WHAT WE BELIEVE AND
WHY
Fundamental Teachings, Beliefs and Practices Of The Bible Upheld By The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ)
Fundamental Teachings, Beliefs and Practices Of The Bible Upheld By The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ)
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All the teachings upheld by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) are truly based on the Bible. |
“WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?” Is the
usual remark we hear from some people when the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) is introduced to them. It is
perfectly sound and legitimate question to ask considering that there are many
religions today vying against one another, and making claims and counterclaims
that theirs is the best church to affiliate one’s self with. If one will only
examine the doctrines upheld by the Iglesia Ni Cristo, it will be clear
to them that all the beliefs of this Church can be found in the Bible.
What are the basic teachings of the Bible upheld by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ)? How truly biblical the doctrines upheld by the Iglesia Ni Cristo?
What are the basic teachings of the Bible upheld by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ)? How truly biblical the doctrines upheld by the Iglesia Ni Cristo?
About the Bible
“We believe that the Bible is the word of God and the sole basis of our faith and service to God”
The Almighty God committed His
words in writing (cf. Jer. 30:2). The
collections of inspired books where the words of God are written is called the
“Holy Scriptures” by the apostles (cf. II
Tim. 3:15). All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the
truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right
living (cf. II Tim. 3:16-17 TEV), and
also, the Holy Scriptures are able to give you the wisdom that leads to
salvation (cf. II Tim. 3:17, TEV). Thus,
according to the apostles:
“Now,
brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit,
so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, ‘Do not go beyond what is written…” (I Corinthians 4:6 NIV, emphasis
mine)
Because the Bible is the sole
basis of our faith, we reject teachings not written in the Bible (e.g. Chrismas, Purgatory, Trinity, etc.)
and other basis of faith (e.g. Catechism,
Book of Mormons, Apocrypha, etc.).
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About God
“We believe that there is only one true God, the Father, and no one else besides Him”
Because the Bible is the sole
basis of the teachings of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ), thus we uphold the teachings of
the prophets, the apostles and the Lord Jesus Christ that THERE IS ONLY ONE
TRUE GOD, THE FATHER” (cf. Mal. 2:10;
Is. 64:8; I Cor. 8:6; John 17:1, 4). The Lord God Himself said:
“Do not
tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock;
I know not one." (Isaiah 44:8 NIV)
Thus, because we firmly uphold
the biblical teaching that there is only one true God, the Father, and no one
else besides Him, we reject the unbiblical teaching that there are three person
in one God – that aside from God the father, there is God the Son and God the
Holy Spirit.
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About the Lord Jesus Christ
“We believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as the Son of God, Lord, Savior, and the Mediator between God and Man”
We accept Jesus Christ as the Son
of God:
“And when the
centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he
died, he said, ‘Surely this man was
the Son of God!’” (Mark 15:39,
NIV, emphasis mine).
We accept Jesus Christ as our
Lord:
“So, all the
people of Israel
should know this truly: God has made Jesus — the man you nailed to the cross — both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36, New Century Version,
emphasis mine)
We accept Jesus Christ as our
Savior:
“The God of
our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted this man to His
right hand as ruler and Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 5:30-31, Holman Christian Standard Bible, emphasis mine)
We accept Jesus Christ as the
Mediator between man and the one true God:
“For there is
one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5, NIV, emphasis mine)
Because we believe that there is
only one true God, the Father, thus, Jesus is not the true God, but the Son of
the one true God. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself attests that He is indeed a man
in nature:
“As it is,
you are determined to kill me, a man
who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do
such things.” (John 8:40 NIV, emphasis mine).
Thus, we reject the teaching that Christ is God.
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About the Holy Spirit
“We believe that the Holy Spirit is the power that sent by the Father in the name of Christ”
We believe that the Holy Spirit
is the power (cf. Acts 1:8, TEV) sent
by the Father in the name of Christ, to teach and remind His messengers of all
things that Christ said (cf. Jn.
14:26), to help us in our weaknesses and infirmities (cf. Jn. 15:26; Rom. 8:26).The Holy Spirit strengthens, edifies,
and comforts the Church of Christ (cf. Eph.
3:16-17; Jn. 14:26). And though the Holy Spirit is a spirit, but the
Scriptures never refer to it as “God the Holy Spirit” because the Holy Spirit is not
God but one of the spirits being sent by God (cf. Rev. 5:6).
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About the Messengers of God
“We believe that God sent Messengers to preach His words”
We believe that the Bible is the
word of God, however, the Bible is not an “open book.” God has purposely hidden
His words in mystery (cf. Rom.
16:25), that’s why those who strive to understand the Scriptures through their own
worldly knowledge will never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (cf.
II Tim. 3:7). How then man will be able to understand the truth written in
the Bible? Through God’s messengers according to the Bible:
“It is the
duty of priests to teach the true knowledge of God. People should go to them to
learn my will, because they are the messengers of the LORD Almighty.” (Malachi
2:7, TEV)
People must go to those sent by
God (the messengers of the Lord) to learn His will. According to Apostle Paul:
“And how can they preach unless they are sent…”
(Rom. 10:15, NIV). According to the Lord Jesus Christ: “I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and
whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me” (John 13:20, NIV).
We believe that the late Brother
Felix Y. Manalo is God’s last messenger, the fulfillment of the biblical
prophecies regarding the “Angel” (“messenger”) from the east (cf. Rev. 7:2-3) who would preached to
God’s sons and daughters from the “ends of the earth” (cf. Is. 43:5-6; 41:9-10; 46:11).
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About God’s Standing Policy of
Election
“We believe that God elects and set apart His people to serve Him”
The Iglesia Ni Cristo believe
that since the ancient times, God has set apart his people to serve Him (cf. Ps. 4:3).
“Know that
the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to
him.” (Psalms 4:3 NIV)
People outside this election are
not God’s people (I Pet. 2:9-10, TEV), not of Christ, and without hope and
without God (cf. Eph. 2:12).
God set apart Set and his race.
When Seth’s race fall away from God, Then Noah and his family were set apart by
God. However, Noah’s race disobeyed God’s commandment. Because God’s policy of
election continues, He set apart Abraham and made covenant with him. God’s
everlasting covenant with Abraham continues with Isaac, Jacob and the nation of
Israel.
But, Israel
did not remained faithful to God (cf. Dan.
9:11). Thus, the Church Of Christ became God’s nation replacing Israel (cf. I Pet. 2:9-10). However, the first
century Church Of
ChrIst also departed from
the faith or was apostatized (cf. I
Tim. 4:1, 3). But, the Lord Jesus declared that He has “other sheep” (cf. Jn 10:16), that He will gather them
in the future and there will be one fold or one flock (cf. Jn. 10:16, Easy to Read Bible). Thus, this was Christ promise
of re-establishing or restoring His Church. Thus, even up to
this day, God’s policy of election remains through His chosen people from the
ends of the earth”:
“I took you from
the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are
my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be
dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold
you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:9-10 NIV)
About Salvation and the Church
“We believe that man must enter the Church Of Christ in order to be save come Judgment Day”
We believe that the salvation
mentioned in the Bible is the salvation from the eternal damnation come
Judgment Day. The Bible clearly teaches that all men committed sin (cf. Rom. 3:23) and the wages of sin is
death (cf. Rom. 6:23), and the full
wages of sin is the second death, the eternal damnation in the lake of fire (cf. Rev. 20:14; 21:8; 14:9-10). The Savior, Christ Jesus, clearly
states that:
“I am the
door; if any one enters by me.,
he will be saved…” (John 10:9 RSV).
Those who “enters through Christ”
became members of His body, the Church
of Christ (cf. Rom. 12:4-5; Col. 1:18; Rom. 16:16).
God testified that membership in the true Church Of Christ is needed in order
to be saved come Judgment Day through adding to the Church such as should be
saved:
“Praising
God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church
daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:47, KJV)
The Lord Jesus Christ is indeed the Savior and not the Church, however, Apostle Paul points out
that the Church is the one that Christ will save:
“For a
husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the
church; and Christ is himself the
Savior of the church, his body.” (Eph.
5:23, TEV, emphasis mine)
Thus, faith alone is not enough:
“What doth it
profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can
faith save him?...Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by
faith only.” (James 2:14 and 24, KJV)
Christ will not save anyone
outside the Church Of Christ because it would be against the law of God that requires that sinners should pay for their own sin (cf. Dt. 24:16; Jn. 8:24;I Cor. 5:13).
About Baptism
“We believe that man needs to receive baptism to be saved and the baptism commanded by Christ and preached by His apostles is done through immersion”
Man needs to receive the baptism
commanded by Christ and preached by the apostles to be saved (cf. Mark 16:15-16), to become Christ’s
disciple (cf. Mt. 28:19), and to
receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts
2:38). The baptism commanded by Christ and preached by His apostles is through
immersion (Rom. 6:4; Jn. 3:23; Acts 8:36-38).
About the Church Administration
“We believe that the Church Administration is from God and we are duty
bound to submit ourselves to them”
The Iglesia Ni Cristo believes
that every member is duty-bound to submit himself to the Church Administration
because it is God’s commandment:
“Obey your
leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must
give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for
that would be of no advantage to you.” (Hebrews 13:17 NIV)
The Church Administration is from
God (cf. Col. 1:25 NKJV) who He entrusted
the message and the ministry of reconcilliation (cf. II Cor. 5:18-20).
About the Christian Way of Life
“We believe that those who are truly in Christ should live a righteous life based on moral teachings of the Bible”
The Iglesia Ni Cristo believes
that all those baptized in Christ should put on Christ (cf. Gal. 3:27).It is Christ who should live in them and no longer
they themselves (cf. Gal. 2:20).
Those who are truly in Christ
should lead a righteous life based on moral teachings of the Bible (cf. II Cor. 5:17; II Tim. 3:15-17). The
Bible explains that “the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God”:
“Do you not
know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom
of God.” (I Cor. 6:9-10
NIV)
We also believe that God prohibits
the eating of blood (cf. Lev. 17:10;
Acts 15:28).
“But be sure
you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat
the life with the meat.” (Deuteronomy 12:23 NIV)
The Bible also strictly prohibits
mixed marriage with unbelievers:
“Do not unite
in marriagewith unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with
iniquity? Or what mingling has light with darkness?” (II Corinthians 6:14
Lamsa)
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About Worship of God
“We believe that it is the whole duty of man to worship God and keep His commandments”
The Iglesia ni Cristo believes
that it is the duty of man to worship and serve our Lord God:
“Worship the
LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is
God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his
pasture.” (Psalms 100:2-3 NIV)
The Lord Jesus Christ taught His servants that we must woship God in spirit and in truth:
“Yet a time
is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must
worship in spirit and in truth." Juan 4:23-24 NIV
Thus, the Bible strictly
prihibits kneeling, bowing serving and worshipping graven images:
“Thou shalt
not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in
heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the
waters under the earth.
“Thou shalt
not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate me.” (Ex 20:4-5 Douay-Rheims)
Because we must not think that
God is like gold or silver or stone
“And since
this is true, we shouldn't think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from
gold or silver or stone.” (Acts 17:29 New Living Translation)
The Christians are admonish by
the apostles not to neglect their “church meetings”:
“Let us not
neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each
other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near. If
anyone sins deliberately by rejecting the Savior after knowing the truth of
forgiveness, this sin is not covered by Christ's death; there is no way to get
rid of it. There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible punishment
of God's awful anger, which will consume all his enemies.” (Hebrews 10:25-27
LB)
They are referring to the congregational
worship services (cf. I Cor. 14:26
and 15). Thus, the members of the Church
Of Christ value our
congregational worship services.
About Brotherhood
“We believe that members of the Church of Chrsit must love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ”
The Iglesia ni Cristo believes
that members of the Church of Christ should observe the brotherhood Christ Himself
established the brotherhood inside the Church of Christ
(cf. Mt. 23:8; John 13:34-35).
That is why members of the Church of Christ address one another as brother
and sister.
About Christian Unity
“We believe that it is God’s commandment that we must subscribe to sacred unity”
The Iglesia ni Cristo believe
that we must subscribe to sacred unity, a complete and perfect unity for in
this unity, God, Christ and the Christare joined together or united:
"I'm not
praying only for them. I'm also praying for those who will believe in me
through their message. I pray that all of these people continue to have unity
in the way that you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they may be
united with us so that the world will believe that you have sent me. I have
given them the glory that you gave me. I did this so that they are united in
the same way we are. I am in them, and you are in me. So they are completely
united. In this way the world knows that you have sent me and that you have
loved them in the same way you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23 God’s Word)
CONCLUSION
Thus, all the doctrines or beliefs upheld by the Iglesia Ni Cristo are truly wrutten in the Bible. The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) is truly biblical.
Please learn more about the Iglesia Ni Cristo and
learn the whole truth about this Church
learn the whole truth about this Church
oh,GOD thank you so much...
ReplyDeletethank you Lord :-)
ReplyDeletePeople in the world are so lucky these days to have such websites like this where they can get as much information about God's salvation. Way back in the 80's & prior to that decade, we don't have the luxury of getting first hand information on God's Words. Now it's readily available at the tip of our fingers. So, don't waste the precious time God is giving you: READ ON & KNOW GOD'S WILL! ^_^
ReplyDeleteI have read this and I am praying that you will grow more deeply in your faith in Christ our lord..
ReplyDeleteAs a Catholic member I am encouraging you all that we work hand in hand in catching and saving lost souls back to Christ our savior for He is the way, the truth, and the life...
Let us look forward to Him our God, the God of love, lend us His Son to die and save on our behalf.
May God's peace and love be with you always..
The enlighting words of God .must be read.
ReplyDeletethank you for en lighting me
ReplyDeleteSo much to learn from this site, must share to every individual who seeks the true religion, the true Church, the whole truth and nothing but the truth that would lead to salvation.
ReplyDeletekeep me in your arms...til my dying days our God
ReplyDeleteI love God’s Word and delight in its truth. Yet too often I find that after reading my Bible or hearing a sermon, the truth, so necessary to the well-being of my soul, can too easily slip away. The truth that had for a moment captured my attention and my affections can quietly fade amid the clutter and noise of the day. But one of the best way to remedy this is to read such inspiring posts...that have the power to reside in the mind, soul and heart for prolonged period of time.
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ReplyDeleteHow to become member any body can help
ReplyDeleteAt the top is a link to click - How can I become a member?
Deletehttp://theiglesianicristo.blogspot.com/p/how-can-i-become-member-to-become.html
With this. I do have a clear understanding on Iglesia :)
ReplyDelete