Nazarene Fellowship - Beliefs

Beliefs

Although the original congregation of Edward Turney in Nottingham did have a written statement of faith the Nazarene Fellowship website today states that it has no constitution, creed or statement of faith outside the pages of the Bible and that it has reached its present understanding by reading and discussion of Scripture and study of any and every variety of opinion, past and present.

The following beliefs are held in common with all Christadelphians:

• That God is the creator and designer of the universe, and that He cares about the welfare of humankind.
• That God gave the Old Testament Scriptures to the Israelites through Moses and the Prophets and the New Testament Scriptures to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ and His Apostles.
• That the Bible is the only source of knowledge of God’s will and purpose with the earth; of the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.
• That Jesus will return to set up His Kingdom on the earth to rule the world from Jerusalem.
• That Jesus is the Messiah and Saviour; miraculously conceived and born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem; He grew up in Nazareth, and at age 30 He began His ministry of preaching and healing.
• That He was executed by crucifixion by the highest religious authority, the Sanhedrin; and the highest civil authority, the Roman governor representing the Emperor. After the crucifixion He remained in the tomb until the third day when He was raised to eternal life in an incorruptible body.
• That Jesus did not exist before His conception and birth, nor that He became God incarnate nor that He is the second person of the Trinity. They reject the doctrine of the Trinity, which they believe was fabricated in the third century AD, and adopted by the Roman Catholic Church in the fourth century by a narrow margin of votes.
• That God's word existed in the beginning, then in the Apostle John's time God's Word was incarnate in the Jewish man Jesus, and the world beheld His glory. Though He was God's only-begotten Son, He did not have divine nature, but normal human nature during His earthly ministry.
• That baptism must be by total immersion following a belief in Jesus, and a desire to make a commitment to Him and His teachings. Baptism is a public declaration that one accepts Jesus as their Saviour and as they go down into the water, it is a sign that they die to their old worldly way of life, and emerge from the water to a new life in Jesus.
• That the committed Christian should be involved in prayer, Bible study, righteous living, and witnessing wherever possible; always ready to give a reason for the hope within them.
• They do not concur with the popular theological concepts of immortal souls that after death go to a paradise in heaven beyond the skies; that there is a fiery hell where sinners will suffer eternal torment; or that baptism is valid by sprinkling or pouring on babies or young children or unbelievers.

The following contains some points which are different from mainstream Christadelphian views:

• That the death of Jesus was a voluntary substitution for Adam and therefore for Adam’s descendants. They believe Jesus voluntarily paid the penalty of inflicted death which passed upon Adam for eating the forbidden fruit, but which God remitted so that Adam could live out his life. This penalty/debt, in due time, would be paid by God's sinless Son. The Nazarene fellowship does not believe that Jesus’ death was a punishment inflicted on Him by God so that we might be forgiven: and they reject what the Christadelphian teaching that Jesus' death was necessary for His own salvation.