A DECLARATION OF FAITH (1977)

CHAPTER ONE -- THE LIVING GOD

1    (1) We believe in one true and living God.
2             We acknowledge one God alone,
3                     whose demands on us are absolute,
4                     whose help for us is sufficient.
5             That One is the Lord,
6                     whom we worship, serve and love.

7    (2) God is greater than our understanding.
8             We do not fully comprehend who God is or how God works.
9          God's reality far exceeds all our words can say.
10        The Lord's requirements are not always what we think is best.
11        The Lord's care for us is not always what we want.
12        God comes to us on God's own terms
13            and is able to do far more than we ask or think.

14    (3) God makes himself known in Jesus Christ.
15        Jesus' involvement in the human condition is God's involvement.
16        His compassion for all kinds of people is God's compassion.
17        His demand for justice, truth, and faithfulness is God's demand.
18        His willingness to suffer rejection is God's willingness.
19        Jesus' love for the very people who reject him is God's love.

20    (4) God moves in history with his people.
21        Jesus Christ stands at the center of the biblical record.
22        The Bible is the account of God's word and action in history
23            together with his people's response in faith.
24        It tells how the Lord has moved with Israel and the church
25            toward the kingdom of God,
26            his just and loving rule over all.
27        It is the story of the one God,
28            who is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
29        That story is still unfolding
30            and in faith we make it our own.
31        It forms our memory and our hope.
32        It tells us who we are and what we are to do.
33        To retell it is to declare what we believe.

34    (5) God is at work beyond our story.
35        We know that God is not confined to the story we can tell.
36        The story itself tells us God works his sovereign will
37            among all peoples of the earth.
38        We believe God works beyond our imagining
39            throughout the universe.

40    (6) We acknowledge no other God.
41        We must not set our ultimate reliance on any other help.
42        We must not yield unconditional obedience to any other power.
43        We must not love anyone or anything more than we love God.

44    (7) We praise and enjoy God.
45        To worship God is highest joy.
46        To serve God is perfect freedom.