What We Believe
Don’t be deceived! Many people today have a set of ideas or beliefs they have ‘accumulated’ along their life’s journey. Sometimes, because they have been influenced by a particular idea which has appealed to them, they give themselves a label such as ‘New Age,’ ‘free thinker,’ Buddhist, Socialist etc. Some adhere to a set of rules of the group they profess to belong to, others prefer to accept from that group whatever suits them and reject the rest. It can be very much a ‘pick and mix’ process depending on people’s tastes.
Disciples, not church members! Jesus said, “go and make disciples” not “go and make church members.” When church members who are not in a right relationship with Jesus (ie they are not disciples) or have behaved in a bad way, people have come up to us and said, “If that’s Christianity, I don’t want to know!” We don’t blame them. For some it’s a genuine reason to keep away from ‘religion,’ For others it’s an excuse, because they know in their hearts that it is not what Jesus expects of His disciples. What He expects is, in their judgement, too much. So they keep away. Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” We say “Seek to be a disciple of Jesus.” At Pentecost the apostle Peter, newly filled with the Holy Spirit and seeking to make disciples said, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” On that day 3,000 people responded. People are responding in even greater numbers today. Will you be one of them?
Our base Jean and I are members of Biddulph Assemblies of God (AOG) Church, a Pentecostal Church. We are in broad agreement with the statement of faith of the AOG. AOG was established over 80 years ago and was revolutionary in its beliefs and practice. Together with the other main Pentecostal groups (Elim and Apostolic) the Pentecostal movement brought a breath of fresh air into the stuffy ritualistic ways of the main denominations in the early and mid 20th century. It went back to basics (to Pentecost!) and brought out the truths of God’s promises to His people; truths which were being neglected, such as the gift of the Holy Spirit being for Christians today. (Acts 2:1 & 1 Cor:12) They asserted with great enthusiasm and demonstration that these gifts did not cease 2000 years ago.
Jesus will build His Church! In the latter part of the 20th century the Charismatic movement has influenced the major denominations with very similar beliefs, and God has blessed the Methodists, Anglicans, Baptists, Presbyterians, Catholics and others with a new awareness of His interest in his Church. The Charismatic Movement has restored ‘old truths’ to many of our churches and has also seen the establishment of modern churches, house churches, cell groups and great gatherings of Christians all over the world. The worldwide church is growing at an unprecedented rate. This is the church of Jesus Christ and not the church of men! Although we see many abuses in ‘bringing the Church up-to-date,’ we must be aware that, while some churches make claim to have exclusive truth, only Jesus Himself IS TRUTH. Men’s truth, however deeply sincere, influences men temporarily. The truth of Jesus Christ changes men forever.
Believe and Receive! For these reasons we do not wish to publish a set of beliefs for people to follow. We believe it is necessary to understand that God’s word, the Bible, is non-negotiable and contains all truth. Our finite minds will not understand this unless we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour and received the promise of God’s Holy Spirit. Hence our motto: ‘BELIEVE AND RECEIVE’
‘But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.’ 1 Cor 2:14
Be patient! From this standpoint we will tell you the essence of our faith – faith imparted to us in over 20 years of Christian service. Faith which has come through adversity, disappointment, tragedy and even unbelief and disobedience. Faith which has come through joy, fulfilment, miraculous divine intervention, belief and obedience. We recommend the latter, but do not despair if you’ve failed or fallen. God is in the business of mending broken hearts, bringing release and liberty from addictions and affliction, and bringing about healing and Salvation. (Luke 4: 18-19) We especially believe that God is interested in seeing your families saved – be patient!
Find out more If you are sufficiently interested in this website (please feel free to e-mail us about what you think - see ‘Contact Us’) we will make available more detailed information about how to discover what God wants for you, and what you need to know to have a real vibrant relationship with Him. In the meantime, the book, ‘Slaves, Sinners and Saints’ together with our other resources will give an insight into how God has dealt with my family in the last two centuries, how He has dealt with us, and what his plans are for us all in the exciting days to come!
Know God, know peace. No God, no peace! So we will not replicate a standard AOG Statement of Faith here (it is freely available on the AOG website) because, although we believe sound doctrine is important, we also believe God cannot be confined to man’s definitions. We also believe that right relationships (with God and our fellow men) are more important than right doctrine. We will simply state a few biblical truths:
One of the scribes (a lawyer) approached Jesus trying to trip Him up on a point of religion.
‘“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”’
In Mark’s Gospel, the lawyer agreed with Jesus! Jesus’ response was: “You are not far from the kingdom of Heaven.”
How remarkable! He kept all the commandments but still was not included in the kingdom. So near, yet so far away! The incident was preceded by Jesus’ statement about eternal life, and followed by His statement about himself, that He is God. The man wanted eternal life but wouldn’t acknowledge Jesus as God!
Keeping commandments and doctrine is so important, but it needs to be done with a personal knowledge of God’s eternity through Jesus, (the grave is not the end) and the knowledge that Jesus is alive! He is Lord! He is risen from the dead! He is the Saviour, the Healer, the Baptiser in the Holy Spirit and the soon coming King! He loves you and wants you to be safe. He’s asking you to trust Him.
This is what we believe. It is not a set of religious rules. It is a submission to the living God who loves you so much he wants you to have a real relationship with him!