Confession of Faith

Introduction

The Confession of Faith was written to be:

• Resolutely biblical.

• Contextualised for our generation, in a changing world and in the face of contemporary theological currents.

• Linked to the history of Biblical Action and the history of the Church (Councils and Historical Confessions of Faith).

• A pedagogical tool for teaching fundamental doctrines and their implications in our local churches.

• The foundation of the unity of our Bible Action churches.

• To the glory and praise of God.

ARTICLE 1
THE TRIUNE GOD

God is the only living and true God. He is spirit, infinite, absolute, perfect and exceeds all limits of human understanding.

One and indivisible, he exists eternally in three distinct and equal persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, each totally divine.

These three persons have loved and glorified each other from all eternity in perfect communion.

God is self-sufficient, self-satisfied and nothing can oppose his will.

God is Almighty, exercises absolute sovereignty and reigns over all that exists, from all eternity.

Everything happens according to the counsel of his will. God is perfect in love, holiness and all his other attributes.

He glorifies himself and reveals his glory in everything he is and does. All living beings must worship and glorify him.

1.1
GOD THE FATHER

About his being:
The Father is God from all eternity.

He conceives all things and eternally communicates being and life to the Son.

On his work:
Everything the Father wills and does he does through the Son and applies it by the Holy Spirit.

When the work of redemption is completely finished, all creation will once again be perfectly submissive to him.

1.2
GOD THE SON

About his being:
The Son is God from all eternity.

His relationship with the Father is an eternal sonship.

On his work:
Through the Son, the Word of God, everything was created and in him everything subsists.

He is the redeemer of creation and the only mediator between God and man.

According to what God had announced in the Holy Scriptures, Jesus Christ is the incarnate Son of God.

Conceived by the Holy Spirit, he was born of the virgin Mary and lived as a true man, but without sin.

Through his perfect life and true teaching, Christ obeyed the Father's will in everything, even to the point of death on the cross, in order to reconcile all things to God.

He rose bodily on the third day and appeared to many witnesses.

He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father. Jesus reigns and intercedes for his people. Christ will return in a glorious and personal way, to judge the living and the dead, and his reign will have no end.

1.3
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

About his being:
The Holy Spirit is God from all eternity.

He proceeds from the Father and the Son.

About his work:
The Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures, and it is he who makes believers understand their meaning.

The Holy Spirit sustained Christ's earthly ministry and guided the apostles in their unique founding mission.

In accordance with the Father's will, the Spirit does not speak of himself, but of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit applies salvation to believers and equips them according to his will, so that they may live for the glory of God.

ARTICLE 2
THE SCRIPTURES

Scripture, as the Word of God, is the instrument of special revelation necessary and sufficient to know God, his eternal plan (creation, fall, redemption, restoration) and how to worship him correctly. This revelation is unique and clear, and does not need to be supplemented by any other.

The Scriptures are made up of the 66 books of the definitively closed biblical canon, which the Holy Spirit divinely inspired to their human authors, down to the smallest detail of the original manuscripts (plenary and verbal inspiration).

Throughout history, God has preserved His Word so that it can still be worthy of belief today and understood by His church. It contains no error and everything it says happens perfectly.

The Law, revealed in Scripture in various places and to varying degrees, reflects the character of God. It reveals man's sin and shows the need to turn to Christ.

Although it no longer condemns the believer, the moral Law is entirely good and remains a sure guide for his life.

Complete and definitive, Scripture is the only rule of faith and life.

Each of its texts is interpreted in accordance with the whole and is understood in humility with the help of the Holy Spirit.

ARTICLE 3
THE CREATION

General:
The triune God, in his free will, created everything that exists, visible and invisible, entirely good. Before he began to create, nothing existed apart from himself.

Through his Word, God created everything for his glory.

By his providence and according to his plans, he preserves and governs everything.

All creation reveals the invisible perfections, power and divinity of the Creator and calls on all that exists to worship him.

Man:
God created humanity, just and holy, to know him, glorify him and find their joy in him.

God created Adam and Eve, humanity's first historical couple.

Man and woman are the pinnacle of creation, created in the image of God, who is the creator of every human being.

Furthermore, no individual or group of individuals can claim intrinsic superiority over other human beings. God commissioned man and woman to care for and govern the whole earth.

Man and woman were created equal in value. They are different in their characteristics and complement each other in their functions.

God established Adam as the representative of humanity.

At Creation, God instituted marriage between a man and a woman. This normative covenant celebrated before God and man is a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the Church.

ARTICLE 4
THE FALL

Happening:
In the communion that united them to God, Adam and Eve were able to obey or disobey God.

Tempted by the devil, they deliberately disobeyed by eating the forbidden fruit.

This historical event did not escape God's full sovereignty.

Consequences:
Thus, the communion between God and man was broken.

Because of Adam's disobedience, death and corruption entered the world and the whole universe was affected.

Adam's guilt was imputed to the whole of humanity, of which he was the representative. Since then, every human being is born a sinner.

Man is completely fallen in his being and all his actions are corrupted.

Man is spiritually dead, a slave to sin and guilty before God's justice.

All his faculties are affected by sin and, in his state of depravity, he is incapable of taking any initiative towards God.

By his grace, God limits the effects of sin on his creation and continues to pour out his many benefits on man.

Although disfigured by sin, the image of God remains in each individual.

For this reason, no one can over-value themselves from an intrinsic superiority over other human beings.

ARTICLE 5
THE SALVATION

In order to realise his eternal project, after the Fall, the triune God unleashed his plan of redemption, decreed by the Father, realised by the Son and applied by the Spirit.

The work of Christ
In his love and justice, God chose Christ as Saviour before the creation of the world.

By becoming fully man, Christ identified himself with men and could represent them before God.

In accordance with the promises made to Adam and Abraham, and progressively revealed in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ fulfils and inaugurates the covenant of grace between God and his people.

By raising Christ from the dead, God proclaims him to be perfectly righteous.

God designates him as the only mediator through whom men can be saved.

Christ received God's condemnation in the place of all sinners who believe in him.

His death is effective because he is fully God.

Through the cross, Christ triumphs over the spiritual powers that rebel against God, over sin and over death.

Origin of Salvation
According to his good will and the mystery of his wisdom (Eph 1.5, 9), God chose those whom he would save in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world.

Call
In proclaiming the Gospel, God calls all people to repentance.

In his grace and by the action of his Spirit, he causes those he saves to be born again.

Regeneration
They become new creatures for the eternal life that is in Jesus Christ.

Conversion
After the action of the Holy Spirit, the sinner repents of his sin and puts his faith in Jesus Christ alone, whom he confesses as Saviour and Lord.

Justification
Through the believer's union with Christ and through faith, God attributes Christ's righteousness to him.

The believer is no longer treated as a sinner before God, but declared righteous and free from all condemnation in Jesus Christ.

Those who believe in Christ
Through union with Jesus Christ, God reveals the fullness of his salvation to believers.

Through faith in Christ, God forgives believers of all their sins. Freed from the slavery of sin and the devil, they enter the kingdom of God.

Christ makes God favourable to believers by having satisfied God's justice and appeased his righteous anger towards them.

Believers can now live in communion with their Creator.

Christ's earthly ministry inaugurated the last days. Christians live in the ‘already’ of the work accomplished by Christ and in the ‘not yet’ of the final consummation.

Christians have a fallen body and live in a fallen world.

They have received blessings according to God's promises, the full realisation of which they await at Christ's return.

This radiant hope nourishes their vigilant hope and animates their zealous service in the church and in the urgent proclamation of the Gospel.

Christians thus fervently look forward to the return of their Lord.

Physical death marks the end of earthly life in this fallen world.

It is a sad event for those who remain.

In anticipation of the resurrection, the soul of Christians is with Christ in a state of happiness.

Adoption
Once justified, believers are at peace and reconciled with God, who adopts them by giving them his Spirit, making them joint heirs with Christ, members of God's family.

Perseverance of the Saints
Sealed by the Holy Spirit, authentic Christians can legitimately have the certainty of salvation. Thanks be to God, they persevere in their faith. Those who abandon it completely show that they have never truly known Jesus Christ.

Glorification
At the return of Jesus Christ, Christians will be resurrected with a glorious body, to live eternally in the presence of God. They will then fully enjoy all the benefits of their salvation in Christ.

Sanctification

Through their union with Christ, believers have been sanctified by God, who dwells in them through his Spirit.

He sets them apart to worship him and conform to him, according to the model given in Jesus Christ.

Consecrated to God, his children are called to work for his holiness, from new birth to physical death, because God is holy.

Out of love for Christ, believers willingly and joyfully obey his commandments, which are summed up in loving God and neighbour.

The Holy Spirit gives them the will and ability to obey and grow in holiness, mainly through the following means of grace: the reading and teaching of Scripture, prayer, the ordinances (baptism and supper), communion and service.

Christians testify to their conversion through a transformed life.

Although declared righteous by God, the saints are called to fight against sin, which battles in them, throughout their earthly lives.

They are called to glorify God in their suffering, trials or abundance.

ARTICLE 6
THE CHURCH

Universal Church
The universal Church is made up of all the redeemed of all times, who form the people of God.

It is the body of Christ, made up of believers united by the Holy Spirit to Christ, who is the head.

The Church is the Bride of Christ, and He is her head. Inhabited by the Holy Spirit, she is the Temple of God, of which Christ is the cornerstone.

He is the one who builds it.

The Church is one, holy, universal and faithful to the sound doctrine handed down once and for all by the Apostles in the Scriptures.

We believe that in the past God supported his special revelation, entrusted to some of his servants, with miraculous signs, which have always been exceptional in the history of salvation.

These signs are neither habitual nor normative in the life of God's people.

Their occasional presence is always possible, according to God's free sovereignty, but not all ‘signs’ are a guarantee of divine authenticity.

They must be scrutinised with caution, as well as gifts that present themselves with a miraculous character.

The completion of the writing of the Scriptures in the time of the Apostles turned a page in the history of salvation.

From the end of the first century until the return of Christ, the Word of God cannot be modified (neither by adding anything nor by taking something away).

It is totally sufficient for the life of the Church and believers and nothing can be compared to it.

The mission
The purpose of the local Church is to worship and glorify God through community worship, mutual edification and witness in word and deed, both inside and outside the Church.

The Church as a whole is the pillar and bulwark of the truth, it must ensure that it proclaims the whole Gospel of Christ to all peoples throughout the world, in order to make new disciples by establishing local Churches.

The authority
The governance of the local church is ensured by the collegial council of pastors. Pastors are brothers called by Christ and recognised by the local church, according to the criteria set out in Scripture, to lead the church by serving it.

Pastors submit to Scripture and exercise their authority by teaching it.

On this basis, they are responsible for the discipline of the local church, with the support of the members.

Each member submits to the collegial authority of the council of pastors, on the basis of the Scriptures set out in this Confession of Faith.

Members
Every Christian is called by Scripture to be a faithful member of a local church.

Baptised, serving the Church in general and, more particularly, using the gifts received from the Spirit.

The member is called to manifest their participation in the local church by regularly taking part in the life of the church and adhering to its official structure.

The members, witnesses of Christ, must love one another. All members are called to serve, but some may be called to serve as deacons or pastors.

Local Church
The local Church is the visible and temporal manifestation of the universal Church. God works through it so that it glorifies him in its life and proclamation.

There are true and false churches, but there is no local church that is perfect.

The Church provides communal worship to God mainly through the preaching of Scripture, prayers, songs and ordinances. This worship takes place in an orderly, intelligible and decent manner, submitting to the indications of the Scriptures.

The ordinances
Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the only two ordinances instituted by Christ to nourish the faith of his disciples gathered in the Church.

The baptism we practise, usually by immersion, must be the result of a conscious confession of faith in Jesus Christ.

Baptism is an act of obedience, by which believers manifest that they are dead to sin and alive to Christ.

The Supper commemorates and proclaims Christ's death, while we await his return.

ARTICLE 7
CHRISTIANS
AND THE WORLD

Christians are in the world, but they are not of the world.

Christians must love their neighbour as themselves.

They are sent by Christ into the world to witness to God's grace to their contemporaries and to live a life of holiness in the midst of this corrupt age.

Through their faithfulness, Christians are a blessing to the world around them, they must take care to promote the Gospel in all spheres of their personal and social life.

They value environmental stewardship that is faithful to the cultural mandate (Gen 1:28).

Christians have a responsibility to understand and evaluate the surrounding culture according to the principles of biblical faith, valuing the effects of common grace and confronting idolatry.

In relation to human authorities
Although they are foreigners and pilgrims on earth, Christians recognise their political and social responsibility and submit to civil authorities.

They must obey, as long as the authorities do not force them to disobey their faith.

Ethics of marriage and sexuality
According to biblical thinking, marriage is a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman.

This commitment must be voluntary and public, before God and sanctioned by the civil authorities of the place where the spouses live.

A Christian should only consider marriage to another Christian.

It is normal to associate the local church with the process of marriage between two Christians.

Cultural customs should not stand in the way of a marriage project.

Spouses live marriage by giving and serving each other. God gave sexuality as a good and necessary component, which can only take place in the context of marriage.

The relationship between Christ and his Church is the relational model of marriage. The bridegroom, in the image of Christ, exercises authority characterised by sacrificial love.

The wife, like the Church, voluntarily and joyfully submits to her husband. Marriage is not a necessity for Christians.

Neither marriage nor celibacy confer any intrinsic value on the human person.

Ethics of life and death
Every human being is a bearer of God's image and therefore possesses an intrinsic dignity.

Human beings are therefore responsible to God for the preservation and protection of all human life, which begins at conception and ends with physical death.

In the situation of the dying person, it is necessary to distinguish between and encourage palliative care (which alleviates suffering), therapeutic incarceration (which tramples on the dignity of the person), as well as active euthanasia (which affirms the human will to end life).

Family ethics
As Christians, God calls us to live in brotherly love, first and foremost in the context of marriage and the family, the basic cell of human societies.

Children are neither a right nor a duty, but a blessing from God given to the couple.

Parents are primarily responsible for their children's upbringing in the Lord.

They must provide what is necessary for the full development of their children. Children are called to honour their parents until old age.

Combate espiritual
Além da luta contra o pecado, os cristãos enfrentam a luta contra os espíritos da maldade (o diabo e os demónios).

O diabo e os demónios são anjos criados por Deus, sempre sujeitos à sua soberania.

Criados bons, rebelaram-se contra Deus, caíram irreversivelmente, foram derrotados por Cristo na cruz e aguardam o julgamento final, seguido pelo castigo eterno.

O diabo pode tentar ou mesmo influenciar o cristão usando o pecado deste, mas não o possuindo.

Assim, a luta espiritual do crente deve ser direccionada contra o seu próprio pecado, por meio da santificação e submissão a Cristo e não em busca de um confronto direto com os demónios.

Submetido a Deus e equipado com todas as suas armas, os cristãos são chamados a resistir aos espíritos da maldade, em fé firme.

O diabo trabalha para desviar o mundo de Deus.
Os cristãos são chamados a orar a Deus, a proclamar e viver o evangelho de Cristo para lutar contra o diabo.

Fé e liberdade individual
O cristão submete-se alegremente a Cristo, que é o Senhor em todas as áreas de sua vida (pessoal, académica, profissional, lúdica, financeira, etc.).

O cristão evita as armadilhas do relativismo e do legalismo.
Além dos claros ensinamentos das Escrituras, todo o cristão deve administrar a sua própria liberdade, em sua alma e consciência, tendo a perspectiva de prestar contas a Deus, buscando o bem dos seus irmãos e não prejudicando o seu testemunho.

Deus cuida dos cristãos, dando-lhes todas as coisas para o seu bem. Eles são chamados a viver contentes e a não amar o conforto ou o dinheiro, os quais podem ser ídolos.

Os cristãos expressam a sua gratidão a Deus sendo generosos com o próximo.

Os cristãos devem examinar as suas escolhas de vida, a gestão da utilização do tempo e dos recursos f inanceiros (mudança de casa, compras, orçamento, etc.), à luz dos ensinamentos de Deus, especialmente acerca da Igreja local.

ARTICLE 8
DEATH
AND THE FINAL STATE

Physical death, the end of this earthly life, concerns all human beings, except those who will be alive at Christ's return.

After death, body and soul are separated until the day of resurrection.

The body is destroyed, while the soul survives, either in a state of suffering far from God (the lost), or in a state of worship in the presence of Christ (the redeemed).

After death, nothing allows the person to move from one state to another.

New Creation
God will complete his work of redemption by reconciling all things through the cross of Christ.

He will create a new and perfect world where sin, suffering and death will no longer exist.

The redeemed, in perfection, will live forever, in the glorious presence of God, under the reign of Christ.

God will be totally glorified by all of them, who will know him perfectly and find superabundant satisfaction in him.

Christ's return and resurrection
On a day that only God knows, Christ will return to this world, in person, in his glorious body and visible to all.

He will return as judge of the living and the dead.

All men will be resurrected with their bodies endowed with different qualities.

Final judgement and eternal damnation
Christ will manifest God's glory by judging humans of all times.

The lost and fallen angels will suffer eternal and conscious punishment in a place of torment prepared by God.

‘O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgements and his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Who has become his counsellor?
Who has first given him anything, so that he may be rewarded?
For all things are his, through him and to him.
To him be the glory for ever! Amen.’

Romans 11:33-36