My Christian Beliefs
WHAT I BELIEVE
I believe that Yahshua (Jesus Christ) is the eternal, self-existent God and is not a created being, but that God took it upon Himself to become man:
I & my church congregation (Passion For Truth Ministries) believe that:
God (Yahweh) is the one true God over all creation and always has been (Deut 6:4).
He created the universe in six literal days through His Word (John 1:3) which later would be revealed as His Son, Yeshua. "Yeshua" is the Messiah's Hebrew name, which means "salvation". Jesus is the transliteration of Yeshua into the Greek "Ieosus" and then into the English "Jesus". The word "Jesus" is not an English equivalent to "Yeshua", but an English transliteration of each Greek letter of "Ieosus". "Yeshua" is the Hebrew name for "Joshua" in English. On a side note: This is why Moses could not lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Joshua had to be the one leading them because he was the prototype of the true "Joshua" who would lead His people at the end of time into the true Promised Land. It was a hint to the name of the coming Messiah.
From Creation to Mt Sinai, the people of the earth were offending Him so much through their sins (all the laws and instructions that He gave them orally), that He sent them His instructions (His Law) in written form for the purpose of helping them clearly understand the difference between right and wrong and to create patterns in their life that would bring blessings and connection with Him.(Gal 3:19).
The sacrificial system was created for the purpose of temporarily averting God's wrath away from His people and their sin as well as a prophetic symbol for what the coming Messiah would complete (Heb 9:1-9)
The “Word” that God spoke in Genesis to create the universe was the same Word that was sent in John 1:1 to become flesh. This “Word” that dwelt among us would be called “Yeshua”.
I believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament, the Son of God, creator of Heaven and earth and sent by His Father for the purpose of standing in the gap for Adam, and thus all mankind (1 Cor 15:22). Yeshua is divine in origin and is YHVH (Is 44:6, Rev 22:13)
In order to be saved one must first understand that he has broken God's perfect law and is condemned because of his sin to eternal destruction away from the presence of almighty God (Duet 11:28, Rom 6:23). He must then accept the blood of Yeshua/Jesus over the door posts of his heart and believe that outside the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua there is no other way for salvation.
At the point of conversion it is the responsibility of the believer to submit himself to the teachings of his new “Rabbi Yeshua”, be baptized (immersed) into His name and follow Him all the days of His life (Luke 9:23, 1 Cor 9:24).
We (meaning myself and the congregation I attend) believe this is best done by surrounding oneself with a community of believers that have the same passion ~ to be more like Him daily. Being in a local community of believers is critical for spiritual growth, accountability and the maturity of the spiritual gifts within the body.
What God destroyed on the cross was the penalty that the Law of God demanded as payment for the breaking of it, and that we are no longer under the law of sin and death but are under grace as Paul says in Romans 6:14. The Law of God was never abolished just because faith in Christ came as Paul so boldly declares in Romans 3:31 “Do we nullify God's Law because of faith? May it never be. As a matter of fact, we establish God's Law.”
What was destroyed at the cross, in fact, was the power of sin and the penalty thereof over all of mankind. And what was changed and “done away with” was the priestly system of sacrifices by mere men because of the perfect sacrifice by our true High Priest and King Messiah (Heb. 9-11). I John 3:4 says that "Sin is the transgression of the Law". Therefore, if we get rid of God's Holy Law, then we are removing the only definition of sin found in the Bible. If there is no Law (instructions), then there is no sin. If there is no sin, there can be no curse. If there is no curse, then there is no need for the blood of our Savior.
I believe that believers today are to live their lives exactly the way the first century believers lived: They kept the Torah as best as they could through the Spirit of Yeshua Messiah. They refused to allow the traditions and doctrines of men to trump or put aside the instructions of God. We believe the Apostle Paul has been grossly misunderstood on this issue and all of his writings can be understood as supporting the Torah when read without the denominational, antinomian bias, but instead through the original Hebraic perspective in which he wrote them. For a very in-depth and verse by verse understanding of this, I encourage you to watch the teachings on Romans, Galatians, Hebrews and The Great Church Audit series as well as the many articles that are found in the FAQ section of http://www.PassionForTruth.com.
Although we firmly believe that the Torah is very much alive for us today, because we are in the Dispersion, it is not physically possible to keep a large portion of the Law until the Messiah comes back. We believe in honoring the Father by keeping His commandments in the best way that we can for today. I John tells us that there is no other way to prove that we love God, then to keep His commandments. So, we do so being led by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) as we seek to love one another in His grace.
We DO NOT believe that keeping the Torah is required for salvation, but is only a living proof that we love Him (I John 5:2-3)
Through His death, Yeshua took over the High priesthood and because of His perfect blood sacrifice, His Father would be forever satisfied and man would always now have the ability to come into the presence of Almighty Yahweh (Heb 9:11-12) through the blood of the lamb.
Someday, our Messiah will come back to earth to redeem all those that are His, that have been grafted into the commonwealth of Israel (Rom 11, Eph 2). Then He will reign from the New Jerusalem for 1000 years (1 Thes 3:13, Rev 20:4).
After that period, God will raise up the rest of the dead and the entire earth will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:5). All those that do not have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and God's enemies will be no more (Rev 20:11-12).
Until then, we are to remain faithful to the work in which He has called us, which is to “Love the Lord God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).
We do this by studying His Word and obeying His commandments and instructions as the Spirit teaches us in our individual journeys (1 John 2:3-4).
I fully believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God give to us by God for our "correction, reproof, and instruction in righteousness" (2Timothy 3:16) and that it reveals the one, true and almighty God.
I believe that Yahshua (Jesus Christ) is the eternal, self-existent God and is not a created being, but that God took it upon Himself to become man:
John 1:1-5: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 14:8-9: 8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
I & my church congregation (Passion For Truth Ministries) believe that:
God (Yahweh) is the one true God over all creation and always has been (Deut 6:4).
He created the universe in six literal days through His Word (John 1:3) which later would be revealed as His Son, Yeshua. "Yeshua" is the Messiah's Hebrew name, which means "salvation". Jesus is the transliteration of Yeshua into the Greek "Ieosus" and then into the English "Jesus". The word "Jesus" is not an English equivalent to "Yeshua", but an English transliteration of each Greek letter of "Ieosus". "Yeshua" is the Hebrew name for "Joshua" in English. On a side note: This is why Moses could not lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Joshua had to be the one leading them because he was the prototype of the true "Joshua" who would lead His people at the end of time into the true Promised Land. It was a hint to the name of the coming Messiah.
From Creation to Mt Sinai, the people of the earth were offending Him so much through their sins (all the laws and instructions that He gave them orally), that He sent them His instructions (His Law) in written form for the purpose of helping them clearly understand the difference between right and wrong and to create patterns in their life that would bring blessings and connection with Him.(Gal 3:19).
The sacrificial system was created for the purpose of temporarily averting God's wrath away from His people and their sin as well as a prophetic symbol for what the coming Messiah would complete (Heb 9:1-9)
The “Word” that God spoke in Genesis to create the universe was the same Word that was sent in John 1:1 to become flesh. This “Word” that dwelt among us would be called “Yeshua”.
I believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament, the Son of God, creator of Heaven and earth and sent by His Father for the purpose of standing in the gap for Adam, and thus all mankind (1 Cor 15:22). Yeshua is divine in origin and is YHVH (Is 44:6, Rev 22:13)
In order to be saved one must first understand that he has broken God's perfect law and is condemned because of his sin to eternal destruction away from the presence of almighty God (Duet 11:28, Rom 6:23). He must then accept the blood of Yeshua/Jesus over the door posts of his heart and believe that outside the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua there is no other way for salvation.
At the point of conversion it is the responsibility of the believer to submit himself to the teachings of his new “Rabbi Yeshua”, be baptized (immersed) into His name and follow Him all the days of His life (Luke 9:23, 1 Cor 9:24).
We (meaning myself and the congregation I attend) believe this is best done by surrounding oneself with a community of believers that have the same passion ~ to be more like Him daily. Being in a local community of believers is critical for spiritual growth, accountability and the maturity of the spiritual gifts within the body.
What God destroyed on the cross was the penalty that the Law of God demanded as payment for the breaking of it, and that we are no longer under the law of sin and death but are under grace as Paul says in Romans 6:14. The Law of God was never abolished just because faith in Christ came as Paul so boldly declares in Romans 3:31 “Do we nullify God's Law because of faith? May it never be. As a matter of fact, we establish God's Law.”
What was destroyed at the cross, in fact, was the power of sin and the penalty thereof over all of mankind. And what was changed and “done away with” was the priestly system of sacrifices by mere men because of the perfect sacrifice by our true High Priest and King Messiah (Heb. 9-11). I John 3:4 says that "Sin is the transgression of the Law". Therefore, if we get rid of God's Holy Law, then we are removing the only definition of sin found in the Bible. If there is no Law (instructions), then there is no sin. If there is no sin, there can be no curse. If there is no curse, then there is no need for the blood of our Savior.
I believe that believers today are to live their lives exactly the way the first century believers lived: They kept the Torah as best as they could through the Spirit of Yeshua Messiah. They refused to allow the traditions and doctrines of men to trump or put aside the instructions of God. We believe the Apostle Paul has been grossly misunderstood on this issue and all of his writings can be understood as supporting the Torah when read without the denominational, antinomian bias, but instead through the original Hebraic perspective in which he wrote them. For a very in-depth and verse by verse understanding of this, I encourage you to watch the teachings on Romans, Galatians, Hebrews and The Great Church Audit series as well as the many articles that are found in the FAQ section of http://www.PassionForTruth.com.
Although we firmly believe that the Torah is very much alive for us today, because we are in the Dispersion, it is not physically possible to keep a large portion of the Law until the Messiah comes back. We believe in honoring the Father by keeping His commandments in the best way that we can for today. I John tells us that there is no other way to prove that we love God, then to keep His commandments. So, we do so being led by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) as we seek to love one another in His grace.
We DO NOT believe that keeping the Torah is required for salvation, but is only a living proof that we love Him (I John 5:2-3)
Through His death, Yeshua took over the High priesthood and because of His perfect blood sacrifice, His Father would be forever satisfied and man would always now have the ability to come into the presence of Almighty Yahweh (Heb 9:11-12) through the blood of the lamb.
Someday, our Messiah will come back to earth to redeem all those that are His, that have been grafted into the commonwealth of Israel (Rom 11, Eph 2). Then He will reign from the New Jerusalem for 1000 years (1 Thes 3:13, Rev 20:4).
After that period, God will raise up the rest of the dead and the entire earth will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:5). All those that do not have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and God's enemies will be no more (Rev 20:11-12).
Until then, we are to remain faithful to the work in which He has called us, which is to “Love the Lord God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).
We do this by studying His Word and obeying His commandments and instructions as the Spirit teaches us in our individual journeys (1 John 2:3-4).
