[CS-FSLUG] Attention to List Members: New Statement of Faith

[Timothy Butler]

Dear ChristianSource Members,
     The moderating team has taken into consideration suggestions  
concerning the statement of faith, and I present to you the final  
replacement for the old statement. All members are asked to agree to  
this new statement, just as you did the old one. The old statement  
will be removed from the web site, soon.

     Blessings,
             Tim

The Sakamuyan Declaration
Sakamuyo Christian Fellowship Declaration of Faith and Belief:

* Note: This statement differs from the official Sakamuyan  
Declaration concerning Article VII, of which we only require respect  
for those who hold this position, not agreement with it.

We, as members of the ChristianSource Free Software and Linux Users  
Group (CS-FSLUG), affirm the essentials of the faith expressed in the  
Apostle's and Nicene creeds. We also affirm the following points as  
the essentials of the Christian faith and as the minimum requirements  
to become a part of the earthly expression of the one true and holy  
church of Jesus Christ.

I. We affirm the one true God of the Bible, all powerful, all knowing  
and eternal; we affirm that God exists in three persons, Father, Son  
and Holy Spirit and that these three are one.

II. We affirm the Earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. We  
affirm His existence as God made flesh, both fully God and fully Man.  
We believe in his physical death and his physical resurrection after  
three days in the tomb.

III. We affirm the presence of the Holy Spirit in all believers as  
the divine comforter sent by God to provide support and guidance  
since the time of Pentecost.

IV. We affirm all humanity was made in the image of God, but through  
willful disobedience fell into a corrupt state of sin. In this fallen  
state we are totally depraved and unable to in anyway bring about our  
own salvation.

V. We affirm God, in His mercy and despite our depravity, chose to  
bestow completely unmerited grace upon anyone who would personally  
accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior through repentance and  
faith. This is made possible through the vicarious atonement provided  
by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, who was sinless and  
innocent of the punishment bestowed on him for our sake. We believe  
that works after salvation show only the fruit of the Spirit and in  
no way are necessary to obtain or retain saving grace. A personal  
relationship with Jesus is the key to true membership in the Church.

VI. We affirm the Bible as the true, holy and divine revelation of  
God. We accept the universally accepted 27 books of the New Testament  
and the Jewish canon of 39 books as the inspired Word of God through  
which other revelations ought to be interpreted. While the full Truth  
of God is larger than the Bible, the Bible is wholly Truth. We affirm  
the validity of the scripture canon and believe the entirety of God's  
Word must be included in our theology. We believe between the front  
and back covers of the Bible in its original form, we find what God  
intended to have written.

VII. While ChristianSource affirms the following article of this  
declaration, we recognize that not all Christians agree on this  
assertion and therefore do not require acceptance of it but only  
respect for those who hold to this belief:  We affirm Baptism and  
Communion as sacraments  instituted by Christ for this age as outward  
signs of inward spiritual grace. Neither baptism nor communion are  
necessary for salvation nor the continued remission of sins.

VIII. We affirm all professing Christians ought make every effort to  
keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

IX. We believe in the triumphant return of the Son at the end of the  
age, the judgment of all the people of the world, and the eternal  
sentence to bliss or condemnation.

X. We affirm all Christians, as members of the body of Christ, are  
called to follow the Great Commission given to us by our Lord before  
he ascended to Heaven. Christians, regardless of status as laity or  
clergy, should seek to make disciples and be instrumental in  
baptizing and teaching them the commandments of Christ to the very  
end of this age.


---
Timothy R. Butler | "Now  that  I am a  Christian  I  do have moods
Editor, OfB.biz   | in which the whole thing looks very improbable:
tbutler at ofb.biz   | but when I was an  atheist I had moods in which
timothybutler.us  | Christianity looked terribly probable."
                                                       -- C.S. Lewis