Home | About | Subscriptions | Contact us | Search
New this month | Back issues | Other publications | Other sites
Back to Special Issue contents

Appendix

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF OUR FAITH

– A Summary

IN THIS Special Issue we have set out to emphasise the distinctive or unique features of the true faith when compared with the current ideas held in the world, especially ‘Christian’ religious ideas. Sometimes these distinctions are neglected or played down. The full articles cover most of the more striking distinctions to be made either as their main or as a sub-theme. In this summary we cover a wider range of themes, of necessity restricting ourselves to a very few words on each. In line with remarks in the opening editorial, there is no intention to define a complete list of fundamental or essential truth. Rather, by pointing out distinctions, the need for our separate existence as the body of Christ is displayed, and the importance for individuals to associate themselves with “the faith once delivered” and to “contend earnestly” for it follows.(Footnote 1)

Basic facts

1. The Bible is fully inspired and reliable. It is to be interpreted in its natural sense, except where it indicates otherwise, and by comparison with other scripture. The Old Testament is not second-class scripture, but is necessary to understand the New.

2. Man is a mortal being, made of the dust. His life is the power which keeps him in being, in common with any animal. When he dies he dissolves into dust and ceases to exist in a conscious state. Hell to which man goes when he dies is simply the grave. The soul refers to a man’s personality and dies when the man dies.

3. God is One, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, located in unapproachable light. He is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

4. Jesus Christ came into being as the Son of God through the action of the Holy Spirit upon the virgin Mary, by which he was born a man. He had no previous personal and conscious existence.

5. By a sinless life, by death and resurrection, Christ has overcome the defects of our nature brought about through Adam’s sin, and so opened a way for other men to become reconciled to God, to overcome death and to achieve immortality.

6. God is everywhere present in His creation by His Spirit, or power. The Holy Spirit is this same power when directed to the manifestation of God’s glorious character. It is not a separate personality or person from the Father.

7. Angels are corporeal beings incorruptible in nature, which serve God as they are sent about His business.

8. The devil is sin, considered both abstractly and as concrete manifestation in man, whether individually or in human organisation.

The future

9. Immortality as a future hope for man means a deathless but bodily existence. For those who have died it requires their resurrection from the dead. And for all it requires a change from their mortal nature. Immortality is not a natural state for man, but conditional upon fulfilling requirements God has laid down (see below).

10. Christ will literally and bodily return to the earth when:

(a) he will raise the responsible dead, both just and unjust, in order to judge their deeds, and, passing sentence, either give immortality to the just or the final and eternal obliteration of the second death to the unjust;

(b) he will exercise perfect rule in the Kingdom of God over the mortal nations of the earth, who will be governed personally and visibly by him in all their affairs to the glory of God.

11. The earth is destined to be filled with God’s glory and to be the inheritance of the saints. The resurrected and immortalised saints will be given honour and responsibility in ruling for Christ in his Kingdom.

12. The hope of Israel provides the basis for the salvation of man and the future of the earth. It is the fulfilment of the promises to Abraham and the covenant with David, which require the return of the “seed of Abraham” as king to reign upon David’s throne, and to re-establish the Israelitish Kingdom of God upon earth for a thousand years. Jerusalem will be the centre of his rule, which will break all human opposition and extend over the whole earth to the rejoicing of all nations. The return of the Jews to their land to be a blessing there, as yet incomplete, is part of this Divine purpose and an element of the gospel of the Kingdom. At the end of the thousand years, when all enemies are subdued by Christ, he will deliver the Kingdom to the Father.

13. Study of Bible prophecy, of Israel in particular, is valuable in relation to the signs of the times and world events leading up to Christ’s return, and is indicative of our desire for his return and a willingness to prepare ourselves.

Laying hold upon the hope

14. Salvation is dependent upon belief in the gospel (faith) and obedience to it and the commandments of Christ (works of faith). Scriptural warnings of apostasy are to be taken seriously in these days, as much as in the days of the apostles when they were first given.

15. The purpose of baptism is to unite the believer to the name of Christ. The mode is by immersion in water. Through baptism his sins are forgiven, and in a new life he may work out his salvation “by patient continuance in well doing”. Christ intercedes for those baptised into him when they confess and forsake their sins. He is not a priest on behalf of others.

16. Ignorance of God alienates us from eternal life. Knowledge of the gospel brings opportunity of life, but at the same time it increases our responsibility for obedience.

17. The body of Christ is formed from men and women having a common belief in the teaching of the Bible and a common practice of the commandments of Christ, by which the body maintains a separation from the world. It is not formed nor run on the basis of human tradition or organisational directives. A clergy/laity distinction is inappropriate since Divine gifts of authority are not present today.(Footnote 2)

A contrast

The distinctive teaching of the Bible needs to be maintained in contrast to teaching by the churches, of which the following is typical:(Footnote 3)

The Trinity.

The pre-existence of Christ. The Holy Spirit a person.

The devil, a supernatural fallen angel, is the source of moral and physical evil.

The human soul is immortal and conscious in death.

Hell is a place of torment for the wicked.

Heaven is the destined home of the righteous.

The earth is to be burnt up.

The Kingdom of God means the Church.

Christ died as a substitute for man.

All (or almost all) men will eventually be saved.

The Holy Spirit operates directly upon a person’s mind to reveal the Bible’s meaning and bring about belief.

Baptism is optional and normally applied by sprinkling or pouring on infants.

The Bible is not the only true authority for today, but spiritual leaders or governing bodies have the final authority.

Conclusions

It may seem obvious to us that what we believe and what we do matters for salvation. This is certainly clear from the teaching of the Scriptures, of which a sample can be found in 1 Thessalonians 2:4,13; Hebrews 3:12-15; 4:2,6,12 and Galatians 1:1-12. However, there is always the danger that our realisation will slowly cloud, and we should remind ourselves continually. This is the fundamental point behind this list of distinctions and of the Special Issue as a whole,

A widely commended and frequently held view in churches such as the Anglican communion is that, though individuals and groups are perfectly at liberty to hold strong and definite personal views, whether progressive or conservative, they are to be classed as extremist if they challenge or confront the majority opinion in a divisive way. They may present, discuss and promote minority views with considerable vigour and still he classed as respectable, as long as they wait for the general body of the church to catch up with them in its own time. In this way the church maintains an association of convenience, allows a multitude of diverse opinions to be accommodated and provides a form of social rather than spiritual fellowship. Those who obey the rules are classed as charitable.

When analysed through the Scriptures this whole approach is seen to be a human one. In a changing and developing sequence it follows and is fired by human opinion and those who form it, and is regulated by the current majority thinking. Lip service may be paid to Divine teaching from the Scriptures, though care is taken to qualify its application by permitting other sources of ‘truth’ on at least an equal footing. Sometimes Christadelphians are not without a modicum of the same train of thought, though not usually expressing it so clearly.

The importance of our distinctive beliefs lies in their implications for the honour of God, their effect upon our attitudes and character, and their relationship to our own salvation. The place of God-manifestation among them lies in the way it weaves together the fabric of our faith. It pulls together our understanding of the various distinctive beliefs and teachings of the Truth, because through God-manifestation they are seen to emanate from the Spirit of God as opposed to the thoughts, opinions and actions of man. From the latter we need to separate ourselves, that at Christ’s return we might be encompassed in the Divine glory through Christ.

Stephen Green

FOOTNOTES

1. In its heyday one of the objectives of the book Christendom Astray was to point out the distinctive teaching of the Bible in contrast to the ideas of Christendom. All present-day Christadelphians are in some measure indebted to that book, either directly or indirectly. for their separation from the world. Although Christendom’s ideas have since broadened, in preparing the list of distinctive teachings listed here the summary of contrasts at the end of older editions of that book has proved helpful.

2. All these seventeen distinctive aspects of our faith are supported by numerous Scriptures. and readers are referred to A Declaration of the Truth Revealed in the Bible as Distinguishable from the Theology of Christendom for details.

3. A more extended list of false teachings can be found in “Doctrines to be rejected” at the back of the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith.

First Article in this Issue

Home | About | Subscriptions | Contact us | Search
New this month | Back issues | Other publications | Other sites
Back to Special Issue contents