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BEGINNINGS Friends
believe in the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, and the death and
resurrection of Christ on the Cross.
Friends also believe that Christ is the only means to salvation. God’s grace is given to us through
Christ. While many denominations
believe in these essential truths, the manner in which these beliefs play out
in believers’ lives is different. Friends,
also called Quakers, had their origin in 17th century
England. As a young man, George Fox
longed for a genuine faith which he did not find in the cold, legalistic
church of his time. Through studying
the Bible and trusting Jesus, he began to share the reality of the Gospel
with others— the good news of salvation. Fox
and early Quakers declared that salvation is a personal matter between the
individual and God. No human mediator
or outward ordinance is necessary for salvation or relationship with God. Christians should rediscover the New
Testament doctrine in its threefold nature of knowing about Jesus Christ
historically, knowing Him personally in religious experience, and following
His pattern of life. In
an age of outward formalism and inward shallowness, Friends posed a striking
contrast to the denominations of this period.
They believed that God was a God of truth, so they sought to worship
Him in truth as opposed to the ritualized religion of the state church,
whereby people could participate in worship without showing any change in
their lives. Today Friends continue
this expression of Truth and emphasize a personal relationship with Christ. Contemporary
Friends oppose copying the past. While
the history of Friends provides a rich foundation for our doctrine, we
understand that we cannot become “just like” Quakers of the past. This would in fact be the most un-Quakerly thing to do.
As guided by scripture and Friends foundations, we must not conform to
an outward standard, but rather let Christ transform our total life as He
sees fit. |