The
Lord Jesus Christ calls His Church into being so that it may
serve Him on earth until He comes. The Unitas Fratrum is,
therefore, aware of its being called in faith to serve humanity
by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It recognizes this
call to be the source of its being and the inspiration of
its service. As is the source, so is the aim and end of its
being based upon the will of its Lord.
The Belief of the Church
With the
whole of Christendom we share faith in God the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe and confess that God
has revealed Himself once and for all in His Son Jesus Christ;
that our Lord has redeemed us with the whole of humanity by
His death and His resurrection; and that there is no salvation
apart from Him. We believe that He is present with us in the
Word and the Sacrament; that He directs and unites us through
His Spirit and thus forms us into a Church. We hear Him summoning
us to follow Him, and pray Him to use us in His service. He
joins us together mutually, so that knowing ourselves to be
members of His body we become willing to serve each other.
In the light of divine grace, we recognize ourselves to be
a Church of sinners. We require forgiveness daily, and live
only through the mercy of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. He
redeems us from our isolation and unites us into a living
Church of Jesus Christ.
Personal
Belief
The belief
of the Church is effected and preserved through the testimony
of Jesus Christ and through the work of the Holy Spirit. This
testimony calls each individual personally, and leads each
one to the recognition of sin and to the acceptance of the
redemption achieved by Christ. In fellowship with Him the
love of Christ becomes more and more the power of the new
life, power which penetrates and shapes the entire person.
As God's Spirit so effects living belief in the hearts of
individuals, He grants them the privilege to share in the
fruits of Christ's salvation and membership in His body.
God's
Word and Doctrine
The Triune
God as revealed in the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments
is the only source of our life and salvation; and this Scripture
is the sole standard of the doctrine and faith of the Unitas
Fratrum and therefore shapes our life.
The Unitas
Fratrum recognizes the Word of the Cross as the center of
Holy Scripture and of all preaching of the Gospel, and it
sees its primary mission, and its reason for being, to consist
in bearing witness to this joyful message. We ask our Lord
for power never to stray from this.
The Unitas
Fratrum takes part in the continual search for sound doctrine.
In interpreting Scripture and in the communication of doctrine
in the Church, we look to two millennia of ecumenical Christian
tradition and the wisdom of our Moravian forebears in the
faith to guide us as we pray for fuller understanding and
ever clearer proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But
just as the Holy Scripture does not contain any doctrinal
system, so the Unitas Fratrum also has not developed any of
its own because it knows that the mystery of Jesus Christ,
which is attested to in the Bible, cannot be comprehended
completely by any human mind or expressed completely in any
human statement. Also it is true that through the Holy Spirit
the recognition of God's will for salvation in the Bible is
revealed completely and clearly.
Creeds
and Confessions
The Unitas
Fratrum recognizes in the creeds of the Church the thankful
acclaim of the Body of Christ. These creeds aid the Church
in formulating a Scriptural confession, in marking the boundary
of heresies, and in exhorting believers to an obedient and
fearless testimony in every age. The Unitas Fratrum maintains
that all creeds formulated by the Christian Church stand in
need of constant testing in the light of the Holy Scriptures.
It acknowledges as such true professions of faith the early
Christian witness: "Jesus Christ is Lord!" and also especially
the ancient Christian creeds and the fundamental creeds of
the Reformation.*
* Note: In the various Provinces of the Renewed Unitas
Fratrum the following creeds in particular gained special
importance, because in them the main doctrines of the Christian
faith find clear and simple expression:
- The
Apostles' Creed
- The
Athanasian Creed
- The
Nicene Creed
- The
Confession of the Unity of the Bohemian Brethren (1535)
- The
Twenty-One Articles of the unaltered Augsburg Confession
- The
Shorter Catechism of Martin Luther
- The
Synod of Berne of 1532
- The
Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England
- The
Theological Declaration of Barmen of 1934
- The
Heidelberg Catechism
The
Unitas Fratrum as a Unity
We believe
in and confess the Unity of the Church given in the one Lord
Jesus Christ as God and Savior. He died that He might unite
the scattered children of God. As the living Lord and Shepherd,
He is leading His flock toward such unity. The Unitas Fratrum
espoused such unity when it took over the name of the Old
Bohemian Brethren's Church, "Unitas Fratrum" (Unity of Brethren).
Nor can we ever forget the powerful unifying experience granted
by the crucified and risen Lord to our ancestors in Herrnhut
on the occasion of the Holy Communion of August 13, 1727,
in Bethelsdorf.
It is
the Lord's will that Christendom should give evidence of and
seek unity in Him with zeal and love. In our own midst we
see how such unity has been promised us and laid upon us as
a charge. We recognize that through the grace of Christ the
different churches have received many gifts. It is our desire
that we may learn from each other and rejoice together in
the riches of the love of Christ and the manifold wisdom of
God.
We confess
our share in the guilt which is manifest in the severed and
divided state of Christendom. By means of such divisions we
ourselves hinder the message and power of the Gospel. We recognize
the danger of self-righteousness and judging others without
love.
Since
we together with all Christendom are pilgrims on the way to
meet our coming Lord, we welcome every step that brings us
nearer the goal of unity in Him. He himself invites us to
communion in His supper. Through it He leads the Church toward
that union which He has promised. By means of His presence
in the Holy Communion He makes our unity in Him evident and
certain even today.
The
Church as a Fellowship
The Church
of Jesus Christ, despite all the distinctions between male
and female, Jew and non-Jew, white and colored, poor and rich,
is one in its Lord. The Unitas Fratrum recognizes no distinction
between those who are one in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are
called to testify that God in Jesus Christ brings His people
out of "every race, kindred and tongue" into one body, pardons
sinners beneath the cross and brings them together. We oppose
any discrimination in our midst because of race or standing,
and we regard it as a commandment of the Lord to bear public
witness to this and to demonstrate by word and deed that we
are brothers and sisters in Christ.
The
Church as a Community of Service
Jesus
Christ came not to be served but to serve. From this, His
Church receives its mission and its power for its service,
to which each of its members is called. We believe that the
Lord has called us particularly to mission service among the
peoples of the world. In this, and in all other forms of service
both at home and abroad, to which the Lord commits us, He
expects us to confess Him and witness to His love in unselfish
service.
Serving
Our Neighbor
Our Lord
Jesus entered into this world's misery to bear it and to overcome
it. We seek to follow Him in serving His brothers and sisters.
Like the love of Jesus, this service knows no bounds. Therefore
we pray the Lord ever anew to point out to us the way to reach
our neighbors, opening our heart and hand to them in their
need.
Serving
the World
Jesus
Christ maintains in love and faithfulness His commitment to
this fallen world. Therefore we must remain concerned for
this world. We may not withdraw from it through indifference,
pride or fear. Together with the universal Christian Church,
the Unitas Fratrum challenges all with the message of the
love of God, striving to promote the peace of the world and
seeking to attain what is best for all people. For the sake
of this world, the Unitas Fratrum hopes for and looks to the
day when the victory of Christ will be manifest over sin and
death and the new world will appear.
Conclusion
Jesus
Christ is the one Lord and Head of His body, the Church. Because
of this, the Church owes no allegiance to any authority whatsoever
which opposes His dominion. The Unitas Fratrum treasures in
its history the vital experience of the Headship of Christ
of September 16 and November 13, 1741.
The Unitas
Fratrum recognizes that i is called into being and has been
sustained hitherto only by the incomprehensible grace of God.
Thanksgiving and praise for this grace remain the keynote
of its life and ministry.
In this
spirit it awaits the appearing of Jesus Christ, goes forward
to meet its Lord with joy, and prays to be found ready when
He comes.
Finis
Click
here
to read the Pastor's sermon on the value of The Ground of
the Unity.
