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Covenant AffirmationsCrossroads is a part of the Evangelical Covenant Church of America. The Evangelical Covenant Church has its roots in historical Christianity as it emerged in the Protestant Reformation, in the biblical instruction of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, and in the great spiritual awakening of the nineteenth century. The Evangelical Covenant Church affirms the following:We are an apostolic church. We confess the historic faith of the apostles. We believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God, our Savior and Lord. We accept the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, as "the Word of God and perfect rule of faith, doctrine and conduct." We are a catholic church. We see ourselves to be a part of the universal church of Jesus Christ from the days of the apostles until now. We are a reformation church. We stand in the mainstream of the sixteenth-century Protestant movement which insisted on justification by grace alone through faith alone. We are an evangelical church. We were born out of the revival movement that touched all of Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and came to flower for us in nineteenth and twentieth-century North America. Appreciating the classical Christian heritage and hungering for an even more vital experience of new life in Christ, Covenanters affirm a number of evangelical emphases. Among these are: The centrality of the Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, as the
authoritative Word of God and the only perfect rule of faith, doctrine and
conduct. We believe it is essential to the The necessity of new birth for entrance into God's kingdom, and importance of continuing growth in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ for sound spiritual health. Jesus said, "Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). He also said, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" ( John 8:31-32) The Church as a fellowship of believers, characterized by participation and sharing of the new life in Christ. Membership is by confession of personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is open to all believers. Consideration of class or race, education or pedigree, wealth or prestige do not enter. Uniformity in creedal details is not expected. What is required is that one be "born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (l Peter 1:3) The ministry of the Holy Spirit, who with the father and the Son calls the church into being, empowers its witness, guides its missions, and supplies the gifts needed by the Church and its members to exalt Christ. The reality of freedom in Christ, who delivers us from the power of sin and moves us by his grace into a whole new experience of obedience and life. This freedom creates an ecclesiastical climate which allows for differences of opinion in matters of interpretation, doctrine, and practice within the context of biblical guidelines and historical Christianity. Such freedom "is to be distinguished from the individualism that disregards the centrality of the Word of God and the mutual responsibilities and disciplines of the spiritual community (Preamble of the Constitution). Affirmations like these are not to be taken as creedal statements. They are
rather to be understood as true and valid descriptions of what Covenanters
believe and cherish as they continue to grow in grace and knowledge, awaiting
that day when "the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation
11:15). |
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