CBM Membership Statement of Faith

 All members of Congregation Beth Messiah must personally agree to the following “Statement of Faith.”

God: Scripture indicates that there is one God and one God alone (Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29; 1 Corinthians 8:6).  Throughout Scripture, the nature of the one true God is expressed in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. 

Yeshua: Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth is the Messiah of Israel and Redeemer for all mankind.  Yeshua has always existed and His nature is divine (Isaiah 9:6-7; John 8:58-59; Hebrews 1:3). Yeshua the Messiah will return in order to usher in the final stage of God’s kingdom on earth (Daniel 7:13-14; Zechariah 14:3-4; Acts 1:6-12).

The Spirit of God: The Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is a distinct person within the complex oneness of the God of Israel.  The Holy Spirit regenerates, sanctifies, in-dwells, seals, keeps, illumines, guides, and bestows his gifts upon all who are believers in Yeshua the Messiah (Romans 8:9-11).  God lives inside His people today through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). 

Scripture: All of God’s story, also known as His Word, is divinely inspired (2 Timothy 3:15).  God’s Word, both the Tenakh (Old Testament) and the B’rit Chadasha (New Testament), is verbally and completely inerrant in the original writings.  We treasure Scripture as the supreme and final authority in all matters of life and faith (Isaiah 40:8; Hebrews 4:12).

Man: At our core, all people are corrupt and in need of the repair and reconciliation that only God can provide.  Understanding that we are people who are broken, corrupt, rebellious, and sinful is essential to seeing our desperate need for God’s redemption in our life.  “Tikkun olam” (repairing the world) begins when we acknowledge that repairing the world starts with our own hearts.

The Good News of the Messiah: Scripture says that the good news “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek [Gentile]” (Romans 1:16).  It is incredibly good news that despite our broken and helpless condition, God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, the Messiah died for us (Romans 5:8). The purity and centrality of the gospel should be protected and maintained at all costs (Galatians 1:6-9).    

Atonement: As promised, God sent forth the Messiah, His eternal son, to be the final sacrifice and atonement for sins so that people can experience forgiveness and fellowship with God once and for all (Jeremiah 31:34; Isaiah 53; Hebrews 10:11-14).  People obtain justification before God by uniting in faith with the atoning work of Yeshua the Messiah (Romans 5:1-2).  This is the one way that God has provided for salvation and it is available to all people (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:4). 

Torah: The Torah of Moses reflects God’s perfect standard and character and is therefore good and spiritual (Romans 7:12, 14).  The New Covenant makes it clear that there is no problem with the Torah, rather the problem is with human sin (Romans 7:13; Hebrews 8:7-8a).  Yeshua came not to destroy the Torah, but to bring it to its fullness (Matthew 5:17-18).  The goal at which the Torah aims is the Messiah (Romans 10:4).  The Torah is our tutor to lead us to the Messiah (Galatians 3:24).  Therefore, the fullness of God’s “torah” for believers in Yeshua today is to live in light of the completeness of God’s torah revelation to us in the Messiah.  As believers in Messiah, our focus is to be on the life of Yeshua the Messiah and to obey His instructions (Matthew 28:19-20; John 15:10-11).  As we live His life and follow His words, we are truly following the fullness of God’s “torah” for today.  It is Yeshua’s life and words that define “torah observance” in this age.  Believers in Yeshua are free to identify with the applicable aspects of the Torah of Moses today as they are led by God to do so (1 Corinthians 9:20-21).  But they are under no obligation to follow the Torah of Moses as the required rule of life (Galatians 3:25).