A Statement Of Beliefs

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

Chapter 41, Part 2 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).

Some Revealing Things That Yeshua Said

While I do not feel that it is advantageous to list doctrinal beliefs, it is quite easy to point out the commonest beliefs of others that paradoxically have no scriptural basis. Most of the “basic beliefs” of traditional churches have nothing to do with the true Way! Once these very common misconceptions are dispelled, a tremendous void is created, which will hopefully necessitate your search for factual answers.

There are a numerous instances in which Yeshua said things that are seldom taught today. Listed below are several Biblical quotations of Yeshua that have been almost universally disregarded.

1. Yeshua gave only one sign to prove that He was the Messiah, that being the prediction that He would be dead and buried for exactly three days and three nights–72 hours. The “Good Friday” evening to “Easter Sunday” morning tradition suppresses the truth concerning that sign, as it accomplishes its main goal–obscuring the “Nazarene” Passover!

Matthew 12:38-40 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying: Teacher, we want to see a sign from You. But He answered and said to them: An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

2. Contrary to what the vast majority advocate, Yeshua did not come to do away with God’s Law.

Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said: It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Matthew 5:17-20 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

3. Yeshua never contradicted His Father, but rather spoke only what His Father told Him to say.

John 12:49-50 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.

John 14:23-24 [Yeshua] answered and said to him: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.

4. Many people think that Yeshua came to bring “peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” Actually, Yeshua said that He did not come to bring peace—on the contrary He said just the opposite!

Matthew 10:34-36 Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’

5. Rather than say that He was leading the way to heaven, and that Christians would all follow His lead when we die, Yeshua said that He would return to Earth, and that no one, other than Himself, had ever gone to heaven. The scriptures refer to resurrections that will take place in the future, rather than of spirits drifting heavenward when someone dies.

Matthew 24:3, 27, 30-31 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the Disciples came to Him privately, saying: ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’... 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be ... 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Revelation 3:11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

Revelation 5:9-10 And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to Yehovah by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.

Revelation 22:7 Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book…12 And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

Matthew 25:31-32 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

John 3:13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

John 5:28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

6. Yeshua told people not to swear at all, under any circumstances, so people, almost to a man, will stand up and swear under oath–often with their hand on the very Bible that condemns what they are doing!

Matthew 5:34-37 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

7. Yeshua said that we would all perish, and not automatically continue living as an immortal being. It requires faith in Yeshua as well as being raised from the dead, to be given the gift of—not the birthright of—eternal life.

John 3:16 For Yehovah so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:5-7 [Yeshua] answered: Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

Luke 13:1 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And [Yeshua] answered and said to them: Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

John 11:11-14 These things He said, and after that He said to them: Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up. 12 Then His Disciples said: Lord, if he sleeps he will get well. 13 However, [Yeshua] spoke of His death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. 14 Then [Yeshua] said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead.

John 5:24-29 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of Yehovah; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

8. Yeshua told us not to address anyone as “Father” as a religious title; so millions of people address their local priest as “Father,” and the Pope as the “Holy Father,” in spite of Yeshua’s plain warning not to do it.

Matthew 23:9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

9. Yeshua is not the Lord of the “Lord’s Day” (allegedly Sunday), but rather He is the Lord of the (seventh-day) Sabbath.

Mark 2:27 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

Luke 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

10. There will be religious leadership and religious followers, who are not pure in heart, who do not do the things that Yeshua said that we must do. Yeshua, much to their astonishment, will reject them.

Matthew 4:15-23 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned. 17 From that time [Yeshua] began to preach and to say: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18 And [Yeshua], walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them: Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called the, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. 23 And [Yeshua] went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Mark 7:6-9 He answered and said to them: Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’8 For laying aside the commandment of Yehovah, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. 9 He said to them: All too well you reject the commandment of Yehovah, that you may keep your tradition.

Luke 6:46 But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?

Things People Believe That Are Not Biblical

Here is a list of some of the religious tenets that people believe which are not taught in the Bible. The explanations for these notions do not accompany the statements, but many of the true Biblical perspectives are examined elsewhere on our web site. If you have specific questions, please dont hesitate to contact us.

1. “God has already determined whether He will “call” you, and whether you will choose to follow Him and have eternal life, or that you will choose to reject Him and suffer the penalty. It’s all been predestined from the foundation of the world, so you cant do anything about it. You have no choice in your own salvation.”

2. “Jesus was born on December 25, died on Good Friday and was resurrected on Easter Sunday.”

3. “Jesus kept the Sabbath, the Feast of Tabernacles, the Passover, and the Days of Unleavened Bread etc. because He was Jewish.”

4. “Three kings visited Jesus in the manger.”

5. “Baptizing infants and babies fulfills a scriptural requirement, which ‘saves’ the baby’s soul.”

6. “Sprinkling and pouring are acceptable forms of baptism.”

7. Or, “Baptism is a ritual that is not really necessary any more.”

8. “If you ‘confess Messiah’, then you are a Messiahian.”

9. “God is one Being, comprised of three separate personages. Or, God is one Being, Who can sometimes manifest Himself as a Father, at other times as a Son, and at other times as a Holy Spirit.”

10. “The Kingdom of God is the church.”

11. Or, “The Kingdom of God refers to when we will go to Heaven.”

12. Or, “The Kingdom of God is something set up in the hearts of men.”

13. “We have immortal souls that continue to exist independent of our bodies after our death.”

14.“The resurrection is when Jesus will come down from heaven, with all of the worthy immortal souls following Him from heaven, to be reunited with their mortal bodies again.”

15. “Satan and the demons are immortal.”

16. “We go to either heaven or hell when we die.”

17. Or, “the resurrection is when Jesus will come down from heaven, resurrect the saints, and then they will all go right back up to heaven again.”

18. “God is one—so that would exclude Jesus”.

19. “It doesnt matter if ‘the church’ has adopted some of the beliefs and customs of paganism. These rites and rituals have been “cleansed” by assigning them Messiahian names and by the passage of centuries, so they arent really pagan any more. God doesnt really care how we worship Him, as long as we are sincere.”

20. “Jesus will return and rapture the church away to heaven.”

21. “Dietary laws and tithing were for ancient Israel, not for Christians.”

22. “If you do not become a true Messiahian in this life, then you are eternally doomed.”

23. “Lucifer is another name for Satan.”

24. “Only Christians are capable of having “agape love”.

25. “When Jesus returns, and Judgment Day begins, He will destroy everyone who had not accepted Him as their Savior.”

26. “Judgment Day doesnt really come until after the millennium.”

Some scriptures are from the “New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.” “Bible text from the New King James Version® is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.”