HOCELA 東洛杉磯基督徒之家

THE ARTICLES OF FAITH

 

1. The Scriptures

 

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation as its purpose, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its content. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted by Jesus Christ.

 

Scripture References: Isaiah 34:16; 2 Timothy 3:15-17;

      Hebrews 1:1-2; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21

 

2. God

 

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the Universe. God is an infinite in holiness and all other perfections. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. To the eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

1. God-the-Father

 

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude towards all men.

 

Scripture References: Genesis 1:1; Exodus 3:14; Psalm 19:1-3;

      Matthew 6:9; John 4:24

 

 

2. God-the-Son

 

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and necessities of human nature and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, partaking of the nature of God and of man, and in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

 

Scripture References: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-21; John 10:30;

     John 14:9; Romans 5:8; Galations 4:4-5;

     Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 4:14

 

 

3. God-the-Holy Spirit

 

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand the truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgement. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the time a person trusts Christ as Saviour and Lord, he is baptized with the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). The Holy Spirit continues to dwell in the believer as he matures in his relationship with the Lord. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through his church. These gifts are to be exercised humbly and discreetly for the strengthening of the church and should never be exercised in such a way as to be decisive or destructive. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship and equips them for evangelism and service.

 

Scripture References: Matthew 3:16; Luke 4:1; 4:18; John 4:24;

     Acts 1:8; Acts 4: 31; 10:44; Romans 8:9, 11;

     Romans 8:26-27; Romans 12:6-8;

     1 Corinthians 3:16, 12:8-10, 12:28-30

     Ephesians 4:11-13; Ephesians 4:30, 5:18;

     1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Peter 4:10-11

 

3. Man

 

Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning, man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence. Therefore all men inherit a nature and an environment inclined towards sin. As soon as they are capable a moral action they become transgressors and are under the condemnation of God. Only the grace of God  can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man. Therefore every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

 

Scripture References: Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7, 3:22-24;

      Matthew 16:26; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:12, 19

 

4. Salvation

 

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood attained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.

 

1. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Repentance and faith are inseparable experience of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning for sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal, based upon His righteousness, of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.

 

2. Sanctification brings in regeneration. The believer is set apart to God’s purposes through sanctification and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerated person’s life.

 

3. Glorification is the culmination and salvation and is the final blessed and the final state of redeemed.

 

Scripture References: John 1:11-14, 1:29, 3:14-18, 3:36;

Acts 4:12, 16:31-32;

Romans 1:16-18, 8:12-17;

Romans 10:9-10, 10:13;

Colossians 1:11-14; 1 Peter 1:18-19

 

5. God’s Purpose of Grace

 

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, comprehends all the means and connection with the end. It is a glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It includes boasting and promotes humility. All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach to the cause of Christ, and temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

 

Scripture References: Genesis 12:1-3; Jeremiah 31:31; John 15:16;

      Romans 8:28-30, 8:37-39; Ephesians 2:1-10

 

6. The Church

 

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinaces of Christ, committed to His teachings, exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.

 

This church is an autonomous body, operating through democratic processes under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In such a congregation, members have equal rights, privileges, and responsibilities. Its Scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. 

 

The New Testament speaks of the church as the body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.

 

Scripture References : Matthew 16:15-19; Acts 2:41-47, 6:3-6;

Acts 15:1-12; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 3:16;

1Corinithans 12:12-31; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5: 2-24.

 

7. Baptism and the Lord’s supper

 

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is administered upon the authority of the local congregation. Believer’s baptism is an act of obedience symbolising the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper.

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, proclaim the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

 

Scripture References: Matthew 3:13-17, 26:26-30, 28:19-20;

John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42, 8:35-39, 16:30-33;

1 Corinthians 11:23ff

 

8. The Lord’s Day

 

The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian principle based upon biblical teaching to encourage believers to meet together for regular worship, teaching of doctrines, fellowship, praying, and the observance of the ordinaces. This day commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be observed by worship and scriptural devotion, both public and private. To enable members to participate in worship, resting from secular employments is encouraged.

 

Scripture References : Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:1-3; John 20:19-22;

Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; Revelation 1:10

 

9. The Kingdom

 

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christian ought to pray and to labour that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.

 

Scripture References: Jeremiah 23:5-7, Matthew 3:2, 26:29

Mark 1:14-15; Luke 17:20-21; John 3:3;

John 18:36; Colossians 1:13

 

10. Last Things

 

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to hell, the place of everlasting punishment.  The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

 

Scripture Reference: Matthew 24:27, 30, 36, 44; 25:31-46;

Luke 16:19-26; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11;

1 Corinthians 15:24-28, 15:42-47;

1 Thessalonians 4:14-18;

2 Thessalonians 1:7b-10; Hebrews 9:27-28.

 

11. Evangelism and Missions

 

It is the duty and privilege of every followers of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations.  The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit finds expression in a love for others.  Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ.  It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal witness and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

 

Scripture References: Genesis 12:1-3; Isaiah 6:1-9a;

Matthew 9:37-38, 24:14, 18:18-20;

John 20:21; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:13-15;

1 Peter 2:9-10.

12. Education

 

The church itself is a school.  The first followers of Jesus were called ‘disciples’ which mean ‘learners’. Jesus told His followers to ‘make disciples’ and to teach them all things He had commanded them.’

 

It is the responsibility of the church to provide systematic Christian education for the believers which would assist them in living exemplary Christian lives in the community. In addition, for a church to achieve its objective of Christian outreach, it must continually provide training for recognised Christian leaders.

 

Scripture References: Deuteronomy 4:1,5,9,14, 6:4-9, 31:12-13

Proverbs 4:1-5; 1 Corinthians 1:18-20;

Colossians 2:3, 8; 2 Timothy 2:2, 15.

 

13. Stewardship

 

God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debt to the whole world, a sacred responsibility to spread the gospel and a binding stewardship in all areas life.  They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others.  According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth.

 

Scripture References: Leviticus 27:30-32; Deuteronomy 8:17-18;

Malachi 3:8-10; Matthew 6:19-21, 23:23;

Acts 17:24-25, 20:35; Romans 12:1-2;

1 Corinthians 4:1-2, 6:19-20, 16:1-4;

2 Corinthians 9:7-10

 

14. Cooperation

 

Christ’s people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God.  Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches.  They are voluntary and advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner.

Members of the New Testament churches should cooperate with one another in carrying forward missionary, educational, and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ’s Kingdom.  Christian unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for common ends by various groups of  Christ’s people.  Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations, when the end to be attained is itself justified, and when such cooperation involves no violation of conscience or compromise of loyalty to Christ and His Word as revealed in the New Testament.

 

Scripture References: Acts 4:32-37, 13:2-3, 15:7-11; Ephesians 4:11-16

 

15. The Christian and the Social Order

 

Every Christian is under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in his own life and in human society.  Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus. The Christian should oppose, in the spirit of Christ, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice.  He should work to provide for orphaned, the needy, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. Every Christian should seek to bring society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love.  In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.

 

Scripture References: Exodus 20:3-7; Deuteronomy 10:12-13;

Matthew 5:13-16; Luke 20:25; John 15:12;

1 Corinthians 5:9-10; Colossians 3:12-17

 

 

 

16. Religious Liberty

 

God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it.  The church and state should be separate.  Civil government has being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God.  The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work, including financial and/or human resources.  The gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuits of its ends. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right to free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men.  The church will not receive directives from the civil power as to the attainment of its objectives.

 

Scripture Reference: Genesis 1:27; Matthew 22:21; Acts 4:19-20;

Romans 13:1,7; Galatians5:13;

1 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Peter 2:2-17

 

 

Covenant of Home of Christians, Eastern Los Angeles

 

 

I have already accepted Christ as my personal savior and the Lord of my life, been baptized, and accepted the vision and covenant of Home of Christians, Eastern Los Angeles. I am willing to commit myself to God and other members in church. I will follow and do according to the following statements.

 

1. I am willing to keep the oneness of church.

 

To love one another with church members.

No gossip

To obey the leaders.

 

 

“So then let us follow after things which make for peace, and things whereby we may edify one another.” (Romans 14:19)

“Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently.” (1 Peter 1:22)

“Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)

“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit to them: for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account; that they may do this with joy, and not with grief: for this were unprofitable for you. (Hebrew 13:17)

 

2. I am willing to bear and share the responsibilities of church.

 

To pray and ask for the growth of church.

To invite friends who have never joined the church to participate.

To sincerely welcome the visitors.

 

“unto the church … in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: …We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;” ( 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2)

“And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain them to come in, that my house may be filled. (Luke 14:23)

“Wherefore receive you one another, even as Christ also received you, to the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7)

 

3. I am willing to participate in the ministries of church.

 

To develop my talents and abilities.

To allow my pastor to equip and train me in order to serve.

To cultivate a mind of servant.

 

“according as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good “stewards of the manifold grace of God; (1 Peter 4:10)

And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ: ” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

“doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others…but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men;

(Philippians 2:3-4, 7)

 

4.   I am willing to be part of the testimony of church.

 

To participate in the church meetings faithfully.

To live in a godly manner.

To offer tithe constantly and regularly.

 

“not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another;…” (Hebrew 10:25)

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ: ” (Philippians 1:27)

“Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, “(1 Corinthians 16:2)

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is Jehovah's: it is holy unto Jehovah.” (Leviticus 27:30)