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The Sakamuyan Declaration
The ChristianSource FSLUG Statement of Faith and Belief, from
the Sakamuyo Christian
Fellowship
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.
The Statement of Faith of the CS-FSLUG (RFC #003 v1.0,
ratified 2005/09/13). Note: Our old statement is available here.
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