THE CONFESSION OF FAITH OF THE UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST Adopted in 1889 IN the name of God, we declare and confess before all men the following articles of our belief: ARTICLE I. OF GOD AND THE HOLY TRINITY. We believe in the only true God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; that these three are one-the Father in the Son, the Son in the Father, and the Holy Ghost equal in essence or being with the Father and the Son. ARTICLE II. OF CREATION AND PROVIDENCE. We believe that this triune God created the heavens and the earth, and all that in them is, visible and invisible; that he sustains, protects, and governs these, with gracious regard for the welfare of man, to the glory of his name. ARTICLE III. OF JESUS CHRIST. We believe in Jesus Christ; that he is very God and man; that he became incarnate by the power of the Holy Ghost and was born of the Virgin Mary; that he is the Savior and Mediator of the whole human race, if they with full faith accept the grace proffered in Jesus; that this Jesus suffered and died on the cross for us, was buried, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God, to intercede for us; and that he will come again at the last day to judge the living and the dead. ARTICLE IV. OF THE HOLY GHOST. We believe in the Holy Ghost; that he is equal in being with the Father and the Son; that he convinces the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; that he comforts the faithful and guides them into all truth. ARTICLE V. OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. We believe that the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the word of God; that it reveals the only true way to our salvation; that every true Christian is bound to acknowledge and receive it by the help of the Spirit of God as the only rule and guide in faith and practice. ARTICLE VI. OF THE CHURCH. We believe in a holy Christian church, composed of true believers, in which the word of God is preached by men divinely called, and the ordinances are duly administered; that this divine institution is for the maintenance of worship, for the edification of believers, and the conversion of the world to Christ. ARTICLE VII. OF THE SACRAMENTS. We believe that the sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, are to be used in the Church, and should be practiced by all Christians; but the mode of baptism and the manner of observing the Lord's Supper are always to be left to the judgment and understanding of each individual. Also, the baptism of children shall be left to the judgment of believing parents. The example of the washing of feet is to be left to the judgment of each one, to practice or not. ARTICLE VIII. OF DEPRAVITY. We believe that man is fallen from original righteousness, and apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, is not only entirely destitute of holiness, but is inclined to evil, and only evil, and that continually; and that except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. ARTICLE IX. OF JUSTIFICATION. We believe that penitent sinners are justified before God, only by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and not by works; yet that good works in Christ are acceptable to God, and spring out of a true and living faith. ARTICLE X. OF REGENERATION AND ADOPTION. We believe that regeneration is the renewal of the heart of man after the image of God, through the word, by the act of the Holy Ghost, by which the believer receives the spirit of adoption and is enabled to serve God with the will and the affections. ARTICLE XI. OF SANCTIFICATION. We believe that sanctification is the work of God's grace, through the word and the spirit, by which those who have been born again are separated in their acts, words, and thoughts from sin, and are enabled to live unto God, and to follow holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. ARTICLE XII. OF THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. We believe that the Christian Sabbath is divinely appointed; that it is commemorative of our Lord's resurrection from the grave, and is an emblem of our eternal rest; that it is essential to the welfare of the civil community, and to the permanence and growth of the Christian church, and that it should be reverently observed as a day of holy rest and of social and public worship. ARTICLE XIII. OF THE FUTURE STATE. We believe in the resurrection of the dead; the future general judgment; and an eternal state of rewards, in which the righteous dwell in endless life, and the wicked in endless punishment. |