Essential elements undergirding the evangelical Christian faith

ECFA Standard 1 - Doctrinal Issues

http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Comment1

Essential elements undergirding the evangelical Christian faith:

1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired and the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3. We believe in the deity of Christ, 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, in His present rule as Head of the Church, and in His personal return in power and glory.

4. We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

5. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

6. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: that the saved are saved unto the resurrection of life, and that the lost are lost unto the barrenness of damnation.

   (Mark 16 ,16 ) Meaning that those who don’t believe in Jesus are dammed ..This means Every one except Christian's

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+16%3A16&version=KJV   He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

1. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, with equality across racial, gender, and class difference.

 

• Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship™
• Standard 1 - Doctrinal Issues
• Standard 2 - Governance
• Standard 3 - Financial Oversight
• Standard 4 - Use of Resources and Compliance with Laws
• Standard 5 - Transparency
• Standard 6 - Related-party Transactions
• Standard 7.1 Truthfulness in Communications
• Standard 7.2 Giver Expectations and Intent
• Standard 7.3 Charitable Gift Communication
• Standard 7.4 Acting in the Best Interest of Givers
• Standard 7.5 Percentage Compensation for Securing Charitable Gifts

"Every member shall subscribe to a written statement of faith clearly affirming a commitment to the evangelical Christian faith, or shall otherwise demonstrate such commitment and shall operate in accordance with biblical truths and practices."

This standard requires members to subscribe to a written statement of faith clearly affirming a commitment to the evangelical Christian faith or otherwise demonstrate such commitment.

Whether a member subscribes to a written statement of faith or otherwise demonstrates such commitment, ECFA identifies the following essential elements undergirding the evangelical Christian faith:

1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired and the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3. We believe in the deity of Christ, 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, in His present rule as Head of the Church, and in His personal return in power and glory.

4. We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

5. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

6. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: that the saved are saved unto the resurrection of life, and that the lost are lost unto the barrenness of damnation.

7. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, with equality across racial, gender, and class difference.

Other commitment to the evangelical Christian faith. Organizations that do not subscribe to a written statement of faith must otherwise demonstrate such commitment. To determine if an organization meets this threshold, ECFA will consider, but is limited to, the following:  position statements of the board and/or staff and significant examples of how the evangelical faith is carried out in the organization’s operations.

Biblical practices. ECFA believes that honesty, truthfulness, openness, and responsiveness are only a few of the characteristics common to the spirit of trust that must exist between member organizations and their donors. As the organization presents itself to other Christians and to the non-Christian world, integrity should be so great a priority as to preclude any misinterpretation of the member’s motives.

In several of his letters, the Apostle Paul stresses the importance of being beyond reproach and behaving in such a way as to avoid even the appearance of wrong-doing. He tells us that we need to be circumspect to those outside the Church. The reason Paul most often gives is that we must not give Satan any opportunity to destroy the reputation of Christ. Arguably, and in an eternal sense, it may be true that the business of ministries and churches is of concern to God and not to others judging from the outside. But Scripture is also very clear about our need to be open, honest, and above reproach as we grapple with life’s terms before Christ’s return. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 8:21, “For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.

Summary. A member’s commitment to the evangelical Christian faith is the cornerstone of ECFA membership. The word “evangelical” connotes more than mere subscription to a doctrinal statement. It includes commitment to an ethical and moral lifestyle that seeks to conform to a biblical norm. It is the lifestyle envisioned in Item 5 of ECFA’s own statement of faith: “We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled tolive a godly life” (emphasis added).

The public, both Christian and secular, often does not distinguish between financial and nonfinancial issues. A moral scandal would be just as devastating as a financial scandal to the credibility of the organization.

http://www.ecfa.org/Content/Comment1