MESSIANIC CONGREGATION - FAITH STATEMENT

Authority of Scripture
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the Tanakh (Holy Scriptures) and the later writings commonly known as the B'rit Hadashah (Renewed Covenant, also commonly referred to as the New Testament), is the only infallible and authoritative word of God. We recognize its divine inspiration and accept its teachings as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice We believe the Shema, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one,” teaches that God is echad, as so declared: a united composite unity, eternally existent in plural oneness. We believe that He is a personal God who created us, and that He exists forever in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

A. God the Father (Abba) B. God the Son (HaBen)
We believe the Son, called Yeshua (Jesus), meaning salvation, came to this world born of a virgin. The Son of God is worshipped as God, having existed eternally.This One is the promised Maschiach (Messiah) of Israel. He is the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star. He is our Passover, the Lamb of God.

C. God the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)
We believe that the Spirit of God came upon individuals during the times of our forefathers, such as Moses, David, and the Prophets, for specific purposes as revealed in the Tanakh. In the Renewed Covenant, the Messiah, Yeshua, promised His disciples that the Comforter would come to them after He was gone. The Comforter was described as the Spirit of Truth, who was with them and would be in them. Yeshua further declared that the Spirit of Truth would guide us into all truth and would glorify Him – the Messiah – not Himself. He empowers us. He seals us. If we have not the Spirit, we are not His. He leads us and teaches us. His indwelling enables us to live Godly lives.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Man
we believe that man was created in the image of God, but through disobedience fell from his first state and became separated from God. Therefore, according to the Scriptures, all men are born with a sinful nature. Man's only hope for redemption (salvation) is through the atonement made by the Messiah, resulting in regeneration by the Holy Spirit, which is the new birth. For by grace we are saved through faith; it is a gift of God.                                                                                                                                                                                                                Resurrection and Judgment
We believe in the resurrection of both the redeemed and the lost, the former to everlasting life and the latter to eternal separation from God, a state of everlasting punishment.We believe that the Scriptures promise two "comings" of the Messiah:

(1) the First Coming, the purpose of which was to make atonement for sin and,

(2) the Second Coming, which will be Messiah’s final return to earth. We believe that Israel's national restoration will be to recover the remnant of His people, Israel, from the four corners of the earth, and to restore the Davidic Kingdom by re-establishing the throne and the kingdom of David, which will last forever.

Israel in Prophecy
We believe in God's end-time plan for the nation of Israel and for the world. We believe in the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel, as taught in the Scriptures, and that the greatest miracle of our day has been the rebirth of the State of Israel according to prophecy. Messianic Judaism
We believe that Jewish people (physical descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, whether through the mother's or the father's bloodline) who place their faith in Israel's Messiah, Yeshua, continue to be Jewish according to the Scriptures. We believe that Gentiles who place their faith in Yeshua are "grafted in” to the Jewish olive tree of faith, becoming spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham. We believe in observing and celebrating the Jewish Holy Days given by God to Israel, with their fulfillment in and through the Messiah Yeshua. We believe that true "Biblical Judaism," the faith of first century believers, which we seek to practice, acknowledges the continuity of faith in the one true God, revealed throughout the Scriptures and ultimately manifested in God's Son, Yeshua the Messiah. We believe that salvation has always been "by faith," and that works of law, or righteous acts, have never saved anyone. We believe that the Renewed Covenant body of believers is composed of both Jews and Gentiles who have received Yeshua the Messiah as the Promised Redeemer. We believe that the "middle wall of partition" has been broken down, and now we worship the God of Israel together.

Scripture References Supporting Statement of FaithI.

Authority of Scripture

II. GodDeuteronomy 6:4-9; Proverbs 3:1-6; Psalms 119:89, 105; Isaiah 48:12-16; Romans 8:14-17; II Tim. 2:15, 3:16-17 Deuteronomy 6:4; Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:24; Genesis 1,2; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:18-20

A. God the Father (Abba) John 6:27b; I Corinthians 1:3; Galatians 1:1; Revelation 3:5, 21; Jeremiah 3:4, 19; 31:9; Mal. 1:6; Matthew 6:9, 32; Luke 10:21-22; John 1:14; 4:23; 5:17-26; 6:28-46; Romans 8:14-15.

B. God the Son (HaBen)Psalms 2; Proverbs 30:4-6 (cf. Hebrews 1); Luke 12:35-37; John 1:29-34, 49; 3:14-18;
Isaiah 7:14 (cf. Luke 1:30-35); Psalms 110:1 (cf. Hebrews 1:13); Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 28:18-20; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-19; Revelation 3:21; Revelation 4:8, 5:5-14; Is. 9:6-7; 11:1; Daniel 9 (esp. verses 20-26); Isaiah 53; John 1:17, 40-41, 45, 49; Mark 8:29; Numbers 24:17; Revelation 22:16; I Corinthians 5:7; Revelation 5; John 1:29

C. God the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)Genesis 1:2; II Sam. 23:1-3; John 14:17, 26; John 16:13-15; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; Romans 8:9; Romans 8:14-17; Acts 2:38

III. ManGenesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:17; 3:22-24; Psalms 14:1-3; 49:7; 53:13; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:9-12, 23; 5:12; Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 53; Daniel 9:24-26; I Corinthians 15:22; Hebrews 9:11-14, 28; John 1:12, 3:36; Titus 3:5; John 3:3-8; Ephesians 2:8-9 IV. Resurrection and JudgmentJob 14:14; 19:25-27; Daniel 12:2-3; John 3:36; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 10-15; 21:7-8; Daniel 9:24-26; Daniel 9:24-26; Isaiah 53; Romans 3:21-31; Hebrews 9-10; John 3:16-17; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 14:1-6; I Corinthians 15:51-57; Isaiah 59:20-21; Zechariah 14:4; Zechariah 12:8-13:1; Romans 11:25-27; Hebrews 9:28; Jeremiah 31:31-40; Isaiah 11; Isaiah 9:6-7 (cf. Luke 1:30-33); Jeremiah 23:3-8

V. Israel in ProphecyEzek. 34:11-31; 36-39; Hosea 3; Amos 9:11-15; Zech. 12-14; Isaiah 11; 43; 54; 60-62; 66; Romans 11:1-34VI. Messianic JudaismRomans 2:28-29; Romans 11:17-25; Galatians 3:28-29; Genesis 15:6; Romans 2-6; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 11:6, 39; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 2:13-14