Anabaptist Bible-believing church - Gladys VA
We believe in one God, eternally existent in three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus Christ had no beginning and has always existed with the Father from eternity past and is fully God himself; that he is the “Living Word” who became flesh, thereby becoming the perfect “God-Man.” That He was born of a virgin, that He lived sinlessly and voluntarily laid down His life at the cross, thus becoming the once and for all, perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind. And that He rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He ever lives to make intercession for us.
We believe in the inspiration of Holy Scripture. We recognize the Old Testament as historical fact and consider the “New Covenant” as revealed in the New Testament as the infallible guide for our faith and practice. We intend to teach a simple and literal interpretation of scripture, and then, by the grace of God, to live out that teaching in all areas of everyday life.
We believe we are saved by grace alone, through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We also believe that the work of Christ in our hearts will show itself in godliness and the fruits of the Spirit being evident in our lives.
We believe that the church is the body of Christ, made up of all sincere believers the world over, who through repentance and faith have availed themselves of the free pardon that Jesus provides and have been born into the family of God.
We believe that there is value in the local body of believers, where we can worship together, share our joys and sorrows, and support and encourage each other in our Christian walk.
We recognize that Jesus Himself instituted the Communion service and commanded that His church continue to keep it “in remembrance of Him:”
The gathered believers are the ones who participate in the Lord’s Supper; it is not for unbelievers, although it is an object lesson for all who are present and looking on.
The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remember Christ’s suffering and death, His shed blood and broken body. It also should be a deeply spiritual worship experience where we are all participating with Jesus in his crucifixion experience. As the scripture says, “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a participation in the body of Christ?” At the Lord’s table, by faith, we are feasting spiritually on all the blessings that Christ’s death and resurrection have secured for us.
Communion should be a joyful but serious occasion. Each of us should examine ourselves lest in any way we would be guilty of “partaking in an unworthy manner.” (I Cor. 11:27) This could be as simple as a nonchalant attitude towards Christ’s supreme sacrifice or because of a problem with habitual sinful living, even if we alone have the knowledge. Pastors and the whole congregation (in the spirit of being accountable for each other) need the discern the same for each other, not in a judgmental way, but rather being motivated by love and the well being of one another’s souls. The scripture speaks strongly to the dangers of partaking in an unworthy manner. “He who partakes unworthily will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.” Of course, this worthiness is not a state of perfection, but it rather means that one is living a repentant and surrendered life, covered by the blood of the One whose sacrifice we are celebrating. If there is someone living in known, unrepentant sin or has a known, unsound faith, the pastors and congregation have responsibility to deny Communion.
At Covenant Fellowship, we have decided to practice a “Believer’s Communion”, which would obviously include all members in good standing. That being said, and with respect to the larger body of Christ, we feel we could not exclude an attendee who professes to be born again, to having a sound faith in Christ and a clear testimony. The pastor introducing the Communion service will include the definition of faith in Christ and any attendee would be expected to examine themselves and encouraged to give a public testimony regarding their faith and walk with God.
Long term attendees who wish to routinely partake in Communion will be urged to join in Covenant membership; if they are unable or unwilling, they will be encouraged and aided in finding a church where they can fully commit to local membership.
Also, we will have a yearly service where we will emphasize being humble servants to each other and will follow Jesus’ example in washing each other’s feet.
Baptism is clearly commanded in scripture, as in Matthew 28: “Go, teach and baptize.” And in Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized.” That being said, we realize that baptism itself doesn’t save, but rather it is “the answer of a good conscience towards God,”
(I Peter 3:21) In other words, baptism is an act of obedience and symbolism in response to the redeeming work of Jesus Christ in the heart of a believer.
At Covenant Fellowship, we plan to baptize soon after conversion, which seems to best fit the Biblical model. The mode of baptism is less clear; at Covenant we will be fine with immersion, pouring or a combination of the two.
We believe parents, pastors, and the whole congregation have the responsibility to affirm new believers by offering them baptism when they are converted. Parents, pastors and the congregation also share the responsibility in discerning whether the newly professing believer is ready for baptism. If the applicant is unable to give a clear testimony of their repentance, their faith in Christ, and give evidence of a changed life, then it is likely that there is a need for a fuller understanding and deeper faith.
We believe that when a person is truly born again they are immediately joined with the family of God, Christ’s church. We recognize them as brothers and sisters with whom we have the responsibility to encourage, nurture and disciple. “You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and with the household of God.” (Ephesians 2:19)
Baptism, then, is the public declaration of faith in Jesus Christ, identification with Christ in his death and resurrection. It also identifies a believer with the body of Christ (the church) including the local gathering. At Covenant Fellowship we will consider someone to be a part of us (a “member”) after baptism unless the one baptized would at some point make a request to the contrary.
Responsibilities of local membership would include endorsing our covenant/creed and giving public testimony of the applicant’s willingness to take on these responsibilities; things such as regular attendance, systematic giving, using personal gifts to edify other members, giving and receiving encouragement and exhortation, volunteering for ministry assignments, and in the case of known, unrepentant sin, be willing to participate in the disciplinary process as the church follows the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 18. Consideration will be given to younger members, recognizing that younger believers would not be ready for full involvement in church responsibilities.
We desire a vigorous discipleship program, so anyone coming to Christ in baptism would subsequently be well instructed in all areas of doctrine, faith and practice. In the circumstance that someone feels unable to commit to our covenant/creed, we would do our best to help them find a local church to which they could commit.
We believe that marriage is a sacred and holy institution, established by God at the time of creation.
Genesis 2:18&24: “The the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a helper fit for him. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
We believe the marriage relationship should reflect Christ’s relationship with His church, which is a high and holy calling, to be sure. Therefore, a husband should provide loving servant leadership while living with his wife in an understanding way. The wife should fill a respectful and supportive role.
Ephesians 5:25-32 “Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself it’s Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her…… In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife, loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of His body.”
Colossians 3:19 “Husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them.”
I Peter 3:7 “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so your prayers may not be hindered.”
We believe God’s design for marriage is one man and one woman joined together until death alone dissolves the union. We do recognize the possibility of extenuating circumstances (such as abuse or whoredom) where separation is deemed necessary, but we see no freedom to remarry given in New Testament scripture. We realize that Moses made some allowances in the Old Testament “for the hardness of their hearts…” but we see Jesus restoring marriage to it’s original high and sacred calling.
I Corinthians 7:10-11 “To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband) and the husband should not divorce his wife.”
Luke 16:18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced of her husband commits adultery.”
Mark 10:6-12 “But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Romans 7:2&3 “For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress is she lives with another man while her husband is still alive.”
Matthew 5:32 “But I say unto you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the grounds of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Matthew 19:8-9 “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce you wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
There are two kingdoms present on this earth; the Kingdom of Heaven (God’s kingdom) and the Kingdom of this World, of which Satan is prince. In this sinful world God has ordained the governments of the nations to maintain righteousness and justice by restraining evil, by upholding the sanctity of life and protecting property. God intends for these governments to maintain order and justice by giving “approval to what is good” and by punishing those who do wrong by the force of the sword. (Romans 13)
On the other hand, the Kingdom of Heaven is built on the righteousness and peace of the Word of God and the gospel of Christ, which when embraced in faith translates believers out of the kingdom of the world/darkness and into the Kingdom of God. This kingdom accepts people for all nations and people groups; it has no international boundaries and therefore does not need a military to protect it’s territorial, economic or ethnic interests. Our first allegiance is to this heavenly Kingdom; allegiance to any earthly military would be a severe conflict of interest.
Instead, Christians are to be a prophetic voice in society. If a government does not govern justly, does not protect property, no longer protects human life (for example, making abortion lawful) then the church must be a prophetic voice of persuasion by godly living, preaching, testimony, conversation, literature and by appeal to governmental officials. Active and aggressive involvement in political parties, “God and country” nationalism, lobbying and protesting would compromise the mission of the church.
Because governments are ordained by God they are to be respected. We are to “honor the king”. We are to pray for the governing officials and pay our taxes. We are to obey all the laws of the governmental authorities except when the government requires what God forbids or forbids what God requires; then we must “obey God rather than man.’ Our basic posture, though, is to be respectful, obedient and model citizens.
We believe in the sanctity of human life, that humans are “created in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27) and that God alone is to determine “length of days.” So we will do all in our power to preserve human life. Jesus and the apostles, by example and the Word, taught us to “put away the sword” (lethal weapons) and to “return good for evil.” These principles apply in all seasons of life, whether in times of war or in personal encounters with evil. We are taught to never avenge ourselves, “for vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19
We are called to resist evil of every kind, violence, injustice and oppression but not to do so with carnal weapons. (II Corinthians 10:4) The sword that Jesus gives the Christian is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,” who will lead and empower us through all of life’s circumstances.
We stand against abortion, suicide, hostility between nations, races, ethnic groups and classes of people. We also stand against domestic violence, sexual abuse, human trafficking and all other forms of injustice and violence. (Matthew 5:38-48, 26:51-58, Romans 12:15-21, Romans 13, and Ephesians 6:10-18)
We believe the headship teaching of I Corinthians 11:1-16 is good for all time because the apostle Paul appeals to timeless principles (creation design, headship order and angels) when he gives the command that men should not have their heads covered when praying or prophesying and that women should do so. Since praying (speaking with God) and prophesying (speaking for God) are two of the most important things a man or woman can do, they must be done with utmost propriety.
These scriptures should be considered in making interpretation about when men should have uncovered heads and when women should cover theirs:
I Corinthians 11:1-16 “She should cover her head; a man ought not to cover his head when praying or prophesying.”
I Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks.”
II Timothy 4:2 “Be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke and exhort, with great patience and instruction.”
I Peter 3:15 “Always be ready to give an answer to every man that asks of you a reason of the hope that is in you.”
In light of the above scriptures, a compelling majority of our people feel a strong personal conviction for our ladies being covered as part of “normal attire.” We respect and affirm this position; the elders will be lifting up this interpretation as a reasonable, worthwhile and God honoring response to the headship principle.
We encourage those who may not feel as strongly themselves to support this practice as well; if not out of pure conviction, then out of respect for those who do. And since the covered head is the physical symbol of a woman finding her place in the headship order, we would also encourage that the veiling be of a size that answers the command that the head be covered.
We recognize that at times there may be those who find fellowship among us for whom the headship principle is a new and bewildering concept. At Covenant, we will be most merciful, understanding and accepting as newcomers come to a personal place of conviction on these things.
We believe in modesty as a lifestyle; as in living a life free from excess, being moderate, temperate, avoiding extremes, having a moderate estimation of oneself and observing the proprieties of dress and behavior.
Modesty begins in the heart; without the yielding of one’s will to the lordship of Jesus Christ, there is no basis for modesty, for the will of the natural man runs completely counter to the concept. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)
Modesty is necessary in word and deed. Boasting is unfit for a Christian. Deeds should be done “modestly”, and not for the praise of men. “When you give to the needy, or when you pray, do not do it to be seen of men.” (Matthew 6:1-6) “Clothe yourselves with humility, God apposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (I Peter 5:5)
We should give consideration to “economic modesty”, as in how we spend our money and what kind of lifestyle we live. Let us remember that what we might consider a fairly “modest” American lifestyle would be seen as living in luxury to a large part of the world’s population. “I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires which war against the soul.” (I Peter 2:11) “Consider Abraham, who lived like a stranger in a foreign country; he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:9-10)
Out of respect for ourselves and to the God who created us, we will seek to clothe our physical bodies with modesty and propriety, fleeing sensuality in all it’s forms and seeking in no way to be a distraction or a stumbling block to our brothers and sisters. In a practical way this would mean dressing in ways that conceal the body rather than reveal it. “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, you were bought with a price, therefore honor God with your body.” (I Corinthians 6:19-20) “Make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” (Romans 14:13)
Outward adornment tends to distract from the beauty of the “gentle and quiet spirit” about which the Bible speaks. “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.” (I Peter 3:3-4)
At Covenant Fellowship we will seek to be open with our brothers and sister, asking for their input in our lives as we seek to live out these principles in practical and everyday ways. We will have an annual open and frank discussion on the subject, always with the goal of building personal conviction and growing in respect and consideration for each other. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (I Thessalonians 5:23)