Articles of Faith

STATEMENT OF FAITH

The Scriptures

We believe the Scriptures (Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim, and Brit Chadashah) are inspired by God and are inerrant in the original manuscripts.  The Scriptures are our full and final authority concerning all issues of life and faith.  The inerrancy of Scripture was accomplished not by dictation, but by God superintending the human authors, using their individual personalities and backgrounds, to compose and record without error, God’s intended revelation to mankind.

God

We believe in one God, creator of all things, infinitely perfect, all knowing, all-powerful, ever present, eternally existent in three persons, Abba (Father), Ben (Son), and Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit).

The Father

We believe God the Father is sovereign ruler over all creation, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness and truth; who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. (Ex. 34:6-7)

The Messiah

We believe God the Son became flesh in the person of Yeshua, who was and is the promised Messiah of Israel.  He was conceived by the Spirit of God and born to the Jewish “almah” (virgin) whose name was Miriam.  He is both fully God and fully man, forever.  Messiah Yeshua died as the substitutionary atoning sacrifice for mankind’s sin.  Yeshua’s death purchased our redemption from the judgment and the condemnation yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations. (Ex. 34:6-7)

After His death, Yeshua rose from the dead bodily and ascended into the heavens.  He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will one day return to rule the world from the throne of David in Jerusalem.  Presently He is our “Cohen HaGadol” (High Priest) after the order of the priesthood of Melech-Tzedek (the King of Righteousness).  As such He is our intercessor and advocate before the Father.

The Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit)

The Ruach HaKodesh possesses all the distinctive attributes of deity and is Himself one with the Father and the Son.  He does not call attention to Himself, but rather seeks to glorify and testify of the Messiah Yeshua.  He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  He regenerates, seals and sets the believer apart to a holy life.  He teaches the truth and enables believers in prayer, worship, and service.  At the moment of salvation, each believer is immersed by the Spirit of God into the Body of Messiah, and is permanently indwelt by the Spirit of God.  As a result, every believer is complete in Messiah and is the possessor of every spiritual blessing.  However, it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to be continuously filled by the Spirit of God.

Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God but through Adam fell into sin and is therefore separated from God.  Only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life through Messiah Yeshua be obtained.

Salvation

The salvation of mankind is wholly the work of God’s grace through faith in the redemptive work of Messiah Yeshua.  By His sacrificial death He became our substitute, making full atonement for our sins.  Salvation is not connected in any way with human efforts or mitzvot (good deeds).  It can only be appropriated by personal faith in Yeshua’s death and atonement, and even that faith is a gift from God to man.  Through this substitutionary work His righteousness is imputed to us.  Salvation cannot be forfeited because of sin or anything else that we do or say, if they are truly born of God’s Spirit.  It is wholly dependent upon God’s grace.  Therefore, God gives assurance in His word and through His Spirit that what He began He will continue to perform until the day of its completion.

Sanctification

All believers, though forgiven, still have the capacity to sin.  In spite of this fact, God has made full provision for believers to live in obedience to Him through identification with Messiah Yeshua, and reliance upon the Ruach HaKodesh’s power and our knowledge of the scriptures.  Our relationship with God, established by faith in Messiah Yeshua alone, is an irreversible bond in which all believers are eternally secure.

The Body of Messiah

The universal Body of Messiah is made up of all people, both Jews and Gentiles, who have been saved through faith in Yeshua, and who have been regenerated by the Spirit of God.  Membership in the universal Body is not based on membership or affiliation with any earthly organization.   At Salvation the Spirit of God sovereignly imparts at least one spiritual gift to every believer for the purpose of edifying, encouraging and equipping the Body of Messiah.  While these gifts are important they are not to be the focus of our life or faith.  Rather we are to seek to become spiritually mature men and women by growing in them through yielding to the Spirit in order to serve God properly.  The Body of Messiah recognizes two ordinances; Immersion (Baptism) and Yiskor (Communion).

Israel

God called a people to Himself who are the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This special people, Israel, was chosen by God to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests.  The election of Israel is irrevocable despite the rejection of Yeshua the Messiah by her national and religious leaders.  We further believe that the land of Israel has been given by God to the physical descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob forever. Jewish believers, however, have a unique identity as the spiritual remnant of physical Israel, a part of the universal Body of the Messiah (the Church).  Gentile believers also have an identity with Israel in the fact that they are engrafted into the root of Israel.  Through this engrafting they partake in the promises and blessings as outlined in the New Covenant, but this does not make them part of the physical people called Jews.  God has made unconditional covenants with Israel, including that of the New Covenant.  This covenant was given first to the nation of Israel (Jeremiah 31), and then it went to the uttermost parts of the world.  As a result, we believe that it is the believer’s duty and privilege to communicate the Good News of Yeshua the Messiah, to the Jewish people, in a bold yet sensitive manner.

Torah

We believe that God gave the Torah (the five books of Moses) for moral instruction and as a body of cultural/national practices, which would act as a tutor looking forward to Messiah’s work.  The Torah is valid as a reflection of God’s heart and righteous standard and has been used by God as a means of preserving a distinct national Israel.  Fulfillment by the work of Yeshua the Messiah does not imply the abrogation of the Torah; therefore, within the Body of Messiah, Jewish people can properly maintain their distinctive biblical and cultural identity.  These observances are not, nor ever were, means for justification or sanctification which are by faith alone.

The Last Things

We believe in the personal, premillenial and imminent return of Messiah Yeshua, and that this “blessed hope” has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer.  Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations. (Ex. 34:6-7)