• We Believe that the
Bible, consisting of both the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) and the
B'rit Hadasha (New Covenant) is a Jewish book given by God through
Jewish writer, primarily about Jewish people, and that it presents
God's plan and standard for the whole world. It is the only
inspired (or God breathed), infallible, and authoritative Word of
God. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
•
We Believe in one God, as He has revealed Himself in
the Scriptures. 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is
One [echad]' (Deut. 6:4). With echad often implying a
composite unity, we believe the triune nature of HaShem, which is
alluded to in both the Tanakh and B'rit Hadasha, does not contradict
His Oneness. it is an eternal mystery, as hard to explain as
is the very nature of HaShem.
•
We Believe that Messiah is spoken of in the
Scriptures in terms that only belong to HaShem. Yeshua is the
Messiah, the Eternal One, in whom lives the embodiment of the
fullness of all that God is. He is the Word who became flesh
and tabernacle among us, and whose glory we beheld, as of the
uniquely begotten Son of God, full of grace and truth. (Mic. 5:1(2);
Jn. 1:1-14; Col. 2:9)
•
We Believe the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit)
comforts, indwells, leads, teaches, disciplines, empowers, and
equips all those He regenerates.
•
We Believe that all have sinned and fallen short of
the glory of God, and that our sins have separated us from our God.
(Psa. 53:2f; Isa. 59:2; Rom. 3:12 & 23)
•
We Believe that Yeshua's death and resurrection
accomplished the atonement for all who would place their trust in
Him as the Passover Lamb who takes away sin. We become a new
creation in Messiah, and are transferred from the kingdom of
darkness
into the kingdom of God. (Isaiah 53; Eph. 2:8-9, Rom. 5 & 6)
• We Believe
salvation is by faith and trust through the grace of God alone, and
not by human efforts. We do not earn, merit, or maintain this
eternal redemption by our own efforts. (Jeremiah 17:5-9, Eph.
2:8-10, Rom. 8:29-39)
•
We Believe it was God's plan from the beginning to
reconcile all nations to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
through Messiah. (Gen. 22:18; Isa. 49:6)
• We Believe that
all non-Jewish people who trust in Yeshua are grafted into the
Jewish olive tree, and as joint heirs, are granted the privilege of
following the Torah (God's instruction), having it written upon
their hearts through the New Covenant. There is a spiritual
unity and equality among all believers; 'One new man' in the Messiah
Yeshua. (Jer. 31;33; Rom. 11;11-24; Eph. 2:11-22)
• We Believe that as
Jewish and non-Jewish people embrace Yeshua as the Messiah, and
connect with the Jewish roots of their faith, that a spiritual
dynamic takes place, resulting in the equivalent of spiritual 'life
from the dead.' (Daniel 11:32b,12:3; Rom. 11:15)
• We Believe in the
continuity of God's covenants with the Jewish People according to
Jeremiah 31:35-36, 33:19-26 and parallel passages. Part of the
fulfillment of these covenants is the physical return of the people
of Israel to the 'Promised Land.' (Deut. 30; Ez. 37; Luke 21:24)
• We Believe
there is no room for anti-Semitism within any community claiming to
know, love and follow Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, and that God's
promise made to Abraham is still in effect today. (Gen. 12;3; 1 Jn.
4:20f)
• We Believe
that the Torah (along with the rest of Scripture) is a
revelation of the righteousness of God, and the description of the
lifestyle and standards of the redeemed community. (Duet. 309-16;
Matt. 5:17-19, 2 Tim. 3:16-17)
•
We Believe Shabbat and the Festivals were
established by God as an eternal covenant to deepen our
understanding of Him and His appointed cycles with traditional and
Messianic import. (Ex. 31:12-17; Le. 23; Zec. 14:16; Isa. 58:13f)
• We Believe
in the Jewish concept of resurrection as revealed in the Scriptures
and expressed weekly in such ancient prayers as the Amidah. It
is a resurrection to the final judgment of both the wicked and the
righteous, administered by a loving and just God. (Dan. 12:2-3; Rom.
1:18ff; 1 Cor. 15; Rev. 20-21)
•
We Believe differently than the traditional Orthodox
Jewish position, which expects two Messiahs (Messiah ben
Yosef/Messiah ben David) to each come once. We believe in one
Messiah coming twice. The first time was as the Suffering
Servant. The second time will be as the Davidic King who will
return to reign over all the earth from Jerusalem. (Isa. 53; Zec.
14:9; Rev. 19-20)
