Christadelphians are a world wide community of believers. Our name means 'Brothers in Christ'. We believe the Bible is inspired by God, and that it contains all we need to know to find the way to God's Kingdom. Our position is that we try to imitate as closely as possible the First Century church, believing that traditions and teaching that were introduced into the church after this time are probably man-made. So we stick to what can be proved to be in the Bible.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe in one God, the Creator of life on earth, who is eternal, immortal, and all powerful. He is a God of love, but also a God who insists on justice and truth (Genesis 1:1, 1 Timothy 1:17, 1John 4:7-10, Psalm 86:15, Deuteronomy 32:4)
We believe the Bible is God's book, written by many men over many centuries, but guided by His Holy Spirit to set down His message for us (2 Timothy 2:16)
We believe God made man from the dust in order to fill the earth with His glory. Sadly, man sinned (broke God's laws) and was condemned to die and to return to dust (Genesis 3:17-19)
We believe that when we die we lose all consciousness, as if we are asleep. The only escape from death will be through the resurrection of the dead at the last day. Then, those who knew about God will be brought back to life, judged by Christ, and if found worthy, granted immortality, to live and reign with Christ in his Kingdom (Ecclesiastes 9:5, Daniel 12:2-3, John 6:40, John 5:27-29, Luke 19:11-15, Matthew 19:28)
We believe Jesus Christ was a man like us, born of the virgin Mary by God's Holy Spirit power. He was therefore both Son of God and Son of man. He experienced our temptations to sin, but never gave in to them. So when he volunteered to die on the cross, God could justly raise him from the dead on the third day, because he had no sins. By the way, Jesus is his name, and Christ or 'anointed' his title as a king and priest (Luke 1:31-35, Hebrews 2:14-18, Acts 2:22-36)
We believe God chose Abraham, a man He called His friend, to be the father of a nation, the Jewish people. God promised him the land we call Israel today, for an everlasting possession. His descendants were unfaithful to their God, so He drove them from their land into exile among the nations. But He has promised to forgive them and restore them to their land, a process which has already begun. It will be completed when Jesus Christ returns and they accept him as their king (Genesis 26:3-5, Ezekiel 11:16-20, Zechariah 12:10, Romans 11:25-27)
We believe God promised David, king of Israel, a descendant who would reign on his throne for ever. The New Testament tells us this was Jesus, descended from David through his mother. He has not yet sat on the throne of David in Jerusalem, but he will do so when he returns (2 Samuel 7:12-14, Luke 1:32-33, 2 Timothy 4:1)
We believe that to be saved from eternal death we have to believe in Jesus as the saviour God sent, and then be baptised into him by immersion in water. Baptism is a symbol of death to our old life and birth to a new life, freed from the burden of our sins (Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-6, Galatians 3:27)
We believe that sin (breaking God's commands and failing to reach up to the example of Jesus) is our great enemy. In the Bible it is personified as the Serpent or Satan or the Devil. We have to fight sin every day (Romans 6:12-18 and 7:11-20)
We believe the Kingdom of God comes when Jesus returns from heaven, to teach all nations God's way, and bring justice and peace to the world (Luke 21:24-31, Isaiah 11:1-9, Micah 4:1-4 )