We Believe

Many churches publish a statement of beliefs. We do the same although ours is a work in progress. We have included our original statement from 2009 for comparison. Some of these beliefs will sound familiar to Christians, but many are quite different, not as variations, but as completely new revelation. Much has been added to our understanding since the original was published.

These statements are brief summaries of what God has been teaching us over the past 4-5 years.

 

Original statement here http://churchofthereformation.wordpress.com/we-believe…/

We believe there is one God who reveals Himself in three distinct personalities. The Father – who purposefully created every human being who has ever lived and is our literal Father. The Son – by whom all other things were created, who is the Word, and who became a human to reconcile us to God and break the link between sin and death. The Holy Spirit – who is eternal life and lives in every Christian, who comforts and aids us every day if we let Him.

We believe every word of scripture is inspired by God and that a thorough understanding of the totality of Scripture is required as a foundation and check against deception. It is not the churches responsibility to teach you scripture – it is your responsibility to know it. Truth comes as a unified whole not in isolated pieces from which you get to choose.

We believe the canon of scripture is closed. The Bible is complete. Nevertheless, God continues to speak and these words are just as important as His written ones. It is also your responsibility to prove who speaks for Him and who does not.

We believe God is doing something new, just as astounding, just as momentous, and just as heretical to the religious establishment as anything done in the first century.

We believe in reformation. Reformation is a change in the way God interacts with His creation. There are seven reformations in God’s plan of restoration. We are now beginning the sixth. Previous reformations were expulsion from the garden, the flood, division of nations, exodus, and Christ’s introduction of the new covenant.

We believe God’s purpose in creation is to create a suitable companion for Himself, based on the simple motivation that He is lonely. Satan wants this position for himself because he believes humans are inferior and unsuitable. Satan’s tactic is to demonstrate to God humanity’s failure and get Him to give up.

We believe in the gifts of the Spirit – all of them. They are part of a normal spiritual life and should be neither over emphasized or ignored. Tongues should only be spoken in church if there is interpretation.

We believe death means dead, not separation from God in eternal torment. All men die once – this is a physical death. If there is a second spiritual death it is permanent. We also believe everyone will have an opportunity to avoid this second death, even those who have died without any knowledge of how to do so.

We believe all deception is ultimately based on the great lie “you will not surely die”. Deception is any combination of truth and error. Whether it is 99% truth or 99% error it is still deception. Pure truth cannot be found by trying to separate truth from error, only by going directly to God.

We believe the church is a body of believers, not a collection of individuals. It is a spiritual community, not buildings or physical organizations. The head of the church is Jesus Christ. There is no supreme human authority, however there may be a chief executive for administrative or legal reasons. That individual has no spiritual authority beyond any ministerial office they hold.

We believe the bride will be separate from the church. All parts of the bride will be Christians, but all Christians are not the bride; they are different bodies. Church of the Reformation is a transitional organization and will probably not exist throughout the sixth age, but the bride will continue on into eternity.

We believe in truth. Truth is spiritual reality. It is not what we decide, believe, or wish it to be – it is what is. Truth is entirely a spiritual matter, There is no such thing as physical truth, only physical facts. Likewise, time is entirely physical. There is no time in the spirit.

We believe in God’s instruction to the fifth (church) age to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. These are not separate functions but all essential parts of the same message. In the sixth age the selection and preparation of the bride is added to that gospel. The focus changes but the old message is not abandoned.

We believe in the restoration of being. Being is what God created as your fundamental identity. This being has been neglected, distorted and hidden, but can be restored so that you can fulfill your purpose in God’s creation.

We believe that marriage is the best, though still inadequate, representation of the relationship God desires to have with us. God created marriage before He created humans, and yet those created presume to trivialize, pollute, and redefine what marriage is. We believe God will forcefully correct this arrogance.

We believe there is hope because there is a God. When everything falls apart, every plan fails, all institutions crumble and there is only despair and death, there will still be God, still be repentance, and still be eternal life.

We believe in the ultimate goodness of God. Even though His intervention and judgment of the world will be catastrophic, it is still done in love for our ultimate deliverance from the second death. God continues to offer salvation even in the midst of judgment.