What We Believe

The two greatest commandments in all of Scripture are “Love God” and “Love your fellowman.” In other words, the heart of God is about relationships, not religion. Therefore, we feel our mission is to interact, not entertain. In that spirit, we promote assembling together as a family of faith in order to grow closer to our Father and our brothers and sisters. Moreover, we believe that  our relationship with God and our spiritual growth and maturity is predicated on these fundamental beliefs:

The Inerrant Word of God

We believe that all Scripture, both the Old Testament (Tanakh) and the New Testament (B’rit Chadashah), is the divinely inspired, infallible and authoritative Word of God.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequately equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

The One True God

We believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is One. We understand this “one” to be a composite unity as defined by the Hebrew word, אחד echad. We understand that finite man cannot comprehend the infinite and Almighty God, but we do believe that He chose to reveal Himself to mankind in at least three manifestations: Father (יהוה YHVH), Son (Yeshua/Jesus), and Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh).

“Hear O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is One!” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

The Messiah

We believe in the deity of Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth who was conceived by the Spirit in the virgin Mary. He is the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. He is the ultimate and final Passover Lamb required for the forgiveness and removal of our sins. He was crucified and rose from the dead on the third day is alive forevermore.

Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

Atonement Through Messiah

We believe that salvation comes through repentance and confession of sin. Everyone who repents of their sins and trusts that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Son of God and the Messiah of Israel is forgiven of their sins and enters into the renewed covenant with God through Yeshua’s sacrifice. We, therefore, become inheritors of all the promises and covenants of God (Romans 10:9-11; 1 Corinthians 5:7).

“But we also rejoice in God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, through whom we have now received the atonement.” (Romans 5:11)

Obedience To God’s Torah

We understand that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and need atonement and reconciliation to our Heavenly Father. Salvation is a free gift of God and cannot be earned by keeping the commandments. However, we believe that holiness and obedience to His Torah is God’s standard of living for His people. We keep the commandments (Torah) because we have been redeemed and desire to walk as Yeshua (Jesus) walked. We don’t keep the commandments in order to be saved; we keep the commandments because we are saved and because we love Him.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)

The Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12) as well as the infilling of the Holy Spirit for believers (Acts 2:38). We believe that the gifts of the Spirit are vital to the body of Messiah and should compliment the fruit of the Spirit evident in the life of the believer (Galatians 5:22-23). Through the Holy Spirit, the commandments are written in our hearts and minds, enabling us to live a Torah-observant life as Messiah commanded (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:26-27).

“Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), (Ephesians 5:8-9)

The Resurrection

We believe in the resurrection of both the believer and unbeliever: the redeemed to everlasting joy in the presence of God and the lost to eternal separation from God.

“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:28-29)

Sabbath and Feast Days

We believe the weekly Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. It was designed and created to be the day of rest (Genesis 2:2-3). God gave this to His people as part of His Covenant serving as a sign between God and His people.

“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.’” (Exodus 31:13)

As a congregation, we meet on the seventh day because we believe that the Sabbath is a weekly “feast unto God.” It is incumbent upon us to acknowledge that the Creator sanctified and blessed this day and we are, therefore, called to distinguish it from all other days of the week.

“Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy.” (Exodus 20:8)

Likewise, we assemble and observe the other Biblical holy days, the seven annual Feasts of God — Passover, First Fruits, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles. The Bible refers to these feasts as moedim, God’s “appointed times” and, as such, should not be regarded as “Jewish feasts.” We believe these holy days foretell of the Kingdom that we will one day share with the Messiah. In addition to these God-appointed times, we also observe the Biblical feasts of Purim and Hanukkah.

The declarations above summarize our core and fundamental beliefs but should not be considered as an exhaustive explanation of what we believe.