bible as the full, final and ultimate authority on all matters of
Faith (Isa. 40:8; Matt. 24:35) and practice. (Matt. 7:21; Matt. 7:24;
Luke 1:38; James 1:22-25) Therefore, we fully study and follow all
the teachings included in both the Old and New Testaments. (Luke 24:44;
II Pet. 3:15-16; Rev. 22:18-19) We believe that the Bible in its
entirety originated with God, through chosen men who were His instruments
in transcribing and assembling His Words. (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet.
1:20-21; I Cor. 2:12-13; John 14:26) Those men each wrote in the words
and literary style of their societies and times. We believe that the
Bible is infallible and inerrant in its original manuscripts.
God
We believe that there is One (Isa. 45:5; Isa. 45:22; I Cor. 8:4;
Deut. 6:4) Living, (Psa. 42:2; Psa. 84:2) True, (Jer. 10:10) Holy
(Isa. 6:3; I Pet. 1:15-16) God. He exists as the Trinity, (John 1:1;
John 1:14; John 1:18; John 10:30; I John 4:9; John 14:16-17; John 14:26;
John 15:26; II Cor. 3:17-18) simultaneously and eternally in Three
Persons - Father, (Matt. 6:9; Eph. 1:3) Son (John 1:1; Gal. 4:4;
Matt. 27:43) and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19-20; II Cor. 13:14; Rev. 1:4;
Acts 5:1-5) - each of Whom possesses equally all the attributes of
deity. (Rev. 5:13; Eph. 3:14-21) The Father created, (Gen. 1:1;
Psa. 95:3-5) maintains, (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3) and rules (Psa. 103:19;
Psa. 104:24-29) over our physical universe. (Psa. 96:4-6; Psa. 89:11;
Psa. 103:20-21; Col. 1:16,17; Psa. 104:5; Psa. 103:22; Psa. 22:28;
Psa. 47:8; Gen. 1:31) The Son is Jesus Christ, (Matt. 27:43; Gal. 4:4)
Who was sent to Earth in bodily form to enable us to better understand
His Love and Grace, and to show us the Way to eternal fellowship
with the Father. The Holy Spirit daily assists us in learning ultimate
truths by indwelling believers' bodies and thereby joining those
believers into the Church.
Jesus
Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity. (John 1:1;) He was Born
of Mary by virgin birth (Luke 1:30-35) as God's only Son. (John 1:1;
John 3:16; Gal. 4:4; Matt. 27:43) He lived and experienced human
childhood, adolescence and early adulthood as a mortal human.
(II Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:6-11; Luke 2:40-52) This experience forever united Him with
humanity. (Rom. 5:19; I Cor. 15:22; I Pet. 2:22; II Cor. 5:21;
Rom. 8:29) He then experienced spiritual incarnation and began His
ministry. (Luke 3:21-22; Luke 4:16-21; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 11:20;
Luke 17:20-21; Luke 4:1-13) He demonstrated perfect behavior for us
by His examples of words and actions. (Rom. 5:19; I Cor. 15:22;
I Pet. 2:21-22; II Cor. 5:21; Rom. 8:29) He was Crucified and Died
to Atone for the sins of all who choose to follow His Way.
(I Pet. 2:24; Gal. 3:13; II Cor. 5:21) His physical death was a
substitution for the spiritual death of His followers. (John 1:29;
John 6:51; John 4:9-10) This established that following His Way
("belief in Jesus as Savior") is the ONLY way of having His
substitutionary atonement (John 14:6; Matt. 20:28; Mark 2:10) accomplish
Salvation for a Christian. He was then Resurrected (Acts 2:24-28) and
arose bodily on the third day. (Mark 8:31; I Cor. 15:3-5) He ascended
to Heaven, (Rom. 1:4) where He is now and forever. (Acts 2:29-36) He
is the ONLY Mediator between God and Christians, (I John 2:23;
I Tim. 2:5-6) continually making intercession for His own. Some day,
He will again come back to us to consummate God's eternal plan. At
that time, He will bring a Final Judgment to evaluate all humanity,
to establish each individual's future existence in Heaven or Hell.
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity. On a daily basis,
the Spirit is in the earthly world, interacting with all Christians
(Rom. 8:9-10) and those who aspire to Christianity, to present and
continually confirm the ultimate truths of Christian existence and
Scripture, as Helper, (John 16:7) Teacher, (John 14:26) and Guide.
(John 16:13-15; Rom. 8:14) Whenever a person desires to pursue a
Christian Walk, the Holy Spirit will stay continually near at hand
to help the individual's soul be saved. (Rom. 12:4-6) Once individuals
are saved, the Spirit indwells in those individuals to maintain
salvation. (John 14:16-17; Rom. 12:1; Eph. 5:18-20; I Cor. 14:12;
I Cor. 14:26; Luke 11:20; I John 3:8b) These efforts of the Holy
Spirit enable a human to find the correct path to achieve eternal
fellowship with God in Heaven. The Holy Spirit therefore lives in
all those who believe in Him by faith. (I Cor. 2:12; Rom. 8:11;
II Cor. 1:22; Gal. 3:5; Eph. 2:22; Eph. 3:16; I John 4:13;
I Cor. 3:6; Rom. 8:5-9; I Cor. 2:10; I Cor. 5:5) The Spirit uniquely
endows each believer with gifts for the ongoing building of the
body of the Church. (I Cor. 12:7-11; I Cor. 14:1; I Cor. 14:5;
I Thess. 5:19-21) The Spirit makes it possible for the believer to
lead a life of Christ-like character. (John 14:12-13: Rom. 15:18-19;
I Cor. 4:20)
Salvation
Salvation is available by Grace of God through Faith in Jesus Christ
Alone. (Rom. 1:16-17) The beliefs of A Christ Walk Church should NOT
be construed to mean that salvation is available through just behaving
in a Christian manner and doing "good works". We believe that salvation
is only available by the Grace of God as a result of personal
repentance (Acts 5:31; II Tim. 2:25; Acts 17:30) and Faith in Jesus,
in a traditional Christian manner. (Rom. 1:16-17; John 14:6; Matt. 20:28)
The "good works" ARE A RESULT of the Christian behavior which Jesus
demonstrated and which we honor and glorify. In addition, as a RESULT
of our salvation and the ensuing "good works" we do as Christian
behavior, we will be rewarded in Heaven. (Matt. 16:27; Matt. 18:18;
James 1:25; Psa. 23:4) Salvation is necessary for each human because
of "the Fall" of Adam and Eve, (Gen. 3:8; Rom. 1:21; Rom. 5:16) in
their defying of His rules in the Garden of Eden by listening to
Satan. (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9) A result of this Fall was that all their
descendants are equally imperfect at following His laws and Commandments,
(Rom. 5:12; John 5:14; I Cor. 15:22; Rom. 8:20-23; Psa. 51:5; Ezek. 18:4;
Rom. 2:5; Rom. 2:12; Psa. 58:3; Heb. 9:27) and are therefore incapable
of fellowship with God. (Rom. 3:23; Psa. 51:4) We are each therefore
in need of the saving Grace of God for our individual salvations.
(Rom. 8:16; Eph. 2:15) This salvation is entirely a result of God's
saving Grace (John 15:26; John 16:8-11; II Cor. 3:14-17; Rom. 7:13;
Gal. 3:19-22; Rom.2:1-11; Gal.3:24; Phil. 3:8-9; Eph. 2:8) in response
to our individual repentance (Acts 5:31; II Tim. 2:25) and Faith in
Jesus Christ, and NOT as a result of human works or goodness. (Rom. 1:16-17)
The Church
Each person who is spiritually saved by the Grace of God in response
to repentance and Faith in Jesus, becomes a member (I Cor. 12:27)
of His living body, (Rom. 12:4-5) the church. The one, (John 17:20-21;
Eph. 4:3-6) true, holy (I Cor. 3:16-17) church (Matt. 16:17-18;
I Cor. 1:2; Eph. 2:18-19; I Pet. 2:9-10) is very broad, and includes
all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Scripture
commands that believers meet for worship, (Matt. 18:19) prayer,
teaching of the Word, observance of baptism (Matt. 28:19-20) and
communion (I Cor. 11:23-26) as sacramental ordinances established by
Jesus Christ, fellowship, service to the body through the development
and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world. Wherever
God's people meet in obedience to this command, there is local expression
of the church. (Matt. 18:19) Members of these local churches are neither
perfect or sinless, (Isa. 53:6) but continually strive to use the Holy
Spirit to grow. A result of this growth is the greater expression of
His love, peace, joy, and the other Christ-like qualities. The outreach
efforts should include preliminary steps to first encourage Trust
in Him and His followers. After this trust is established, belief in
Him and obeyance to Him is possible and can be pursued more directly.
Members of the church should work at maturing in their individual
Walks (Matt. 18:18) by learning the Word, by participating in
Fellowship with other believers, and discipling to others to grow the
collective faith.
The church is God's Hope for the world. (Matt. 5:14)
Consistent Christian Behavior and Thoughts
Salvation is by Grace through Faith alone. (Rom. 1:16-17) Then, AS
A RESULT OF THIS SALVATION and the new indwelling presence of the
Holy Spirit, "good works" will naturally follow. (Eph. 2:8) Jesus
gave us numerous examples and lessons on appropriate thoughts and
behavior while He was with us on Earth. By following His examples,
we more closely Walk in His path. (I Peter 2:21; I Peter 2:12) In
addition, as a RESULT of our salvation, we naturally do "good works"
which will be rewarded in Heaven. (Matt. 16:27; Matt. 18:18; James 1:25)
Our congregation is filled with His love, and the effects of the
Holy Spirit's effect of the members just "spill over" onto others
and are seen as good deeds and attitudes. (Eph. 2:8) This situation
also makes for great happiness and fulfillment in our members. (Jer. 31:17)
The Epistle of James generally emphasizes that good works issue FROM
faith. In the 1500s, Martin Luther was concerned that it might instead
suggest that works were necessary requirements FOR faith, but that was
clearly incorrect. Some of what Luther was concerned about were
(James 2:14; James 2:17; James 2:22; James 2:24) the references that
faith without good works still resulted in a dead soul. These did NOT
contradict the faith alone concept, but just confirmed that we are
supposed to LIVE and DEMONSTRATE Christ's teachings, not merely
understand them. (James 1:22-26) This point is a central goal of
A Christ Walk Church (particularly James 1:22-26). James is
definitely supportive of justification by faith alone. Of course,
Romans 1-4 and Galatians 3-4 present this justification by faith
alone in a more straightforward manner, with the rest of Romans
suggesting the effects and implications on us.
All humans will experience a physical death. Then there will be a
resurrection of each body into the spiritual world, followed by a judgment
(Heb. 9:27) that will determine the ultimate fate of each individual.
Unbelievers will be condemned to Hell and therefore separated from
God forever. (Rom. 6:23; Luke 16:26) Believers will be received into
eternal communion with God, in Heaven, and will be rewarded for works
done during the mortal life. The fate of each believer is existence
in an environment that is the ultimate Heaven for each of them
individually.
We believe that Scripture is the final authority of all matters of faith
and practice. Where Scripture is silent, we believe that the Holy Spirit
will aid each individual to identify proper thoughts and actions. The
individual and God may be the only ones truly aware of the motivation
of the individual's actions, and that pair will ultimately be
responsible for determining the consequences of those actions. Human
witnessing of the good and bad in human behavior, including by clergy,
is unnecessary. (It is not necessary to "play to an audience" to have
positive character aspects noticed by the Lord.)
We have created a brief presentation of the specific beliefs of our
Church at A Christ Walk Church Beliefs
( http://mb-soft.com/public2/ourchris.html ).
A Christ Walk Church's web-site is at: http://mb-soft.com/cwalk/index.html