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20 Articles of FAITH - 1925?General Council 37 will, in August 2000, be dealing with a petition from Man-N.W.Ont and B.C. conferences to dedicate the next triennium to an in-depth study of the 1925 - 20 Articles of Faith in the light of contemporary language and scholarship. In order to get maximum exposure, it is hoped that all congregations across this nation will voluntarily throw their weight behind this effort and participate in the proposed study. If this gets done, we, the members, may become clearer about the actual beliefs of the United Church of Canada. This in turn might help stem the tide of departing members and may re-ignite an enthusiasm for our institution, the United Church of Canada.
Article I. Of God.We believe in the one only living and true God, a
Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable, in His being and perfections; the
Lord Almighty, who is love, most just in all His ways, most glorious in
holiness, un-searchable in wisdom, plenteous in mercy, full of compassion, and
abundant in goodness and truth. We worship Him in the unity of the Godhead and
the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, three
persons of the same substance, equal in power and glory.
Article II. Of Revelation.We believe that God has revealed Himself in
nature, in history , and in the heart of man; that He has been graciously
pleased to make clearer revelation of Himself to men of God who spoke as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit; and that in the fullness of time He has perfectly
revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, who is the brightness of
the Father's glory and the express image of His person. We receive he Holy
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, given by inspiration of God, as
containing the only infallible rule of faith and life, a faithful record of
God's gracious revelations, and as the sure witness of Christ.
Article III. Of the Divine Purpose.We believe that the eternal, wise, holy and
loving purpose of God so embraces all events that, while the freedom of man is
not taken away, nor is God the author of sin, yet in His providence He makes all
thing work together in the fulfillment of His sovereign design and the
manifestation of His glory. Article IV. Of Creation and Providence.We believe that God is the creator, upholder and
governor of all things; that He is above all His works and in them all; and that
He made man in His own image, meet for fellowship with Him, free and able to
choose between good and evil, and responsible to his Maker and Lord.
Article V. Of the Sin of Man.We believe that our first parents, being tempted,
chose evil, and so fell away from God and came under the power of sin, the
penalty of which is eternal death; and that, by reason of this disobedience, all
men are born with a sinful nature, that we have broken God's law and that no man
can be saved but by His grace.
Article VI. Of the Grace of God.We believe that God, out of His great love for
the world, has given His Only begotten Son to be the Saviour of sinners, and in
the Gospel freely offers His all sufficient salvation to all men. We believe
also that God, in His own good pleasure, gave to His Son a people, an
innumerable multitude, chosen in Christ unto holiness, service and salvation.
Article VII. Of the Lord Jesus Christ.We believe in and confess the Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Mediator between God and man, who, being the Eternal Son of God, for us
men and for our salvation became truly man, being conceived of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary, yet without sin. Unto us He has revealed the
Father, by His word and Spirit, making known the perfect will of God. For our
redemption, He fulfilled all righteousness, offered Himself a perfect sacrifice
on the Cross, satisfied Divine justice and made propitiation for the sins of the
whole world. He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, where He ever
intercedes for us. In the hearts of believers He abides for ever as the
indwelling Christ; above us and over us all He rules; wherefore, unto Him we
render love, obedience and adoration as our Prophet, Priest and King.
Article VIII. Of the Holy Spirit.We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver
of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who moves upon the hearts of
men to restrain them from evil and to incite them unto good, and whom the Father
is ever willing to give unto all who ask Him. We believe that He has spoken by
holy men of God in making known His truth to men for their salvation; that,
through our exalted Saviour, He was sent forth in power to convict the world of
sin, to enlighten men's minds in the knowledge of Christ, and to persuade and
enable them to obey the call of the Gospel; and that He abides with the Church,
dwelling in every believer as the spirit of truth, of power, of holiness, of
comfort and of love.
Article IX. Of Regeneration.We believe in the necessity of regeneration,
whereby we are made new creatures in Christ Jesus by the Spirit of God, who
imparts spiritual life by the gracious and mysterious operation of His power,
using as the ordinary means the truths of His word and the ordinances of divine
appointment in ways agreeable to the nature of man.
Article X: Of Faith & Repentance.We believe that faith in Christ is a saving grace whereby we receive Him, trust in Him and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered to us in the Gospel, and that this saving faith is always accompanied by repentance, wherein we confess and forsake our sins with full purpose of and endeavor after a new obedience to God.
Article XI. Of Justification and Sonship.We believe that God, on the sole ground of the
perfect obedience and sacrifice of Christ, pardons those who by faith receive
Him as their Saviour and Lord, accepts them as righteous and bestows upon them
the adoption of sons, with a right to all privileges therein implied, including
a conscious assurance of their sonship.
Article XII. Of Sanctification.We believe that those who are regenerated and
justified grow in the likeness of Christ through fellowship with Him, the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and obedience to the truth; that a holy life is
the fruit and evidence of saving faith; and that the believer's hope of
continuance in such a life is in the preserving grace of God. And we believe
that in this growth in grace Christians may attain that maturity and full
assurance of faith whereby the love of God is made perfect to us.
Article XIII. Of Prayer.We believe that we are encouraged to draw near to
God, our Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and on our own
behalf and that of others to pour out our hearts humbly yet freely before Him,
as becomes His beloved children, giving Him the Honour and praise due His holy
name, asking Him to glorify Himself on earth as in Heaven, confessing unto Him
our sins and seeking of Him every gift needful for this life and for our
everlasting salvation. We believe also that, inasmuch as all true prayer is
prompted by His Spirit, He will in response thereto grant us every blessing
according to His unsearchable wisdom and the riches of His grace in Jesus
Christ.
Article XIV. Of the Law of God.We believe that the moral law of God, summarized
in the Ten Commandments, testified to by the prophets and unfolded in the life
and teachings of Jesus Christ, stands for ever in truth and equity, and is not
made void by faith, but on the contrary is established thereby. We believe that
God requires of every man to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
God; and that only through this harmony with the will of God shall be fulfilled
that brotherhood of man wherein the Kingdom of God is to be made manifest.
Article XV. Of the Church.We acknowledge one holy Catholic Church the
innumerable company of saints of every age and nation, who being united by the
Holy Spirit to Christ their Head are one body in Him and have communion with
their Lord and with one another. Further, we receive it as the will of Christ,
that His Church on earth should exist as a visible and sacred brotherhood,
consisting of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him,
together with their children, and other baptized children, and organized for the
confession of His name, for the public worship of God, for the administration of
the sacraments, for the upbuilding of the saints, and for the universal
propagation of the Gospel; and we acknowledge as a part, more or less pure, of
this universal brotherhood, every particular Church throughout the world which
professes this faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him as divine Lord and
Saviour.
Article XVI. Of the Sacraments.Of the Sacraments. We acknowledge two sacraments,
Baptism and the Lord's Supper, which were instituted by Christ, to be of
perpetual obligation as signs and seals of the covenant ratified in His precious
blood, as means of grace, by which, working in us, He doth not only quicken, but
also strengthen and comfort our faith in Him, and as ordinances through the
observance of which His Church is to confess her Lord and be visibly
distinguished from the rest of the world. (1) Baptism with water into the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is the sacrament by which
are signified and sealed our union to Christ and participation in the blessing
of the new covenant. The proper subjects of baptism are believers and infants
presented by their parents or guardians in the Christian faith. In the latter
case the parents or guardians should train up their children in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord and should expect that their children will, by the
operation of the Holy Spirit, receive the benefits which the sacrament is
designed and fitted to convey. The Church is under the most solemn obligation to
provide for their Christian instruction. (2) The Lord's Supper is the sacrament
of communion with Christ and with His people, in which bread and wine are given
and received in thankful remembrance of Him and His sacrifice on the Cross; and
they who in faith receive the same do, after a spiritual manner, partake of the
body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to their comfort, nourishment and growth
in grace. All may be admitted to the Lord's Supper who make a credible
profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus and of obedience to His law.
Article XVII. Of the Ministry.We believe that Jesus Christ, as the Supreme Head
of the Church, has appointed therein a ministry of the word and sacraments, and
calls men and women to this ministry; that the Church, under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit, recognizes and chooses those whom He calls, and should thereupon
duly ordain them to the work of the ministry.
Article XVIII. Of Church Order and Fellowship.We believe that the Supreme and only Head of the
Church is the Lord Jesus Christ; that its worship, teaching, discipline and
government should be administered according to His will by persons chosen for
their fitness and duly set apart to their office; and that although the visible
Church may contain unworthy members and is liable to err, yet believers ought
not lightly to separate themselves from its communion, but are to live in
fellowship with their brethren, which fellowship is to be extended, as God gives
opportunity, to all who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.
Article XIX. Of the Resurrection, the Last Judgment and the Future Life.We believe that here shall be a resurrection of
the dead, both of the just and of the unjust, through the power of the Son of
God, who shall come to judge the living and the dead; that the finally
impenitent shall go away to eternal punishment and the righteous into life
eternal.
Article XX. Of Christian Service and the Final Triumph.We believe that it is our duty as disciples and
servants of Christ, to further the extension of His Kingdom, to do good unto all
men, to maintain the public and private worship of God, to hallow the Lord's
Day, preserve the inviolability of marriage and the sanctity of the family, to
uphold the just authority of the State, and so to live in all honesty, purity
and charity, that our lives shall testify of Christ. We joyfully receive the
word of Christ, bidding His people go into all the world and make disciples of
all nations, declaring unto them that God was in Christ reconciling the world
unto Himself, and that He will have all men to be saved, and come to the
knowledge of the truth. We confidently believe that by His power and grace all
His enemies shall finally be overcome, and the kingdoms of this word be made the
Kingdom of our God and of His Christ.
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