Red Sky at Morning
Superstar
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2017
- Messages
- 14,440
A long time ago now I watched a clip which I found really inspiring, and which reflected the kind of dynamic Christianity I have encountered here and elsewhere.
Christians here come from every time zone and culture and from all denominational backgrounds. We have the opportunity to learn from one another, share our joys and challenges and encourage one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord. The intention of this thread is to create an “all purpose” area to be real, open and to allow positive interaction for the interesting mix of followers of Jesus this forum draws in.
There have been other threads going back a few years where Christians have gathered but as there are so many new voices on this forum I felt it might be helpful to start something fresh!
To make this possible, I guess we have to start with setting out the basics of Christian faith within which we have fellowship.
I used to be involved in a university Christian Union. In the UK universities, Christian fellowships that draw members from diverse backgrounds fall under the umbrella of UCCF (University and Colleges Christian Fellowship). One thing they do is to have members subscribe to the doctrinal basis.
Our Doctrinal Basis
The Doctrinal Basis represents the central truths of the Christian faith as we discern them in the Bible. From the beginning of the CU movement nearly 100 years ago, it has been the basis of our unity, the foundation of our ministry and the content of our message. We are unashamedly confessional and value gospel clarity and gospel unity
Our Doctrinal Basis
The basis of the Fellowship shall be the fundamental truths of Christianity, as revealed in Holy Scripture, including:
One last thing… There is great potential in Christian unity but there are many secondary doctrines over which we will hold different views and these are best left for debate and discussion outside this thread.
Christians here come from every time zone and culture and from all denominational backgrounds. We have the opportunity to learn from one another, share our joys and challenges and encourage one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord. The intention of this thread is to create an “all purpose” area to be real, open and to allow positive interaction for the interesting mix of followers of Jesus this forum draws in.
There have been other threads going back a few years where Christians have gathered but as there are so many new voices on this forum I felt it might be helpful to start something fresh!
To make this possible, I guess we have to start with setting out the basics of Christian faith within which we have fellowship.
I used to be involved in a university Christian Union. In the UK universities, Christian fellowships that draw members from diverse backgrounds fall under the umbrella of UCCF (University and Colleges Christian Fellowship). One thing they do is to have members subscribe to the doctrinal basis.
Our Doctrinal Basis
The Doctrinal Basis represents the central truths of the Christian faith as we discern them in the Bible. From the beginning of the CU movement nearly 100 years ago, it has been the basis of our unity, the foundation of our ministry and the content of our message. We are unashamedly confessional and value gospel clarity and gospel unity
Our Doctrinal Basis
The basis of the Fellowship shall be the fundamental truths of Christianity, as revealed in Holy Scripture, including:
- There is one God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- God is sovereign in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgement.
- The Bible, as originally given, is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behaviour.
- Since the fall, the whole of humankind is sinful and guilty, so that everyone is subject to God's wrath and condemnation.
- The Lord Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son, is fully God; he was born of a virgin; his humanity is real and sinless; he died on the cross, was raised bodily from death and is now reigning over heaven and earth.
- Sinful human beings are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of their representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between them and God.
- Those who believe in Christ are pardoned all their sins and accepted in God's sight only because of the righteousness of Christ credited to them; this justification is God's act of undeserved mercy, received solely by trust in him and not by their own efforts.
- The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners, enabling them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ.
- The Holy Spirit lives in all those he has regenerated. He makes them increasingly Christlike in character and behaviour and gives them power for their witness in the world.
- The one holy universal church is the Body of Christ, to which all true believers belong.
- The Lord Jesus Christ will return in person, to judge everyone, to execute God's just condemnation on those who have not repented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.
One last thing… There is great potential in Christian unity but there are many secondary doctrines over which we will hold different views and these are best left for debate and discussion outside this thread.
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