Our Beliefs
We are Christians gathered from diverse backgrounds unified by the common desire to engage in conversations to promote unity in the Body of Christ. We embrace historic Christianity, reflecting the major streams of Christianity: apostolic, evangelical, and Spirit-filled. We desire to show the existence and character of God, not only with our lips but in our lives.
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We believe that the Nicene Creed is an accurate summary of the apostolic faith and that it has served as the bedrock for Christian unity for thousands of years. Although the founders of CFBU are classical Protestants, we have attempted to construct our statement of faith to include traditional Roman Catholic and Orthodox thinkers as well.
Statement of Faith
GOD
We believe there is one God, the transcendent creator and sustainer of all things visible and invisible. This one God is Triune, existing eternally and simultaneously as three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three persons in the Godhead are co-equal in nature, majesty, and glory.
SCRIPTURE
We believe that God has spoken in and through Scripture, which consists of the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments. Scripture is a gracious self-communication from God, containing all things necessary for salvation. Scripture ought to be the authority and unchangeable standard for Christian faith and life.
CREATION
We believe that the physical universe (the realm of nature) is the visible creation of God. It gives a trustworthy revelation of God’s existence and character. An honest study of nature can prove useful in a person’s search for truth. Properly understood, God’s Word (Scripture) and God’s world (nature) are two revelations from the same God and will never contradict each other.
JESUS
We believe that the historical Jesus Christ of Nazareth is both fully God (the second Person of the Trinity) and fully man (the Incarnate Son of God). We also believe in the historical events surrounding Jesus Christ’s life, including: His eternal preexistence, His birth to the virgin Mary, His attesting miracles, His sinless life, His sacrificial physical death on the cross, His glorious bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and His present work in heaven is as High Priest and Advocate.
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit (the third Person of the Trinity) is coequal with the Father and the Son. We also believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in salvation, convicting humanity of our sin, imparting new life to sinners, and indwelling believers in order to empower them to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
HUMANKIND
We believe that God communicates His goodness to all creatures, but in particular to human beings, whom He has made in His own image, both male and female, and that all men, women, and children have been graciously bestowed with inherent dignity from the moment of conception.
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We believe God created all humans in His image and likeness (having rational, moral, relational, and spiritual capacities). Human beings are the crown of God’s creation, and thus distinct in kind from all other life on earth.
Adam and Eve, the first human beings, were direct and miraculous creations of God. They chose to disobey God and go their own autonomous way. As a result, all of mankind became separated from God, the image of God in man became distorted, and the sinful nature is passed on to all their descendants. The only remedy for humanity’s predicament is redemption through faith in Jesus Christ.
SALVATION
We believe God took initiative to bridge the gap that separates humanity from Himself. He sent His Son, Jesus, “to give his life as a ransom for many.” Through the birth, life, death, burial and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, He brought about reconciliation between God and humans for those who believe, repent, and receive His grace. In the atoning death of Christ, both God’s love and God’s justice are fully manifested. The righteousness of Jesus Christ in perfectly fulfilling the law of God has been graciously credited to all believers. Redemption is a work of God’s grace, received exclusively through faith in Jesus Christ.
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​We believe that Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father but by Him. All who receive, by faith, the Lord Jesus Christ, have been born again of the Holy Spirit, and have become children of God.
LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN
We believe that Christians are called to follow the law of Christ’s love and live in the power of the Holy Spirit so that they will bear fruit consistent with the repentance from sins to the glory of God. We believe that it is the mission of every Christian to give a reason for the hope that is within them, to proclaim the Gospel to “every tribe and tongue” on the Earth, and to make disciples.
THE CHURCH
Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, which is composed of all people in all times and places, including the living and dead, who have been joined to Him through saving faith. The Lord Jesus Christ commanded all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to disciple people from every nation. The fulfillment of that Great Commission requires that Jesus’ disciples be willing to endure suffering for the sake of Jesus.
FUTURE THINGS
We look forward to the blessed hope, Christ’s second coming to this earth, personally, bodily, and visibly to establish His glorious reign in a kingdom that will never end. Jesus will resurrect and judge all humanity. Those who have received His offer of life through the Gospel will go to eternal blessings in the afterlife. Those who have rejected it will enter into eternal conscious separation from the Lord in hell.
Positions
The following statements are meant to offer concise summaries of the Center for Biblical Unity's (CFBU) positions on selected topics that are currently facing the church and culture.
Creeds and Confessions
In addition to our official statement of faith, a unifying expression of our faith can be found in the Nicene Creed.
We also find the confirmations and denials laid out in the Chicago Statements on Biblical Inerrancy and Hermeneutics, as well as the Nashville Statement to be helpful summaries of our guiding principles.
Although these statements do not have the same level of authority as Scripture, we believe they provide a an accurate summary of the core truths of the historic Christian faith. They also establish critical boundaries for solid biblical teaching.​
Authority of Scripture
We recognize that there are various approaches within Christianity when it comes the authority of Scripture (e.g., prima scriptura, sola scriptura, solo scriptura, apostolic succession). CFBU affirms that Scripture is the supreme authority over the church and the Christian, and that it is sufficient for salvation and Christian growth. This does not mean, however, Scripture is the only authority. We value tradition in the history of the church and see it as having a level of authority, but not equal authority to, Scripture. God has also given humanity other tools through general revelation to discover truth, such as logic, math, and science. All of these can provide insight into the created order, and when rightly interpreted will not contradict special revelation.
Christ and Culture
We recognize there are various approaches within Christianity when it comes to how Christians ought to engage the broader culture. CFBU advances a version of the "Christ transforming culture" model. We believe that human culture was initially good, but subsequently corrupted by humanity's Fall. Since Christ is redeeming all of creation, however, individual Christians, as well as local churches, can and should work to transform culture to the glory of God. This is done first and foremost through the preaching of the Gospel, church planting, building families and encouraging honest work. Over time, however, we would expect that the Gospel's impact on transformed lives would have a transforming effect on the broader culture.
Women in Ministry
CFBU affirms the impact that women can have in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19; John 4:39) and as full disciples of Jesus (Luke 10:39), capable of learning deeply about their faith through the study of theology and apologetics. Women participate equally with men in the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:4–5, 9–10).
We believe the Holy Spirit is the owner and dispenser of the spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7,11) and that all believers have a responsibility to steward these gifts (1 Peter 4:10). Spiritual gifts are not specified in Scripture as being connected to biological sex.
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CFBU is not a church. We are not pastors. We don't administer the sacraments, nor do we engage in church discipline. Our role is to provide teaching and consulting support local churches, Christian schools and ministries to have a biblically faithful view of race, unity and justice.
We acknowledge the strong historical precedent that only men were ordained to the office of bishop and priest for the purpose of leading local churches. CFBU has chosen to leave the decision about the ordination of women to the Spirit-guided consciences of particular congregations. For this reason, you are likely to find CFBU speakers, volunteers, and Board members on both sides of this issue. We expect all those affiliated with CFBU to act with gentleness and humility when discussing this issue.
Integration of Creation & Scripture
Sincere Christians who hold to the infallibility of Scripture differ on various issues related to the integration of Scripture and creation. While the co-founders of CFBU are old-earth creationists, you will find CFBU employees, volunteers and Board members on both sides of this discussion. For this reason, we ask that all those affiliated with CFBU to act with gentleness and humility when discussing these issues.
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There are a few critical issues at the core of our faith related to the creation of humans on which historic Christians can agree. These include the following:
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God created the first humans, male and female, as unique creatures bearing His image (Gen. 1:26-27).
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The first human pair were the result of the Creator's direct and miraculous intervention (Gen. 2).
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God created one human race (Acts 17:26).
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The diversity of physical features experienced by various people groups is the result of microevolutionary processes.
Predestination and Free Will
Sexuality
One of the major controversies among Protestant Christians is the extent of predestination and free will. We believe the Bible affirms both. You will find CFBU employees, volunteers and Board members on both sides of this discussion. As such, we expect all those affiliated with CFBU to act with gentleness and humility when discussing this issue.
Sanctity of Life
Procreation is a gift from God. A new human being enters the universe, created in the image of God, at the moment of conception. Every human being deserves our protection, whatever the circumstances of conception. Our stand for human dignity for the pre-corn shapes how we see matters such as abortion, birth control, and IVF.
Cessationism vs. Continuationism
We believe God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as either male or female (Gen. 2). Each of these sexes reflects the image of God in its own unique way (Gen. 1:26–27).
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We believe marriage joins one man and one woman in an exclusive union and provides the sole God-ordained context for sexual intimacy.
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We believe that all sexual relations outside of a committed heterosexual marriage constitute sin. This includes sexual sins such as fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and the use of pornography.
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Our desire is to demonstrate God’s love for all people. The same redemption is available to those who struggle with sexual sins as it is for all sinners. We want to come alongside anyone who struggles with sexual sin, including those who struggle with porn addiction and gender identity discordant with their birth sex, and encourage them to find healing, wholeness, and their true identity as a new creation in Jesus Christ.
One of the major controversies among Protestant Christians is the extent to whether certain spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament remain available to the church, or whether their operation ceased with the close of the Apostolic age or shortly thereafter. While the co-founders of CFBU are continuationists, you will find CFBU employees, volunteers and Board members on both sides of this discussion. As such, we expect all those affiliated with CFBU to act with gentleness and humility when discussing this issue.
Race Issues
All humans are created in the image of God, which forms the foundation for human dignity, value, and worth. CFBU maintains a stand that there is one human race with many ethnicities. The Bible does not categorize humans according to the modern construct of race.
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CFBU is committed to the equality of all humans. We understand that individuals of all ethnicities are capable of engaging in demeaning behavior toward others. Christians should defend members of all ethnicities against race-based mistreatment, including black to white, white to black, black to brown, etc.
We believe that all who believe in and profess Christ are adopted into the family of God and are now brothers and sisters. The New Covenant invites people from every nation, tribe and tongue to become part of a new humanity through Jesus Christ. The church is God’s strategic agent in a fallen world to proclaim and embody the unity and diversity of God’s people that will be manifest in the new creation (Ephesians 2:16; Revelation 21:1–4, 9–14). This is the foundation for unity.
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Christians should no longer regard ourselves or each other from worldly categories or frameworks (2 Cor. 5:16-17). As such, we renounce the ideas of secular approaches to unity such as Critical Race Theory or some versions of "racial reconciliation" trainings. CFBU expects that staff, volunteers, and board members uphold a biblical view and approach to unity, maintaining the dignity, value and worth of every image bearer.