Statement of Beliefs

Should “The Church of God” [footnote] (The Congregation of Yehovah) Have A Statement Of Beliefs?

Chapter 41 Preview: Should your local Assembly or Congregation mandate doctrinal requirements beyond the Ten Commandments? To do so would turn that Assembly into a Church! Yet “The Church Is Not In God’s Plan” (off site). I recommend that you preferably dont go to Church, but rather consider The Anatomy of a Church (off site) and if there is an Assembly of Disciples within driving distance—under Yehovah (God) and not under hierarchy—congregate there! This is spelled out in How Does the Eternal Govern Through Humans? (off site).

Be careful: “your minds might be corrupted from sincerity[572] towards the Messiah.” (2 Corinthians 11:3) We must strive not offend one of Jesus’ (actually Yeshua’s, off site) “little ones” (Mark 9:42) lest we forfeit eternity. The following Ten requirements appear to be the only means by which those of us with the “testimony of Yeshua” are able to “Come out from among them [unbelievers] and be separate.....” Simply doing these things—particularly #4—will set you apart from the crowd. In fact you may be standing almost alone. (2 Corinthians 6:17).

1 You shall have no other gods before Me.

2 You shall not make for yourself a carved image.

3 You shall not take the name of Yehovah your God in vain.

4 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5 Honor your father and your mother.

6 You shall not murder.

7 You shall not commit adultery.

8 You shall not steal.

9 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10 You shall not covet.

NKJV thruout, except as noted.

Most people composing a Statement of Beliefs assume that they are supposed to itemize a complex sectarian constitutional framework of mandatory dogma. Not so! Yeshua did not belong to any sect—His only mention of sects was to condemn them. In fact “sect” and “heresy” is the same word in Greek!

Belonging to a sect will not save you. Yet Yeshua said that obeying the Ten Commandments, given to Israel by Yehovah—both in the letter and in the spirit of the law—will! They are the minimum requirements for obtaining “eternal life” in the best or “first” resurrection. There are many kinds of “other” or “additional” things that could be listed, but for what purpose; to exclude you? Understanding all Ten of these laws and keeping them with your heart, soul and mind will put you into the Kingdom of Yehovah!

Mark 12:29-34 Yeshua replied, “The *most important* of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel; Yehovah our God is one, 30 and you must love Yehovah your God, with all of your *intellectual endeavors*[2588], with all of your being*[5590], with all of your understanding*[1271], and with all your ability*[2479]. This is the *most important* commandment. 31 And the second is similar: “You must love your neighbor, as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these”. 32 “An excellent answer”, replied the scribe. “Rabbi, You have spoken the truth; for there is one God, and no other exists beside Him. 33 For a man to love Yehovah, with all of his *intellectual endeavors*, and with his being*, and with all of his understanding*, and with his ability* and to love our neighbors, as ourselves is far better than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 Then Yeshua, noting the wisdom of his reply, said to him, “You arent far from the Kingdom of God”... YMES

Of course Yeshua’s Disciples should “all speak the same thing”, but with the understanding that Paul was really instructing us all to speak the very “same” things that Yeshua spoke! That is always the right thing to do, regardless of the demands of any sect or its representatives! We must obey Yehovah in all things to the best of our understanding. Whenever we find that the ‘church’ appears to be in conflict with what the Word of Yehovah states, then we must unhesitatingly obey Yehovah! This is a straightforward principle that will allow local Assemblies to grow and develop without any vain enticement toward becoming locked into defending erroneous teachings, as we strive to obtain the full maturity of Yeshua.

There is one concept that tends to get trampled under foot in a “Statement of Beliefs”, that being that an individual is generally expected, by a sect’s (denomination’s) hierarchy, to suppress his own conscience if it conflicts with the group’s mandated belief system. To sear one’s own conscience, so that we “may all speak the same thing”, whether technically right or wrong regarding a particular issue, is a sin! Any “minister” who would even insinuate that suppressing one’s own conscience under any circumstances is righteous, does not remotely understand the mind of Yehovah or the very purpose of Yehovah’s commandments!

1 Timothy 1:5-7 Now the aim*[5056] of the Commandments is love, which is from a pure mind, and from a clear CONSCIENCE, and from faith *without hypocrisy*[505]. 6 But from these some have swerved, and have turned away to *double talk*[3150]. 7 They decided to be teachers of the Law, yet they didnt understand what they were saying, nor anything about what they *confidently asserted*. YMES

The primary reason that various assemblies have Statements of Beliefs is so that other people can quickly determine where the organization stands on certain theological issues. The problem with a pre packaged belief system is that the set of teachings tends to cause people to carve these ideas into stone tablets in their minds, rather than depending upon the Bible. It becomes difficult to grow in spiritual understanding beyond those tenants. The Statement of Beliefs becomes, in a real sense, a restraining wall built around the organization’s herd of holy cows.

Most religious bodies came into existence because of one man, or a small group of men, who taught that his God required their particular shopping list of expectations. The resulting doctrinal treatise then becomes the focal point for that group’s understanding. The founders, as their supporters commended them and their philosophies, become even more convinced that his God must be blessing their work, concluding that the numbers of loyal followers is proof of their doctrinal purity. A ministry is carefully selected from among only those men who willingly agree to preach only what they are allowed to preach. When dissent enters the church, and it will, these pre-compromised “yes men” will obviously be quite reluctant to stand for a truth that would cost them their paycheck and their prestige.

For hundreds of years, Christianity advanced through its ‘syncretic’ teachings (meaning the merging together of divergent systems of philosophy, morals, and especially religion) and because civil governments advocated religion as a means of unifying the people. When one particular religion would dominate, the government’s armies gained “converts” by the edge of the sword. Either way, as the body of doctrines solidified into a body of dogma, the Statement of Beliefs became the standard bearers of their theology. As a church wanted to gain followers it had to balance the desires of the “progressive” adherents against the human proclivity to resist change.

There are two approaches to setting doctrinal understandings. Traditional religious sects will hold to a body of doctrine, and will endeavor to twist the scriptures to back up their belief system. The nearly “untried” approach is scriptural,—viewing the scriptures without any bias, that is, without putting a sectarian “spin” on the scriptures.

For example, typical “reasoning” concerning the authenticity of the doctrine of the Trinity would be a statement to the effect that “everyone knows” that God is a Trinity, and it’s not difficult to locate scriptures that seemingly support the Trinitarian concept. (The situation is further complicated because the translators were Trinitarian!) However, using an unbiased approach, one would search the scriptures to determine if the doctrine is actually Biblical, rather than merely a fabrication of theologians. If the doctrine cannot be found, or if there were to be any uncertainty or ambiguity about it, the idea should simply be set aside to be discussed, meditated upon, prayed about, and researched further.

To further illustrate the strength of tradition in establishing the meaning of scripture, let’s look at the universally accepted concept that man is, or has, an immortal soul within his being, and that this immortal soul ascends to heaven or descends to hell immediately following ones death. The “scholars” within many religious organizations begin with the conviction that this is true, and are able to find many scriptures that seem to indicate that this is the case. Again, this is largely due to the teaching having long been syncretised from popular pagan religions. It is apparent that there are scriptures that mention “soul”, “heaven”, and “eternal life”. Theologians have been honing their skills of explaining these terms to reflect the ancient philosophies. Seemingly substantiating the doctrine of the “immortal soul”.

Surprisingly, tho there are no scriptures that would indicate or allude to our being or having, an immortal soul. The words “immortal soul” do not appear together anywhere in the entire Bible; neither does the phrase “going to heaven.” On the contrary, scripture shows that our soul is mortal! The scriptures strongly state that immortality and eternal life are gifts from Yehovah, not something we are born with. Scripture teaches that we go to our graves, and we stay there until God resurrects us. There are no Biblical references to Peter being the keeper of the Pearly Gates, or anything remotely resembling that.

Historical reference works inform us that the notion of an immortal soul originated in antiquity, but received its greatest advancement under the influence of well known Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and others. However, there is not a hint of it in the Biblical texts. Scores of other popular teachings, also extant in Christian “Churches” (off site) have also come from extra Biblical sources. The Protestant reformers themselves advanced many lesser explanations that also deviated from scripture.

God insists that we seek out His “opinion”, not looking to other religions or sources. He is the only source of truth. God denounces the adoption of doctrinal ideas or practices from the worshipers of false gods, and “baptizing” their practices by incorporating them into Christian acceptance. Here is a prime example:

Jeremiah 10:2-4 Thus says Yehovah, “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the nations are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple....”

This bears a remarkably resemblance to a Christmas tree, doesnt it?

True Disciples, those whom Yeshua said would actually follow the narrow road, the one less traveled, would search out what the Bible actually teaches. This is a more gratifying and exciting approach to Bible study, since one’s beliefs may be perfected as further knowledge is discovered, or brought to light by others, from the scriptures. Therefore, rather than claiming that we hold to certain doctrinal beliefs, I frequently would say—concerning fringe ideas—that I presently hold certain doctrinal understandings. This is more than semantics. By acknowledging this, I acknowledge that I have some misunderstandings, and that my understanding will certainly improve, because I can only grow in grace and knowledge if I make changes! Indeed, as I look back over the past few years, my understanding of teachings, some of which I once cherished and would have died for, have changed to the extent that I would die rather than reinstate them!

We absolutely must limit our beliefs to what the Bible actually teaches. This differs from the typical practice of following a set of doctrines or dogmas set up by men. Yehovah expects individual Discipless to decide what is true, based on what the scripture says—to the best of our own understanding. That is what “work out our own salvation” is all about. A well known Muslim teacher, when asked why fanatics claimed that they held to the true understandings of the Koran, explained that those men read the Koran seeking to find passages that would empower them. He went on to assert that Christian and Jewish leaders do the same. Yehovah has absolutely no use for blind followers, even if they just happen to be following the “right” religion!

The strictly Biblical approach is unthinkable to most people, and intimidating to others. To the vast majority of people, it has become second nature to accept a set of teachings from a church headquarters, which ultimately becomes the test of membership–you either accept this collective set of beliefs—in its entirety—or be viewed as a threat to unity. A corporate churches’ immediate first objection to you following your own conscience in spiritual matters, rather than following the “collective conscience” is that this would result in “confusion and doctrinal disputes”. Presumably, we could not possibly handle it when two people read the same Bible, yet arrive at different conclusions. Discussing religion with someone from another “flock” has become a social taboo. When religious discussions occasionally do take place most simply tell themselves that the other person just doesnt have the good fortune of belonging to their group. Then they go their separate ways. Could it be that Yehovah is simply testing our love for each other with these doctrinal disagreements? Consider these passages:

John 13:35 If you love each other, everyone will know that you are My Disciples! YMES

1 Peter 4:8 Above all things, have intense*[1618, ektenes] love toward each another; for love covers a great number of *violations of God’s Law*[256]. YMES

1 John 3:11 ... because this is the Commandment, which you have heard from the beginning, that you should love each other. YMES

1 John 4:7 My beloved, we must love each other, because love is from Yehovah, and whoever loves is engendered[1080] by Yehovah and understands*[1097] Yehovah. YMES

1 John 4:20 If anyone says, I love Yehovah, but he hates his brother, he is a liar. If he doesnt love his brother, who is visible, how can he love Yehovah who is invisible? YMES

Currently, true Commandment keeping “Nazarenes” (“Christians”) are divided (into sects) over many issues, yet they are still brothers, tho often without even realizing it! The Seven “Churches” (disfunctional “families” of Assemblies) seem to be totally oblivious of the existence of each other! Yet so long as a person is keeping the Commandments, we had better consider him a brother!

2 Timothy 3:1-7 Understand that in the last days, dangerous times will come. 2 Men will be *self centered*[5367], money loving, pretentious*, egotistical*[5244], blasphemous*, unyielding towards their own people,ungrateful, wicked, 3 inhumane, non committal, savage, hateful toward those who are good, 4 traitors*, rash, arrogant, loving pleasure rather than loving God, 5 having a resemblance of respect for Yehovah, but denying His power. Avoid them. 6 For these are the type who creep from house to house, captivating feeble minded women overwhelmed in their sins and led away by various cravings, 7 who are always learning, but never coming to a *correct knowledge*[1922] of spiritual truth. YMES

Conversations are necessary to reveal that certain individuals are not “approved” by Yehovah if their error is leading them to sin.

1 Corinthians 11:19 For of necessity there must be sects*[139] among you, that the genuine*[1384] may be distinguished[5318] from the counterfeit*[see 1384] among you. YMES

Probably the most profound deduction about Yehovah is that He cannot instantaneously create character within us. Without that explanation, we would have to wonder about why we were born, just as the most primitive savage or the most “advanced” philosopher does. Love is the bottom line. Character is the outward measuring tool that Yehovah uses to measure our love. We generally think of character as something that we use to evaluate our fellow man with, and indeed we can to a degree much of the time, but only Yehovah can read the mind with certainty. [“A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another’s.”-Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825)]

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart [essentially mind and thoughts] is wicked above all things—who can know it?

There is a deep seated flaw in the Christian tenant that “The law is done away–nailed to the cross”. They specify that the obsolete law in question is the Ten Commandments. They view the Commandments as optional, pretty good in general, but not something directly tied to salvation! Mankind does not want Yehovah or anyone else to know his real worth. Therefore, anything that would actually serve to accurately measure our true love is held in contempt. At birth, an infant has 100% self interest. Yehovah expects everyone to advance well beyond this self interest. The Law of Love, as it pertains to interpersonal relationships, is expressed in the last six of the Ten Commandments. Everyone, again from the savage to the philosopher, should be able to comprehend the merit of these measuring standards of love.

ARE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS YOUR STATEMENT OF BELIEFS?

If you have any doubts about the tremendous importance of the Commandments, then I would strongly urge you to consider all of the “New Testament” references to the “commandments”. There are a couple of much twisted passages pertaining to man made laws that many would have you believe reflect the notion that Yehovah has rejected His own law. However, the overwhelming majority of the references are clear and powerful endorsements for keeping the Commandments. Your eternal life depends on keeping them! The vast majority of Christians who tell you otherwise are deceived. Here are most of the “New Scripture” references for the word “commandment”.

Matthew 19:16-17 Another came by, and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing do I need to do so that I can have eternal life”? He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? There is no one good, except one, namely, Yehovah. But if you want to enter into life, obey the Commandments. YMES

Mark 7:7 They *waste their effort* worshipping Me, while teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. YMES

Mark 10:17-19 As He walked along the way, someone ran and fell on his knees, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do, to inherit eternal life”? 18 Yeshua replied, “Why call Me good? There is no one good, but one, Yehovah.19 You know the commandments; dont commit adultery, dont steal, dont murder*, dont give false testimony, dont defraud anyone; and honor your father and your mother. YMES

Luke 1:6 They were both righteous before Yehovah, *continuing on life’s journey*[4198] in all His commandments, and in the righteousness of Yehovah, without reproach. NMP

Luke 18:18-20 One of the leaders asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do, so that I can inherit eternal life”? 19 Yeshua said to him. ... 20 You know the Commandments, you must not murder; you must not commit adultery; you must not steal; you must not give a false testimony; and honor your father and your mother. YMES

John 14:15 If you love Me, obey My commandments.

John 14:21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.

John 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Romans 13:9 For the commandments: You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

1 Corinthians 7:19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of Yehovah is what matters.

Ephesians 2:15 ... having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of [man made]commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace....

Colossians 2:22 ... which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?

Titus 1:14 ... not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.

1 John 2:3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

1 John 2:4 He who says: ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

1 John 3:22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

1 John 3:24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love Yehovah and keep His commandments.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

2 John 1:6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of Yehovah and have the testimony of [Yeshua the Messiah].

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of [Yehovah and the faith of Yeshua].

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

If we all seek to serve Yehovah with a pure heart, then the supreme principle of displaying Godly love when we assemble together with Yeshua’s followers must take precedence over doctrinal disputes, or differences in understanding. We must avoid being so inflexible that we lose sight of the goal line–Godly love.

Wouldnt it be a sad commentary on the last generation of commandment keeping people, if Yeshua said the same things about our “leadership” that He said about the dominant “leadership” of the first century’s “commandment keepers.” Yeshua’s greatest adversaries were righteous religious leader “look-alikes”, who were as rebellious against God’s commandments as their father Satan.

Consider the following scriptures:

Matthew 23:13-14, 23 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater ‘condemnation’ [punishment]. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.... 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

I John 3:10-11, 18, 23 In this the children of Yehovah and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.... 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.... 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son [Yeshua the Messiah] and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

I John 4:7-8, 12,16, 20-21 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of Yehovah and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know Yehovah, for Yehovah is love.... 11 Beloved, if Yehovah so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen Yehovah at any time. If we love one another, Yehovah abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.... 16 And we have known and believed the love that Yehovah has for us. Yehovah is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and Yehovah in him.... 20 If someone says: ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love Yehovah whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves Yehovah must love his brother also.

With these thoughts in mind, if someone is honestly and diligently studying his Bible, and yet arrives at conclusions that are not in agreement with yours–who is wrong? Are you wrong, or is the other person wrong? Quite likely, both viewpoints are somewhat in error. Yet, if each respects the other person’s sincerity, Yehovah may very likely respect both individuals. We are all at differing levels of understanding, and our Father accepts us as a human parent accepts his own children, knowing that the child’s understanding will certainly grow. Yehovah can create knowledge out of thin air, that is why there are geniuses born every day, but He cant create character that way. That is where “free moral agency” comes into the picture. Simply put, when Yehovah looks down from heaven at His human offspring, the only way that He can differentiate the wicked from the righteous is by how they live!

Toleration of the other person’s free moral agency is quite difficult to maintain. Many congregations have been scattered to the winds because of factions, one believing or behaving one way, others believing or behaving another way. However, this is in accordance with what Yehovah warned would be happening.

Those who are driven to understand the will of Yehovah with a pure heart can be easily differentiated from among those who clash with others, forcefully insisting that others accept doctrines and dogmas, as they strive for positions and power.

Human nature insists that: “I am right, and you are wrong.” How people act in response to us, and how we respond to others, is God’s best assessment of our conversion. Yehovah is far more interested in how we work through our problems, than He is in our understanding of the more technical aspects of Biblical understanding.

Are there issues that would cause us to cast someone from our presence? This, too, is something each of us must consider for ourselves. There are situations when we should separate ourselves from others–it is due to their deliberate sinfulness, but never merely for a lack of understanding! If a commandment keeping brother is “marked” by an assembly without sin being the reason, it is a sin to shun that brother! To the degree that we can accept each other and love each other, regardless of our differing opinions–that is the limiting degree to which Yehovah will accept us!

Consider Yeshua’s words as it relates to this subject:

Matthew 7:1-5, 23-24 Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother: Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye... 23 And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! 24 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock....

Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

In part 2, We’ll pick up with:

Some Revealing Things That Yeshua Said

[Footnote] Augustine equated the word “Catholic” with "Church of God", and rightfully so, for they exchanged “church” for “assembly” and “God” for “Yehovah” in the Greek and Latin texts. Here is an excerpt: “For when you join yourselves to us, i.e. to the Church of God, the heritage of Christ, who has the ends of the earth as his possession, you are restored so that you live in vital union with the Root.... The question between us, however, is, whether your Church or ours is the the Church of God . To resolve this, we must begin with the original inquiry, why you became schismatics.... the practice of the Church of God is the rule of our practice.”