WHAT WE BELIEVE

  1. We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God.
  2. We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  3. We believe in the deity of the LORD Yeshua, the Messiah, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
  4. We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful humanity, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
  5. We believe our salvation and our eternal life is a gift of God’s grace through faith alone in Yeshua the Messiah, and we are called to be a living testimony to others of that free and available grace.
  6. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the believer is enabled to live a godly life.
  7. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost – they that are saved into the resurrection of life and they that are lost into the eternal death.
  8. We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in the LORD Yeshua, the Messiah.
  9. We believe in the process of discipline and conflict resolution taught in Matthew 18:15, as applicable to all congregants and leaders.
  10. As Jewish followers of Yeshua, we are called to maintain our Jewish biblical heritage and remain a part of our people Israel as well as the universal body of believers. This is part of our identity and a witness to the faithfulness of God.

WHAT WE DON’T BELIEVE

*The following has been adopted from Beth Messiah Congregation, Houston*

  1. Replacement Theology – We do not believe that the Gentile Church (or Messianic Jewish Congregations) have replaced Israel regarding her covenant callings and promises based on Scripture (Romans 9-11).
  2. Hebrew Roots or One Law Movement – We do not believe that the entire Gentile community of believers are required to keep the Law of Moses, or be what is called “Torah Observant.” We love our brothers and sisters in the HRM, but we believe the writings of the apostles are clear on the responsibilities for both Jewish and Gentile believers. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with Gentiles keeping the Law of Moses, as long as they do not say it is incumbent upon all Gentile believers to do so (1 Corinthians 7:17-20).
  3. Ephraimite or Two-House Theory – The Two House movement, also known as the Ephraimite movement among other names, is a Christian sect that teaches that Gentile believers in Messiah Yeshua are literal physical descendants of the ten northern tribes of the Kingdom of Israel, also know as Ephraim. Thus the name Ephraimite. Ephraimites believe that Jewish identity is rightfully theirs. They identify themselves as Israelites, and not as Jews, the latter of whom they believe come primarily from the tribe of Judah. Nevertheless, they claim to be Jews by most common definitions, and are therefore to be considered a pseudo-Messianic sect. Those who adopt Two House must realize that God doesn’t make mistakes, that He doesn’t love Jews more than Gentiles, and that Jews and Gentiles are one in Messiah. In addition, those in the Messianic movement must be careful to not perpetuate the error that there is a qualitative difference between Jewish believers and Gentile believers. We all must accept one another as we are, and as God has made us. Everyone should stay in the calling in which he was called (1 Cor. 7:20).
  4. Sacred Names Movement – Related to the Hebrew Roots Movement, the Sacred Name Movement developed from the Church of God (Seventh Day) in the 1930s. Supposedly, the movement began in response to the study of Proverbs 30:4, “What is his name, and what is the name of his son?” The Sacred Name Movement teaches that only “YHVH” (not spelled out here to avoid offense) is to be used as the name for God and only “Yahshua” is to be used as the name for Yeshua. According to the Sacred Name Movement, the use of any other name is blasphemy.
  5. Seventh Day Adventists – Though some join us from the Seventh Day Adventist Church, we do not align with the strict SDA theology that Israel has been replaced by the Church and that those who worship on Sunday are practicing paganism and idolatry (John 4:21-24; Romans 14:5-6).
  6. Any form of Modalism – Whether from Oneness Pentacostalism or any other Modalist movement, we believe in the “Triunity” of God. See our page on God for what we do believe regarding this topic. Modalism says the Father Son and Ruach manifest themselves at different times but are one God, and not existing eternally as three Persons. We believe God is Echad (One) who exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son and Ruach HaKodesh (Isaiah 48:16; Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).