東灣三一華人教會 信仰聲明
1 三位一體的上帝
我們相信三位一體的上帝,祂永恆地以三個位格存在-父、子和聖靈-彼此具有相同的神性,在能力和榮耀上平等,具有相同的屬性和完美。
2 藉耶穌基督得救
耶穌是完全的神也是完全的人,在世上過著完美、無罪的生活,並在十字架上為我們的罪獻上自己。祂承受了上帝的憤怒,受死之後復活,然後升天成為上帝與人之間永恆的中保。雖然我們在信主時就得救了,但救恩是一個過程,我們可能會繼續失敗,但上帝是信實的,當我們認罪時,祂必赦免我們。
3 救恩是上帝至高恩典的結果
上帝以祂的慈愛和憐憫,藉著耶穌基督的死亡和復活使我們被稱義。當我們接受上帝的救恩時,我們被收納成為祂的兒女,與基督同作後嗣。我們要在上帝的恩典和我們不配得的恩惠中,喜樂的生活,深信我們不是靠自己的努力來賺取上帝的愛。
4 聖靈的位格、同在和工作
聖靈是三位一體中與父和子同等的第三位格。祂降臨在所有信徒的心中,使我們確信救恩,使我們知罪,並在我們的品格上產生越來越像基督的樣式。祂的同在對我們敬拜、服事和傳福音是必要的。我們相信耶穌基督的跟隨者心中都有聖靈。
5 我們信仰的核心在主耶穌基督裡
上帝以祂的愛和恩典向所有人賜下救恩;我們只需要悔改並相信耶穌的死亡和復活的救贖大能。當我們這樣做時,我們就被稱義並永遠得赦免,被收納進入上帝的家中,並得到永恆的救恩。信心來自聽見上帝的話語,使我們認識祂並過一個跟隨和效法我們的主的門徒生活。
6 聖經作為上帝無誤話語的權威
上帝在聖經中(新教正典66卷書)啟示了自己,這是祂藉著人類作者所默示的無誤話語。它是我們信仰、生活和教義的最高權威,我們要效法耶穌的榜樣去相信、宣講和活出這話語。聖靈賜給我們能力,使我們對聖經有真實的理解,並幫助我們越來越清楚地看見真理。
7 教會是基督的身體和新婦
我們是普世教會的一部分,與所有真正相信主耶穌的教會一同構成基督的新婦。在耶穌作為教會元首的主權下,我們聚集在一起作為地方教會的一份子,彼此委身並委身於我們的領袖,並要求我們的教會成員成為基督身體的活躍成員。
8 教會的兩個聖禮
我們相信基督為教會設立的兩個聖禮:洗禮和聖餐。聖禮是上帝在基督裡恩典的記號和印證。我們相信浸禮,但在特殊情況下,我們可以實行灑水禮。
9 婚姻是基督與教會聯合的象徵
男人和女人都是按照三位一體上帝的形像和樣式造的,婚姻制度是屬於一男一女之間。一男一女之間的婚姻象徵著基督與祂教會之間的聯合。
10 愛的生活方式
作為信徒群體,愛應該是我們的標誌。我們要領受上帝賜給我們的愛、表達我們對祂的愛,並活出向他人表達愛的生活方式。耶穌禱告祂的跟隨者要在愛中合一,我們要體現這種合一,支持我們家庭的每一位成員,我們要謙卑、寬恕並迅速為自己的錯誤道歉。
11 基督的再來
我們相信那有福的盼望,就是主耶穌基督將親自再次降臨。
12 永恆的歸宿
我們相信所有人都要身體復活:得救的人要進入永生,喜樂的活在我們的主面前;未得救的人要受審判和永遠的刑罰。
說明:本信仰聲明的原稿為英文,放在下面。若是中文翻譯與英文的原稿有不一致或是混淆之處,一律以英文原稿為準。
STATEMENT OF FAITH | EBTCC
1 The Triune God
We believe in the Triune God who eternally exists in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – of the same divine nature with one another, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.
2 Salvation through Jesus Christ
Jesus, as fully God and fully man, lived a blameless life on earth and sacrificed Himself for our sins on the cross. He bore the wrath of God, died, and was resurrected before ascending to heaven as the eternal mediator between God and man. Though we are saved when we come to faith, salvation is a process whereby we may continually fail but God is faithful to forgive us as we confess our sins.
3 Salvation as the result of God’s sovereign grace
In His love and mercy God offers us justification for our sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we accept God’s salvation we are adopted into His family and become joint heirs with Christ. We want to live rejoicing in God’s grace and His unmerited favor towards us, with the conviction that we do not earn God’s love by our own efforts.
4 The person, presence and work of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity with the Father and the Son. He lives in all believers giving us an assurance of our salvation, convicting us of sin, and producing an increasing likeness to Christ in our characters. His presence is essential for us to worship, serve, minister and evangelize. We believe in followers of Jesus being filled with the Spirit.
5 The centrality of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
In His love and grace God offers salvation to all; we need only repent and believe in the saving power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. When we do this we are justified and acquitted forever, adopted into God’s family and are assured of eternal salvation. Faith comes from hearing of God’s Word that allows us to know Him and to live a life of discipleship following and imitating our Lord.
6 The authority of the Bible as God’s infallible word
God has revealed himself in the Bible (the Protestant Canon of 66 books) and it is His infallible Word given by the inspiration of God through human authors. It is our supreme authority for faith, life and doctrine and we want to follow Jesus’ example to believe, speak and live the Word. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to have a true understanding of the Scriptures and He helps us to see truth increasingly clearly.
7 The Church is the body and the bride of Christ
We are part of the Universal Church and together with all who truly believe in the Lord Jesus we make up the Bride of Christ. We gather as a local church committed to one another and to our leaders under the Lordship of Jesus as Head of the Church, and ask our church family to be active members of the body of Christ.
8 The two sacraments of the Church
We believe in the two sacraments instituted by Christ for the Church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. A sacrament is the sign and seal of God’s grace in Christ. We believe in baptism by immersion but in exceptional cases, we may practice baptism by sprinkling of water.
9 Marriage is a symbol of the union between Christ and His Church
Men and women are made in the image and likeness of the Triune God, to reflect His harmonious inter-personal relationships and interdependence. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Marriage between a man and a woman is symbolic of the union between Christ and His Church.
10 A lifestyle of love
As a community of believers, love should be our hallmark. We want to receive the love of God that is given to us, express our love for Him, and live a lifestyle of love towards other people. Jesus prayed that His followers would be united in love and we want to embody that, supporting each member of our family and being humble, forgiving and quick to apologize for our own mistakes.
11 The second coming of Christ
We believe in that Blessed Hope, the personal, imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
12 The eternal state
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men: the saved to eternal life and joy in the presence of our Lord, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.