What We Believe - Farmer Union Church

Farmer Union Church Statement of Beliefs

Summary

Farmer Union Church is a protestant congregation where its members believe in one God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Savior of all persons who put their faith in Him alone for eternal life. We believe those who receive new life in Christ are called to be holy in character and conduct, and can only live this way by being filled with the Holy Spirit. We believe in the Bible and seek to establish our faith and actions on its teachings. We believe God wants people everywhere to know Him and that the purpose of the church is to tell the world about Christ through our worship, witness, and loving deeds.

Faith in the Holy Trinity

We believe in the one living and true God, both holyHoly: To be set apart for God, to be fully dedicated to God and loving, eternal, unlimited in power, wisdom and goodness, the Creator and Preserver of all things. Within this unity there are three persons of one essential nature, power and eternity — the Father, the Son and the HolyHoly: To be set apart for God, to be fully dedicated to God Spirit.^A

A – Refers to Biblical references that can be found at the end of this document

The Father

We believe that God the Father is the Source of everything that exists, whether matter or spirit. With the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Father made humanity, male and female, in His image. He relates to people as Father, showing how much He loves them. Because of this love, God both seeks and receives people who repent of their sins.

The Son of God

We believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who is the eternal Word made flesh. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, making him truly God and truly man. He lived a life without sin, died on the cross, and was buried to be a sacrifice both for original sin and for all human transgressions as well as to reconcile us to God. Christ rose bodily from the dead, and ascended into heaven, and there intercedes for us at the Father’s right hand until He returns to judge all humanity on the Last Day.^B

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit who has been sent to us by the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit has the same nature, majesty, and glory as the Father and the Son. He is and always will be truly God. It is through the Spirit that we come to experience God’s grace. He points out sin and brings new birth to believers. He sets us apart to belong completely to God and actually changes our nature to be like God’s. He is always everywhere, assuring, preserving, guiding, and enabling the believer.^C

The Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation

We believe that the books of the Old and New Testaments constitute the Holy Scriptures. They are the inspiredInspired: God’s direction of the human authors of the Bible to compose and record His message and infallibleInfallible: Perfect, incapable of error, completely trustworthy written Word of God, fully inerrantInerrant: Is without error or fault in all of its teaching, incapable of being wrong in their original manuscripts and superior to all human authority, and have been transmitted to the present without corruption of any essential doctrine. We believe that they contain all things necessary for salvation; so that whatever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man or woman that it should be believed as an article of faith, or necessary for salvation. Both in the Old and New Testaments, eternal life is offered ultimately through Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and humanity. The New Testament teaches Christians how to fulfill the moral principles of the Old Testament, which does not contradict the New Testament, calling for loving obedience to God made possible by the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit.^D

The canonicalCanonical: Included in the list of sacred books officially accepted as genuine. books of the Old Testament are:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

The canonical books of the New Testament are:
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude and Revelation.

God’s Purpose for Humanity

We believe that God’s whole law is summarized in the two great commandments: to love God with all our heart, and to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. These two laws describe how we ought to live in every aspect of life, reminding us that God is our King and all people are equal before Him. If we live according to these laws, we will fully obey God and treat people as we ought.^E

Marriage and the Family

We believe that every person is created in the image of God and that human sexuality reflects that image in terms of intimate love, communication, fellowship, subordination of the self to the larger whole, and fulfillment. The Bible uses the marriage relationship as the supreme metaphor for His relationship with His covenant people, one God with one people. God intends for human sexuality to be expressed only in a monogamous lifelong relationship between one biological man and one biological woman within the framework of marriage. This is the only relationship which is divinely designed for the birth and rearing of children and is a covenant union made in the sight of God, taking priority over every other human relationship.^F

The Sanctity of Life

We believe that life is created by God, and begins at conception. We acknowledge God’s sovereignty over life, as He has created man in His image and cherishes each life as sacred and holy. Children are gifts from God, so we are therefore called to value, defend, and protect all human life.^G

Sin: Original, Willful, and Involuntary

We believe that through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin entered the world and all creation suffered its consequences. The effects of sin include disruption of the relationship between God and humanity, deterioration of the natural order of creation, and exploitation of persons by evil or misguided social systems. The whole of creation groans for redemption. Each person is born with a predisposition toward sin, manifested in an orientation toward self and away from God, leading to deliberate acts of unrighteousness. The residual effects of Adam and Eve’s disobedience include a marred human nature from which arise involuntary shortcomings, faults, weaknesses, and imperfect judgments, which should not be accounted the same as willful sin. However, as manifestations of the fallen nature of humanity, these shortcomings of God’s holiness still necessitate the merits of the atonement, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, and the self-control of the believer. Willful sin results when a morally accountable person chooses to violate a known law of God, using freedom of choice to please self rather than obey God. The consequences of willful sin can include a loss of fellowship with God, a self-absorption with one’s own interests rather than love and concern for others, a bondage to things which distort the divine image, a persistent inability to live righteously, and ultimately everlasting misery and separation from God. The atoningAtoning: An act that pays the price that is needed to right a wrong. work of Christ is the only remedy for sin, whether original, willful or involuntary.^H

Repentance and Faith

We believe that for men and women to be given what God’s prevenientPrevenient: Coming before, anticipating, or preceding; in anticipation grace has made possible, they must voluntarily respond in repentance and faith. The ability comes from God, but the act is the individual’s.

Repentance is prompted by the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. It involves a willful change of mind that renounces sin and longs for righteousness, a Godly sorrow for and a confession of past sins, proper restitution for wrongdoings, and a resolution to reform the way we live our life. Repentance is the precondition for saving faith, and without it, saving faith is impossible. Faith, in turn, is the only condition of salvation. It begins in the agreement of the mind and the consent of the will to the truth of the gospel, but issues in a complete reliance by the whole person in the saving ability of Jesus Christ and a complete trusting of oneself to Him as Savior and Lord of their life. Saving faith is expressed in a public acknowledgment of His Lordship over their life and an identification with His Church.^I

Justification, Regeneration and Adoption

We believe that when one repents of personal sin and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, that at the same moment that person is justified, regenerated, adopted into the family of God, and assured of personal salvation through the witness of the Holy Spirit.

We believe that justification is the judicial act of God whereby a person is accounted righteous, granted full pardon of all sin, delivered from guilt, and completely released from the penalty of sins committed….past, present, and future, by the sacrifice on the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by faith alone, not on the basis of works.^J

We believe that regeneration, or the new birth, is that work of the Holy Spirit whereby, when one truly repents and believes, one’s moral nature is given a distinctively spiritual life with the capacity for love and obedience. This new life is received by faith in Jesus Christ; it enables the pardoned sinner to serve God with the will and affections of the heart, and by it the regenerate are delivered from the power of sin which reigns over all the unregenerate.^K

We believe that adoption is the act of God by which the justified and regenerated believer becomes a partaker of all the rights, privileges and responsibilities of a child of God.^L

Sanctification

We believe sanctificationSanctification: The process of setting apart, purifying, or making holy. is a continual process in which the Holy Spirit transforms people, making them fit for His holy purpose and conforming them into the image of Jesus. This process can only occur once a person has been justified and regenerated by God.^M

Good Works

We believe that although good works cannot save us from our sins or from God’s judgment, they are the necessary fruit of faith and follow after regeneration. Therefore they are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and by those works a living faith may be as evident as a tree is discerned by its fruit.^N

The Church

We believe that the Christian Church is the entire body of believers in Jesus Christ, who is the founder and only Head of the Church. The Church includes both those believers who have gone to be with the Lord and those who remain on the earth, having renounced the world, the flesh and the devil, and having dedicated themselves to the work which Christ committed unto His Church until He comes. The Church is a representation of the Kingdom of God on earth. Its purpose is to preach the pure Word of God, properly administer the sacraments according to Christ’s instructions, and live in obedience to all that Christ commands. A local church is a body of believers formally organized on gospel principles, meeting regularly for the purposes of evangelism, nurture, fellowship and worship.^O

We believe divine public worship is the duty and privilege of a Christian who, in the presence of God, bows in adoration, humility and dedication. We believe divine worship is essential to the life of the Church, and that the assembling of the people of God for such worship is necessary to Christian fellowship and spiritual growth. It should be in a language and form understood by the people, consistent with the Holy Scriptures to the edificationEdification: Improvement, instruction, or enlightenment, that is morally or spiritually uplifting. of all, and in accordance with these statements of faith.^P

The Sacraments

The two sacraments that we have been commanded to follow by Jesus are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These sacraments are a symbol of our Christian faith and a remembrance of the grace that God has given to each of us. Through this remembrance we are strengthened and brought closer to him.

Baptism

Baptism is not only a sign of the profession of faith, but it is also a declaration of regeneration or the new birth. Infant baptism is welcomed but not a requirement. If baptized as an infant, it is expected that the child will attend a confirmation class later in life to confirm their understanding and possession of a true Christian faith. Dedication of children is also acceptable with a believer’s baptism expected to occur later on in their life, which would be preceded by attending the same confirmation class mentioned above. We also welcome any form of Christian baptism and do not require any sort of re-baptism.^Q

Confirmation

A confirmation class is typically held before someone is baptized into the Church. It is used to ensure the individual knows and understands the foundation of a true saving faith, and what is expected of them as a professing follower of Christ. This class can also include those who were baptized as a child, but are not yet an official member of the congregation.

The Lord’s Supper

While not believing that the bread and juice are actually transformed into the body and blood of Christ (transubstantiation), we do believe that his presence is with us as we partake in the Lord’s Supper. The bread is a symbol for His body which was broken for us, and the cup is a symbol for his blood which was shed for us. We practice an open communion, which means everyone is free to participate as long as they profess Christ as their Lord and Savior.^R

The Second Coming of Christ

We believe that the certainty of the personal and imminent return of Christ inspires holy living and zeal for the evangelization of the world. At His return, He will fulfill all prophecies made concerning His final and complete triumph over evil.

The Resurrection of the Dead

We believe in the bodily resurrection from the dead of all people—of the just unto the resurrected life, and of the unjust to the resurrection of damnation to Hell. The resurrection of Christ is the guarantee of the resurrection of all which will occur at Christ’s Second Coming.^S

The Judgment of All People

We believe that the Scriptures reveal Jesus as the Judge of all, and the acts of His judgment are based on His omniscience and eternal justice. His administration of judgment will culminate in the final meeting of all persons before His throne of great majesty and power, where records will be examined and final rewards and punishments will be administered.^T

The Marriage of Ministers

The ministers of Christ are not commanded by God’s law either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage; therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other Christians, to enter into a holy marriage.^U

The Rulers of the United States of America

The President, the Congress, the general assemblies, the governors, and the councils of state, as the delegates of the people, are the rulers of the United States of America, according to the division of power made to them by the Constitution of the United States and by the constitutions of their respective states. And the said states form a sovereign and independent nation, and ought not to be subject to any foreign jurisdiction. When the laws and commands of the governing or supreme authority of the country of which they are citizens, or subjects or in which they reside, are not contradictory to our interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, then it is the duty of all Christians, and especially of all Christian ministers, to observe and obey those laws and commands, and to use all laudable means to encourage obedience to the powers that be.^V

The Christian and Property

We acknowledge that God the Father is the owner of all things, and we believe in the lawful holding of individual property. Christian’s are encouraged to be fruitful, and to utilize their private property as they are able in the support of Christ’s kingdom.^W

The Lord’s Day

We believe that there is still a sabbath rest for Christians to participate in. Exodus 20:8 tells us to keep the Sabbath day “holy,” which means “set apart” or “dedicated to God.” This gives us a special day of the week to direct our thoughts and actions toward God. Our church observes this sabbath on Sunday. We believe this day should be set aside for resting, gathering and worshiping together as a body of believers, studying God’s word for self improvement, spending time with family, and serving others as the body of Christ.

Definitions:

Atoning: An act that pays the price that is needed to right a wrong.
Canonical: Included in the list of sacred books officially accepted as genuine.
Edification: Improvement, instruction, or enlightenment, that is morally or spiritually uplifting.
Holy: To be set apart for God, to be fully dedicated to God
Inerrant: Is without error or fault in all of its teaching, incapable of being wrong
Infallible: Perfect, incapable of error, completely trustworthy
Inspired: God’s direction of the human authors of the Bible to compose and record His message
Prevenient: Coming before, anticipating, or preceding; in anticipation
Sanctification: The process of setting apart, purifying, or making holy.

Biblical References: