OUR BELIEFS

This statement of faith is written specifically for our friends who are unsure of the Christian faith. I would like to share with you what we as Christians truly believe. I know you are taught many things about what we believe, but dear friend, I would like you to hear from a born-again Christian what our faith really teaches us.

1. Trinity 
Just as you believe in the doctrine of Tawhid (the oneness of God), so we believe that God is only one. I know that you are taught that we believe in 3 gods. This is incorrect. We believe in only one God through the Trinity. That means that we believe there is only one God who has made himself known through God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. If you have been taught that we believe the Virgin Mary is part of the Trinity, this is incorrect. Sometimes you are taught that we believe in the “Holy Family”; this is not found in our holy book.

Although God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are different, they are the same being. To give you an example, just as sunlight comes from the sun to the earth, so Jesus came from the Father to the earth. He came from the Father but he was not different than the Father. Jesus simply clothed himself in human flesh so that he could enter into this world. Please allow me to address a sensitive subject here. Just because we refer to Jesus as the Son of God does not mean we believe that Jesus came to this earth through human relations, as any normal son. No, we believe in the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus. We are just as disgusted by the idea that Jesus came to the world through human relations as you are.

Because Jesus was born of a virgin, we believe he was both divine and human. Jesus was at the same time totally God and totally man. This was necessary for salvation.

2. The Holy Scripture
We believe in the Bible. We believe that the 66 books found in the Christian Bible today are the word of God without any error. They have been translated, but they have never been corrupted. If you were taught that the Bible was corrupted because there were thousands of manuscripts, this is wrong. There were indeed many manuscripts, but these many manuscripts all agreed about the teaching of the Bible and about Jesus. The fact that so many manuscripts exist and they all agree is proof that the Bible is the word of God. Even though God used many men over many years to write the Bible, the manuscripts all contained the same message. This message is that the world was in trouble because of sin and it needed a Savior. All manuscripts agree that Jesus was that Savior the world needed.

You have been taught that Jesus was not crucified. But the Bible teaches that Jesus was crucified by his enemies and that he died on the cross. However, he did not remain dead. After three days he rose from the grave and showed himself to many people. By doing this he won victory over death and sin. Eventually he ascended to Heaven. Today he sits at the right hand of God the father. All of this is written in the original Bible, and the Torah (Old Testament) and Injil (New Testament) all tell this story. This is but one of the ways that we know the Bible to be true and never corrupted. The Bible did not need to be corrected by any other book.

My friend, if you have been taught that the Bible was corrupted because there are books that are not included like the gospel of Barnabas, or other books, please know that these books were never accepted by the true church and those who did accept them were labeled as heretics from the beginning. If you believe the Quran always existed and cannot be changed because it is God’s word, how can you accept that the word of God which came before it was changed?

3. Jesus
Mankind is born sinful. This is called the doctrine of original sin. I know, dear friend, that you do not believe in original sin. But if you believe, like we do, that God created Adam and Eve and they sinned, then the Bible teaches us that through them all of us are born sinners. Even if you do not believe in original sin, you are still a sinner. You know that God has commanded you to do certain things. Still you do not do them. You also know God has forbidden certain things, but you do them anyway. This is called sin. Sin breaks the fellowship between man and God. God is totally holy and he cannot stand sin in any way. But man is always sinning, so how can God and man be together? The only way is by seeking God’s forgiveness.

Mankind have brought great shame to themselves and have broken fellowship with God the Father. Because of this sin which separated man, Jesus had to step in and reunite us with the father through his death on the cross. We must realize that we are sinners. This is the first step to be in fellowship with God. The next step is to accept the payment of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross so that we may be in fellowship with him. You are taught that Jesus is a prophet. Jesus was much more than a prophet, he was God. To believe anything less is blasphemy against Jesus. You must also believe that after Jesus died on the cross, he rose again. Maybe this picture will help to illustrate.

Jesus came and died for the whole world. He came so that you may be saved.

4. Salvation
My friend, you have been taught to follow the five pillars—that through hajj and prayer you can please God. I tell you that it is impossible to please God through your works. Yes, prayer and fasting and all your works are admirable. But do you know what the Bible says about our efforts to do good? It says all our works are as filthy rags in the eyes of God. You cannot earn your way into Heaven. All your work is in vain. Why? Because God is a Spirit and he must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. You can only do this if your heart is clean and your heart can only be cleaned by accepting Jesus as your savior. If you rely on the five pillars to lead you to Heaven, you will fall short.

The Bible tells us, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Did you hear those words, my friend? The glory of God. Do you really believe that you as a person, even if you pray five times a day or make a hajj to mecca, can reach the glory of God?  Of course not. Without his forgiveness you cannot reach the glory of God.

The wages of sin is death, the Bible teaches, but the gift of God is everlasting life. If you wish to be in paradise one day you can only do this by accepting the gift of God.

These are some differences between what we believe my friend. I wanted you to hear it from a Christian and not from anyone who may misunderstand our beliefs.

Finally, I would like to apologize for some who call themselves Christians and who act very poorly against you or say very nasty things to you. I am sorry for any hate that you have experienced at the hands of Christians. As a Christian I am taught to love everyone. Not some people, but everyone. Whoever you are, I love you. I do not want to disrespect you. I simply want you to know the truth.

If you would like to know more, you can click on the email link below and I will be glad to answer any question you may have.

If you are a church and would like a full doctrinal statement please feel free to email us as well.