We do Bible studies, discipleship, apologetics, and desire to create a community that can be a light to the student body that is genuine and goes past the surface level. Statement of Faith
Who is God?
- “The Lord God, the LORD is one.” We believe in God the Father who created all things through His Son Jesus Messiah and actively interacts in His creation through the Holy Spirit.
- We believe
in the communicable attributes of God, that He is: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness and truth, forgiving, just, faithful, good, etc. [Exodus 34:6-7]
- We believe in the incommunicable attributes of God, that He is: king of all, all powerful, all knowing, omnipresent, transcendent, present in all of creation while remaining distinct from it, perfect and does not change, eternal, etc. [Genesis 1:1-3, Psalms 139:1-6, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Psalm 139:7-12, Isaiah 55:8-9, Isaiah 57:15, Malachi 3:5-7, James 1:16-17, Revelations 1:8, Psalm 93:1-2]
- We believe that Jesus is the Messiah that was prophesied through the Scriptures to come. Scripture:
-The Bible, consisting of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, is the believer’s sole authority in all matters of faith and practice. The Gospel Message:
-We believe in the Biblical Gospel Message preached by Jesus and further expounded upon by the apostles after Jesus’s resurrection.
-Jesus: (Mark 1:14-15) …Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
-The apostle Paul: (1 Corinthians 5:3-4) “3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
A Word on the Gospel and Salvation:
Since the beginning, sin has enslaved human kind by its repercussions, separating us from a relationship with God [Isaiah 59:2], and making us legally guilty before the throne of God [Romans 3:23 & 6:23]. Throughout thousands of years, the Law and the Prophets spoke of a time when a Messiah would come to redeem and restore God’s people, Israel, and the entire world from the power of sin. By fulfilling many of these prophecies, Jesus proved to be the Messiah, and will complete the remainder of these prophecies at His second coming. Of these prophecies that were fulfilled, Isaiah 53 speaks specifically about the Messiah bearing the sin and iniquity of many unto the point of death. Jesus did exactly that: by dying on the cross, He carried the penalty of sin we all deserve. But to further defeat the power of death, Jesus rose from the dead three days later. Through this act of love, our legal stance before God can go from being guilty, to being justified in His sight. All we must do to be saved from the just wrath due unto us, is believe in His son Jesus. [John 3:16-17]
As seen in Acts 2:37-39, true belief is manifested through repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Spirit. Repentance means to do a 180 degree turn from our lifestyles of sin. Baptism gives us the opportunity to make an appeal to God by burying our former manner of life and rising from the water as a new creature [1Peter 3:21 & Romans 6:1-19]. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit acts through regenerating the believer [Titus 3:4-6], causing them to be born again as a child of God [John 1:12-13], and transforming their hearts through the New Covenant [Jeremiah 31:31-33]. As the believer looks towards God’s kingdom to be established on Earth, they grow in sanctification. Sanctification is the process of growing in holiness, which is manifested by following the example of the life of Jesus. With a mindset on eternal living, the believer strives to lay up eternal treasures in Heaven instead of merely living for the temporary lives we have. [Matthew 6:19-21, 2 Peter 3:10-15]
Before God’s future kingdom is established, Jesus will return to the Earth a second time, and Satan will be bound for 1,000 years. During this time, the first resurrection will happen. The righteous will be resurrected in a glorified state to reign with Christ for these 1,000 years. Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection, over these the second death has no power. After the 1,000 years, Satan will be released to deceive the nations but will be defeated and be thrown into a lake of fire. The dead will then be resurrected to come before the judgment seat of God where they will be judged according to their deeds. Anyone who’s name is not found in the book of life will eternally be destroyed by the lake of fire - this is the second death. [Revelations 20:1-21]
After these events, the Earth and Heavens will be made new. God’s Kingdom will be established and He will dwell with His people in a much different world. There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. What a hope the believer has! [Revelations 21-22]
The Jewish Roots of our Faith:
While we have much in common with our Christian brothers and sisters, we differ in our theological views of ecclesiology. Where much of mainstream Christianity preaches an idea that the church replaces Israel, we recognize that the Gentiles are now grafted in and are part of Israel. [Romans 11] While Gentiles are still not Jewish by flesh, they are now part of the household of God. They are “spiritual Israel”. But on the contrary, it has affected both Christian theology and Jewish perspective in a negative way. Over centuries, the Jewishness of Jesus has been removed to the point where most Jews have no idea that He is a Jew of the line of David. [Matthew 1] Jesus ate Biblically clean, walked out God’s Law perfectly, came for the lost sheep of Israel, and kept God’s appointed times (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, the Sabbath, etc). Jesus was a Jew. [Matthew 15:24, Luke 4:16, John 7:37-39]
In the light of this truth, we embrace the Jewish roots of our faith in striving to walk in the same manner that Jesus did. [1 John 2:3-6] As servants of the New Covenant, we strive to obey the Law of God and flee from a lifestyle of sin. Our justification is by faith alone, but as redeemed people we strive to carry out the Law of God written on our hearts.
“Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.” (Romans 3:31)
“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:31-33)
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)
