Church of god beliefs

Question

Wiki User · Accepted Answer

***THIS RESEARCH AND WORK WAS SOMEONE ELSE'S. I SIMPLY RAN ACROSS IT IN ANOTHER QUESTION AND I THOUGHT THAT THIS WOULD BE A GREAT ANSWER.

First and foremost, the church of Christ believes that The Bible (both the Old and New Testaments) is God's inspired word. As such, it should be studied and followed - pardon the pun - religiously.

Worship in the church of Christ is patterned after that of the New Testament church. ANY teachings that cannot be found in scripture, alterations to New Testament doctrine (whether by addition or subtraction), or variations on scriptural examples are rejected as coming from the mind of man rather than the will of God (Galatians 1:8, 9). The church of Christ doesn't strive to "fill in the blanks" on doctrinal matters, and is content to be silent where the Bible is silent.

Some of the highlights that separate the church of Christ from other groups:

1. Communion, or the "Lord's Supper," is observed every first day of the week (Acts 20:7). All those who have been baptized partake. "Transubstantiation" is not taught; the unleavened (yeast-free) bread represents the body of Christ and the fruit of the vine (usually Grape Juice; more rarely wine, though this is NOT a sticking point) represents His blood (1 Corinthians 10:16, 17).

2. Only adult believers who confess their faith in Christ as the Son of God, our Savior, are baptized (by full immersion) for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:26-39; Acts 22:16) and the promise of eternal life. The church of Christ does not teach "once saved, always saved," as the NT warns of the danger of being "estranged from Christ" (Galatians 5:4) and admonishes Christians to be "faithful unto death" (Revelation 2:10). One does not "join" the church of Christ; one is "added" to the church (by the Lord, not by vote or proclamation) when they are baptized (Acts 2:47; Acts 5:14). Infant baptism or alternate modes (pouring, sprinkling) are not practiced.

3. There is no "clergy" and "laity." Church leaders do not take titles. (Matthew 23:8-10). Members simply refer to one another as "brother" and "sister" (1 Timothy 5:1, 2).

4. Scripture is seen as all-sufficient (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). Therefore the church of Christ has no "creed," nor does it use "prayer books" (Matthew 6:7).

5. Congregations are autonymous. There is no council, synod, or governing body overseeing multiple congregations. Each congregation is to have "elders" (which in the New Testament is synonymous with the terms "pastor," "bishop," and "presbyter") and "deacons." Put simply, elders are responsible for the congregation's spiritual well-being while deacons see to its physical well-being (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1). Again, these men hold no honorific titles, nor do preachers. Calling a preacher "Pastor Smith," for example, is both a misuse of the term "pastor" and a violation of Jesus' prohibition against titles.

6. Music in the church of Christ is a capellacongregational singing (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). There are no mechanical instruments, choirs or "praise groups."

7. Women do not aspire to leadership roles over men (1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:12), nor do they preach, teach or lead public prayer (except in women's and children's groups). (1 Timothy 2:11).

8. "Saints" are not venerated. In New Testament usage, a saint (Greek hagios - "most holy thing") is anyone who has obeyed the gospel and been sanctified (made holy) by faith in Christ (Hebrews 2:11). It is a descriptive word, not a title (Romans 1:7).

9. Worship services are not "charismatic" in nature; no speaking in tongues, no latter day prophecy, no "being slain in the Spirit." It has been said that members of the church of Christ do not believe in spiritual gifts. This is incorrect. They believe that the necessity for spiritual gifts of miraculous nature (which were to help spread and confirm the gospel message) was supplanted by the completion of God's revealed word, the Bible (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). The "gift of the Holy Spirit" is given to all who obey (Acts 2:38), and the Spirit is continuously at work within the heart of the believer (Romans 8:14; Romans 8:26; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 John 3:24).

10. The church of Christ is grieved by the divisions among those who profess to follow Jesus, and will forevermore appeal for unity among believers (Ephesians 4:3). This may be her single most telling mark of distinction. There is no "church of your choice" in the New Testament, there is only the church that Christ built through the Spirit-led efforts of His first-century followers.

There are other distinctions, but these are some major fundamentals that set the church of Christ apart from others. In short, the church strives to worship and serve ONLY by scriptural precept and example in order to resemble, as closely as possible, the church of the first century.

As individuals, members of the church of Christ should be (one cannot say "will be," as we all fall short of the ideal) models of decency (Matthew 5:16), humble in word and deed (2 Timothy 2:25), caring and concerned about others (Galatians 5:22, 23; Titus 3:2).

Wiki User · Answer

The United Church of Christ beliefs are considered by some to be extremely liberal. Within the church, there is some diversity of beliefs, and individual congregations have some liberty in theological matters. The UCC began running a commercial last year that featured bouncers refusing some access to church. In particular, they suggested that those who felt homosexuality was sinful were also racist (at least the bouncers went in this direction). While some members hold this view, others believe that the word of God says that homosexuality is an aboration. And indeed they believe this, but also they believe that, according to scripture, any one who seeks God is welcome. They also believe this doesn't mean they can continue in whatever sin they are partaking in. They believe that God requires repentance or a "turning away" from the sin - "Come a "sinner" but don't stay one" and that change is required. They teach that Scripture says that you cannot serve two masters and you have to serve one or the other.

***** The United Church of Christ was formed in 1957 by the merger of the Congregational Christian and Evangelical & Reformed denominations, hence the name United Church of Christ. The theology of the United Church of Christ has roots going back to the Puritans and John Calvin. 20th-century theologians from its founding denominations include Paul Tillich and Reinhold Niebuhr. The UCC is a scripture-based tradition. Like other mainline Christian denominations, the UCC does not read the Bible literally. From a UCC conference on the authority of scripture for Christians: "The Bible is God's gift to the church, to be read for our instruction and comfort, but we often use it as a hammer to strike down the arguments of our opponents, or even to exclude each other from the Body of Christ. " The UCC acknowledges Jesus Christ, son of God and savior, as the sole head of the church. It claims the historic confessions of the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Heidelberg Chatechism as foundational to its faith. The Congregational Church, one of the UCC's founding denominations, ordained the first African American minister in 1785 and the first woman in 1853. In 1985, the General Synod of the UCC adopted a resolution calling on UCC Congregations to Covenant as Open and Affirming. The resolution reads in part: We believe that lesbian, gay and bisexual people share with all others the worth that comes from being unique individuals. We welcome lesbian, gay and bisexual people to join our congregation in the same spirit and manner used in the acceptance of any new members. Slightly more than 10% of UCC congregations have adopted the Open and Affirming resolution. In 1993 the General Synod of the UCC adopted a statement of Christian Conviction of the Proposed Pronouncement Calling the United Church of Christ to be a Multiracial and Multicultural Church.

Wiki User · Answer

You May Learn that in the Apostles Creed!

THE APOSTLES CREED:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell. [See Calvin]

The third day He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,
and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Hope this helps you, if you do not believe in GOD please do!

Wiki User · Answer

They believe in the Almighty God, the

Father, the Creator of the universe, in

Christ Jesus, the Father's begotten son, a

true and Mighty God, the only savior of

mankind and the only way to the

Kingdom of God in heaven (Acts 14:15; 1 Corinthians 8:5-7; John 14:6; 14:1). They believe also that only the Bible (Holy Scriptures), composed of 66

inspired books, teaches the full wisdom

of God for the salvation of man and that

no other book should be used as basis

for serving God and Christ Jesus (Romans 1:16-17; 2:16; Galatians 1:8-9;

2 Thessalonians 1:1-9; John 20:31;

Isaiah. 34:16; John 5:39).

Wiki User · Answer

First and foremost, the church of Christ believes that the Bible (both the Old and New Testaments) is God's inspired word. As such, it should be studied and followed - pardon the pun - religiously.

Worship in the church of Christ is patterned after that of the New Testament church. ANY teachings that cannot be found in scripture, alterations to New Testament doctrine (whether by addition or subtraction), or variations on scriptural examples are rejected as coming from the mind of man rather than the will of God (Galatians 1:8, 9). The church of Christ doesn't strive to "fill in the blanks" on doctrinal matters, and is content to be silent where the Bible is silent.

Some of the highlights that separate the church of Christ from other groups:

1. Communion, or the "Lord's Supper," is observed every first day of the week (Acts 20:7). All those who have been baptized partake. "Transubstantiation" is not taught; the unleavened (yeast-free) bread represents the body of Christ and the fruit of the vine (usually grape juice; more rarely wine, though this is NOT a sticking point) represents His blood (1 Corinthians 10:16, 17).