Christian Education
Transcript: 1. Bible. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God; without error as originally written. Its content has been preserved by Him, and is the final authority in all matters of doctrine and faith-above all human authority. 2. God. We believe there is no God but one: the infinite Designer, Creator, and Sustainer of all existence in this or any universe from eternity past to eternity future. God’s nature is triune-three perfect and eternal persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are one, in being as well as in purpose. 3. Law. We believe God is the source of all moral and natural law. The highest and all-encompassing law, given to man, is to love the one true God above all else. 4. Man. We believe that man is a created, finite being; designed in the image of God, with the ability to reason, make choices, and have relationships. Man was created for the purpose of bringing glory to God, but since the day man first rebelled against God’s law, all mankind has been sinful by nature, and has earned the penalty of death and eternal separation from God. The term Evangelicalism is a wide-reaching definitional "canopy" that covers a diverse number of Protestant groups. The term originates in the Greek word evangelion, meaning "the good news" or more commonly, the gospel. During the Reformation, Martin Luther adapted the term, dubbing his breakaway movement the evangelische kirke or "evangelical church“. A name still generally applied to the Lutheran Church in Germany. In the English-speaking world, however, the modern usage usually connotes the religious movements and denominations which sprung forth from a series of revivals that swept the North Atlantic Anglo-American world in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Evangelicalism Beliefs Summary History/Origin 5. Jesus. We believe that God, the Son, entered the world as a man to die on the cross on our behalf; a sinless sacrifice in full payment of all our sin-both past and future-satisfying the demand of God’s perfect justice. Jesus rose from the grave; authenticating His divine identity, as our living Prophet, Priest, and King. 6. Forgiveness. Based upon the penalty paid at the cross, we believe that the forgiveness of sins is granted by grace alone to those who will receive it by faith alone. It must be received as an utterly undeserved gift or it cannot be received at all; because all the credit and glory are Christ’s alone. 7. Repentance. We turn (repent) from self-reliance for our salvation, to trusting alone in the completed work of Jesus upon the cross to purchase the perfect pardon of all our sin, forever. 8. Works. We believe in doing good works in grateful response to our pardon, not to cause it. From our faith, acts of response will flow such as: obedience, compassion, baptism, communion, prayer, etc. 9. Inheritance. As believers, we are Christ’s true church, and have consequently received many other spiritual blessings, including: reconciliation and friendship with a Holy God, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, adoption as children of God into His family, and eternal life now and in His kingdom. 10. Deception. We also acknowledge the existence of the great counterfeiter of prophecy, miracles, emotions, and feelings: Satan. Therefore, we take seriously God’s command to test all these things according to scripture. The Evangelical movement began in the 1730s in the UK as a massive revival of religion through which the whole of British life was impacted and many hundreds of thousands of people came to Christ from nominal membership of the churches, especially the Anglican Church (alongside the Anglican Church even then there were the Catholics, and the 'Free Churches' founded after the Reformation in the late 1600s and early 1700s - mainly the Baptists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Quakers). The Revival movement lasted fifty years until the end of the eighteenth century and spread to America where it was welcomed by similar leaders who had already experienced something similar (notably Jonathan Edwards, who in turn influenced British thinking). It became hugely influential on American life. Evangelical views on the Bible actually tolerate quite a wide range of hermeneutical practice far more than evangelicals used to think. For instance, in the olden days if a scholar was an evangelical with a high view of scripture then you could guess where he/she would come down on various historical-critical issues (e.g., Moses wrote most of the Pentateuch, Isaiah wrote Isaiah, biblical histories are historically accurate). Evangelicalism, or the Evangelical Movement, represents a potent force in modern “Christendom”. A full third of those who would profess Christ in the world fall under the Evangelical umbrella, and most such persons live outside of North America and Europe. As described below, it is often difficult to pin down a specific definition of evangelicalism, but in general, evangelicalism represents a loosely confederated movement of