Articles of Faith

1. We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe that God is all knowing, all-powerful, ever present, and changeless; and that He is holy, righteous, faithful, merciful and loving.
   (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11; 48:16)

2. We believe that God the Father is all the fullness of the Godhead in Spirit. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of mankind, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through faith in the Messiah.
   (Exodus 4:22; Matthew 3:17; John 1:12, 3:16; 8:24, 58; Galatians 3:26)

3. We believe that the Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus, see note), is the eternal and only begotten Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a Jewish virgin, Mary (Miriam, see note). He was sinless in His life and He made atonement for the sins of the world by his sacrifice through the shedding of His blood unto death. We believe in His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His high priestly work in Heaven for us, and His visible pre-millenial return to the world and ruling over it from Jerusalem according to His promises.
   (Leviticus 17:11; Psalm 22:16; 110:4; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10; Mark 10:45; Romans 3:24-26, 5:8-9; 2 Corinthians 5:14, 21; 1 Peter 3:18; Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Micah 5:2; John 1:1, 8:58; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:2-3; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Hebrews 7:1-25, 8:1; 1 John 2:1)

4. We believe the Holy Spirit is a person of the Godhead; and as such, He possesses all the distinct attributes of Deity. He is ever present to glorify and testify of the Messiah. We believe that according to the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit permanently indwells regenerates, and seals the believer. We believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit happens at the moment of salvation, and is given freely and equally to all believers; that He empowers us, imparting at least one spiritual gift to each believer according to His will, for the purpose of edifying and equipping the Body of Messiah; that He guides, teaches, sanctifies, and fills believers, and convicts the world of sin. Believers should therefore seek to identify, develop and utilize their God-given gifts for service for the Lord and the Body of the Messiah.
   (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 139:7-8; Nehemiah 9:20; 1 John 3:24; 1 John 5:6;John 14:16-17; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, 12:4-31; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30)

5. We believe that the Holy Bible, 66 books of the Old Covenant and New Covenant together, is God’s completed Word; that it was written exactly as instructed by Him, by divinely inspired men, without error in the original languages and texts; that it is the supreme, infallible authority in all matters of faith and conduct; that it is true in all that it affirms; and that it is the written expression of the Messiah himself who was the Word become flesh.
   (Proverbs 30:5-6; Isaiah 40:7-8; Jeremiah 31:31; Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; John 1:1-5)

6. We believe that all of humanity was created in the image of God. We believe that because of the original sin, all persons are by nature and choice sinful and alienated from God. Mankind has no possible means of reconciling itself to God apart from faith in the Messiah and if anyone remains persistent in the sinful state of unbelief, denying the Messiah unto death, that person is justly condemned by God to eternal punishment.
   (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:17, 3:6; Isaiah 53:6, 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 7:20-23; John 2:24-25; Romans 5:12-15; Ephesians 2:1-3)

7. We believe that man is reconciled to God, being justified by grace through faith in the atoning work of the Messiah. Being reconciled, man has peace with God and direct access to Him through the Messiah and has the hope of eternal glory in Heaven with God. Further, there is no way of salvation apart from faith in the Messiah, Jesus, for any person, Jewish or Gentile.
   (Genesis 15:6; Habakkuk 2:4; John 1:12-13; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:28; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Timothy 2:5: Titus 3:5)

8. We believe that all who have truly trusted in Jesus are kept eternally secure by the power of God through the new birth, the indwelling and sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the intercession of Messiah for us with God.
   (John 10:28-30, 14:16-17; Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 4:30; 1 John 2:1; 1Peter 1:23)

9. We believe that all who have trusted in Jesus, though forgiven, still have to contend with the power of sin in this life. Each believer has the ability to choose sin or righteousness. God has made full provision for believers to live in obedience to Him through the complete atonement of Messiah and the indwelling of the Spirit of God.
   (John 17:17-19; Romans 6:1-11, 7:15-25, 8:11-13; 1 John 1:8-2:2)

10. We believe the Congregation is a living, spiritual body, of which Messiah is the head and all true believers are members. The body of Messiah began at Pentecost when believers were filled with the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Messiah. It will be completed when the Messiah returns for His bride. The body of Messiah is distinct from Israel and is composed of both Jewish and non-Jewish (Gentile) believers made into one new man by faith in Messiah.
    (Matthew 16:18; Acts 1:5, 2:14-38; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 2:11-15, 5:23-27; Colossians 1:18-20, 3:14-15)

11. We believe that the local congregation is an organized body of believers in Messiah who have been through water baptism by immersion upon confession of faith and who associate for worship, fellowship, teaching, and service. We believe the local congregation is governed by its members through the Elders and is not ruled by any outside political authority. Its purpose is to glorify God through worship, instruction, accountability, discipline, fellowship and outreach
    (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 4:11-13; Hebrews 10:19-25). We believe Messiah commands the Lord’s Supper and the believer’s baptism by immersion for identification by the Congregation with His death, burial and resurrection. (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians. 11:23-26)

12. We believe that Satan is the chief enemy of God and our souls, and that while he continues to rule this present world, Messiah’s atoning death and resurrection have defeated him. Satan will suffer eternal punishment by being cast into the lake of fire after the Messiah’s one thousand year Messianic reign (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-3; Colossians 2:15; Revelation 20:10). Satan is the father of lies and anti-Semitism and hostility toward Israel. Believers can and should resist him and his demons by faith, applying Spiritual truth. We believe that though believers cannot be demon possessed, they can be demon oppressed
    (Genesis 3:1-19; Luke 10:18; John 8:44; Ephesians 6:10-19; James 4:7-8; 1 Peter 5:8-9; Revelation 12:13)

13. We believe the people of Israel, comprised of the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are chosen by God. The Abrahamic Covenant expressed God’s choice of Israel and His irrevocable, unconditional covenant to the Jewish people. Jewish believers have a unique two-fold identity as both the spiritual remnant of physical Israel and as members of the body of Messiah. Non-Jewish believers become adopted sons and daughters of Abraham and partakers of the spiritual blessings of Israel and are therefore grafted into the Jewish olive tree for service. We believe that it is the believer’s duty and privilege to communicate the Good News of Yeshua, the Messiah to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles, according to the Scriptures, in a clear yet sensitive way. It is also the believer’s duty to support the God given rights of Israel to the land while opposing anti-Semitism according to the provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant. We believe God has a special purpose and role for the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. We believe in the full physical and spiritual restoration of Israel at the Second Coming of the Messiah as proclaimed in the Scriptures.
    (Genesis 12:1-3; 17:7-8, 26:3-4, 28:13-15; Exodus 19:6; Amos 3:2; 9:8;Zechariah 12:10; 14:2-4; Matthew 23:39; John 4:22; Acts 3:19-21, 13:46;Romans 1:16, 9:3-5; 10:1-5; 11:2-5, 23-26, 28-29; Ephesians 2:14-19)

    Note: The name of Jesus, is the current translation of the Greek name I esous after evolving through Latin, then German and eventually into English. (In much the same fashion, the proper Hebrew name for His mother, Miriam, has been translated into the English name of Mary.) According to Strong’s concordance and the original Greek texts, In Matthew 1:21, his name was commanded by the angel to be I esous or Jehoshua. These are Greek renderings of the Hebrew names Yeshua and Yahoshua respectively. The proper Hebrew name Yeshua means “Salvation”. The proper Hebrew name Yahoshua, meaning “Lord who is salvation”, is also commonly rendered Yeshua in its shortened form, much like Bill is the shortened form of William. Miriam or Mary, His mother, would have normally spoken Aramaic, the common language of that day, and possibly some Hebrew but not Greek. Whether His mother and others around Him addressed Him in Aramaic or Hebrew, they would have called Him Yeshua. (“yeh- shoo-ah”) Whatever we may prefer to call Him, it is sure that we must call on Him and respond when He calls on us!