Preface To What We Believe
Christians & Christianity
A Christian believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ, based on the details recorded in the ancient Books of the New Testament, which provide the history of Jesus’ life, His death, and His resurrection. A Christian follows and applies the teachings of Jesus in their daily lives, as they aspire to conform their lives to align with Jesus’ life and live according to the will of God, as taught by Jesus and His Apostles in the New Testament books.
Christianity is a term used to describe the “religion” of Christians. However, since the early beginnings of Christianity, this “religion” has broken into many different factions, some of which are known as “Christian denominations”. Each of these Christian factions have developed their own identity and defined distinct characteristics which represent themselves. Many share common “Christian” beliefs and traditions while also maintaining separate beliefs and traditions of their own.
These variations between denominations have historically created conflict that, at best, divide Christians from one another and, at worst, cause tension between Christians which have resulted in violence, and even death.
When Jesus referred to those who would follow after him, He used the term His “Assembly”. Jesus’ “Assembly” is meant to describe a united people with common beliefs, all established on Jesus’ teachings as being singular and foundational, without distortion or alteration.
During the early days of Christianity, an Apostle of Jesus named Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Galatia saying: “I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”; and there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you, and want to pervert the Good News of Christ.” These words of Paul remain true today and speak to the division that continues among Christian denominations.
Another Apostle of Jesus named Peter wrote of Paul’s teachings: “even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you; as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” These words reflect the distortion of the “Good News” which also continues between denominations.
Understanding Jesus’ Teaching & The Knowledge of God
In the book of Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 7-8, Jesus taught “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.”
Jesus spoke these words immediately after teaching a parable about the knowledge of God, and so this teaching expands upon the knowledge of God. With these words, Jesus revealed I) When people ask for the knowledge of God, through prayer, it will be given to them. II) When they seek the knowledge of God, through His Word, they will find it. III) And when they knock, by inviting God into their lives, a relationship with Him will begin. Jesus then compared this generosity of God with earthly parents, who never deny the desires of their own children, and in the same way, God will reveal the truth of His Word and come into the lives of all those who seek Him.
We believe that all answers to questions in the Bible can be found within the Bible itself.
Although the Bible is made up of multiple books, all books work together to provide a complete picture and understanding of and answers to questions that arise while reading the individual books. When questions arise, we must seek for answers in other parts of scripture within the same book or within other books of the Bible, to find a clear and complete answer, and to fully understand the meaning of the text.
Isolating and identifying single lines of scriptural text as complete answers to biblical questions can lead to misinterpretation of the text, rather than the actual meaning of the isolated text.
As mentioned, Peter wrote about Paul’s writings, “there are some things that are hard to understand,” and this reveals a need to seek deeper into God’s Word to find full understanding and to ask God through prayer to help gain understanding of these difficult verses.
In the book of 1st Timothy, Chapter 6, Verse 3-5, the apostle Paul speaks about this topic specifically when he wrote:
“If anyone teaches a different doctrine and doesn’t consent to sound words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is conceited, knowing nothing, but obsessed with arguments, disputes, and word battles, from which come envy, strife, insulting, evil suspicions, constant friction of people of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. Withdraw yourself from such.”
Therefore, followers of Jesus should endeavor to focus completely on the teachings of Jesus as Truth, and not be persuaded into “arguments, disputes and word battles”, based on unsupported scriptural interpretations that are not grounded on a complete understanding of Jesus’ teachings and the Word of God.
The book “The Lord Is My Shepherd” has attempted to explicitly adhere to the fundamental and foundational teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament Books, as well as teachings from the Old Testament Books. It has not been influenced by “Christian doctrines”, as determined by human councils, which define the beliefs of denominations and factions; some of which twist the teachings of Jesus, His Apostles and other Scriptures, and distort the truth of the Good News and Jesus’ teachings.
What We Believe
We believe and profess that we don’t have all the answers. The Holy Bible is the only physical source of information that we refer to for our limited understanding of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
We believe the books found in the Holy Bible’s New and Old Testaments are the Word of God.
We believe all answers to questions in the Word of God (the Holy Bible) can be found within the Word of God, and it is through studying and searching through the Word of God that the answers are revealed.
We believe in one living God.
We believe God begat only one Son, Jesus the Christ, who was born of a virgin named Mary, and was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus was crucified and died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised from death on the third day according to the Scriptures, and then appeared alive to His disciples. He then appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, and to James, and to His Apostles. After His resurrection, Jesus showed Himself alive over a period of 40 days, and then was taken up out of sight into a cloud. After Jesus had ascended, he then later appeared as a great light which shone all around the Apostle Paul and those who were with Paul. Jesus then spoke to Paul but those who were with Paul could not understand the voice who spoke.
We believe, according to Jesus’ teaching, that “No one knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.” Therefore, we believe that we are not capable of defining or debating the nature or essence of God or Jesus, as these are beyond human comprehension, and to attempt to do so would be to focus on the things of man rather than on the things of God. We believe in one God and that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God according to the Scriptures.
We believe God is a living God, not some distant entity, but rather a God with whom each of us can have a personal relationship with, if we chose to do so, and seek Him with an honest, open and yearning heart.
We believe Jesus’ teachings are TRUTH, through which He has provided us with the WAY to live according to God’s will. And through faith in Jesus, the gift of eternal LIFE is available to all humanity. We believe that it is through Jesus’ sacrifice and death on the cross that the price for humanity’s sin has been paid in full. It is only by believing in this Truth, that through Jesus we have been given the Way for acceptance into the Kingdom of Heaven to receive eternal LIFE. Jesus said “I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.”
We believe that Jesus sacrifice and death on the cross made the way for all humanity to be reunited with God, and it is only through faith and belief in Jesus, and His sacrifice on our behalf, that we can receive the gift of eternal life from God. Jesus taught “No one comes to the Father, except through me.”
We believe the Holy Spirit operates within the hearts and lives of those who believe in Jesus. And, the Holy Spirit helps and guides believers to conform into the likeness of Jesus, according to the will of God.
We believe that through accepting the Holy Spirit into our hearts, believers become transformed and experience a rebirth of their spirit, and that spiritual rebirth prepares us for the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.” Jesus also said “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don’t marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew. The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
We believe the two most important commandments of God for humanity, as taught by Jesus, are:
1) “Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”
2) “Love your neighbor as yourselves.” We believe the term “Neighbor” refers to all humanity
We believe in love for all humanity and we reject ANY & ALL FORMS of violence and racism against individual persons or entire races.
We believe we are to express love and reject violence toward individuals and all humanity.
We believe in peace and being peacemakers, as Jesus taught “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
We believe that Jesus will return again at the “end of the age”, where all humanity will be separated into 2 groups. This will be a time of judgment where those who belong to God will be gathered together and united with Him, while those who do not will be separated from God.
