(Disclaimer: This page is designed to describe and inform about the true teaching of the Gospel as prescribed in the Holy Word of God. It is not written to antagonize other beliefs or proselytize the reader specifically, but rather designed to create perspective on the "evangelical" or "Plymouth Brethren" view of Christianity. (By the way, our group is definitely NOT the same as the Brethren cult reported on by 20/20.) If the reader is impelled to learn more or seek further information on anything presented here, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can't always guarantee an answer, but I do promise to try to find the necessary information. I alone take responsibility for anything written here, but I hope that this page will create discussion or thought on these "celestial" topics. So, read on and enjoy this meager attempt to describe something so special and personal as one's faith...)
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
-C.S. Lewis-
----->The Plymouth Brethren are an evangelical group started in the
early 19th century by a few Englishman who felt the need to worship God
in a more Biblically oriented fashion...it was transported to India
(specifically Kerala and Madras) by German missionaries in the mid-late
19th century...I know that this is a very sketchy history but if you're
interested there are two really good books on the history of the Brethren
movement, one by H. Ironside and another by K.V. Saimon (specifically the
movement in India...however, it's published only in Malayalam)...in any
case, the Indian Brethren are still a very small group largely confined to Kerala (around
5000 families or so) and various other parts of the globe where these
families have emigrated...in the U.S., the largest contigency of brethren
is in New York where there are over 150 families and 9 assemblies (we
prefer this term over "church")...there are assemblies in many of the
main metropolitan areas of the U.S. including Chicago, Philadelphia, etc...as far as
Canada is concerned, the only assembly I am aware of is in Toronto (I
visited there last year)...like I said, we're a small-knit group...
1. The inspiration and inerrancy of the Scripture, including the 66
traditional books of the Bible and excluding the Apocrypha.
2. A belief in a triune God composed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit.
3. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the same God yesterday, today, and
forever.
4. The perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth,
sinless life, vicarious death, and bodily resurrection.
5. The iminent return of Christ in the air, premillenial second coming of
Christ on earth with his people, and the literal millenial kingdom on earth.
6. The fall of Adam and Eve in the garden and man's resulting inability
to save himself from his condemnation before a holy and just God.
7. Salvation is altogether by grace from the Father, by faith in Christ,
and eternally secure without hope of loss. Heaven is for the saved and
hell for the unbelieving. ---II. Our main purpose is to remain fundamentally sound in Biblical doctrine
and maintain a godly walk in our lives...The following points are what
make as distinctive from other groups in several ways:
1. We define ourselves by individual assemblies which are a part of the
Church of the body of Christ. In other words we have no centralized
authority or pastoral clergy, besides Christ who is our Head and Shepherd.
2. Christ is the center of all our meetings, meaning no one person leads
or conducts our gatherings and all those who are in fellowship are free
to participate.
3. We are independent and undenominational (as opposed to nondenominational.)
4. We take part in the fellowship of the assembly rather than as a member
of the assembly. (i.e. No formal membership.)
5. As I mentioned we have no separation of the clergy and laity though
our assemblies are lead by elders and deacons who also take part in the
fellowship (and hold outside secular positions.)
6. The weekly observance of the Lord's table.
7. Our finances are characterized by no solicitation and no salaried
ministry, though we do support missionaries through the freewill offering
of our brothers and sisters.
8. We define a specific role and place of women in the assembly
according to the passages in Ephesians 5 and I & II Timothy and other
connected passages.
---III. These are are our basic beliefs and I've left alot out that would
take up too much time (like I haven't already...) to recount now. But here's
some more of our basic beliefs
1. We believe the the Holy Spirit is a full part of the Trinity and it is
endowed on the believer at the point of salvation by faith in Christ.
This baptism of the Spirit occurs once and is sealed till eternity
(unlike the Pentecostals who believe that baptism of the Spirit occurs
intermittantly as exemplified by episodes of "being filled (or slain) with
the Spirit" or by healing powers, the ability to speak in tongues, etc...as
Brethren we do not specifically discount the possibility of these acts
but rather the freedom to use such talents...we believe that we have the
Spirit always as our Counselor and Comforter to enable us to fellowship
with God and to handle life's difficulties.)
2. We believe in full immersion baptism when a prospective believer feels
he is moved upon by the Spirit to take part in the symbolic death and
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ by this act. Therefore, one may be
saved but not baptized. Baptism, as commanded by Christ, is the formal
sign to the world that this person has been set aside as a child of God.
Once a person is baptized, they begin to take part in the fellowship of
the assembly, partaking in the weekly breaking of bread. Essentially, it
"formalizes" one's fellowship with the assembly. I myself was baptized at
the age of sixteen, even though I was saved when I was nine.
3. We believe that salvation is only by faith (i.e. good works, baptism,
membership in a church cannot save one from eternal damnation) through
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who was the Sacrificial Lamb
for the penalty of our sins (see I.7) There is nothing we can do to save
us from this penalty, except by the grace of God He sent His Son to take
on this judgment, and redeem us unto Himself.
In order for us to be saved from our sins, there are three essentials steps:
---a. Recognition of our sin and our inability to do anything to
free us from the penalty of sin. God is holy and just, therefore He
cannot allow sin to exist without justification. Therefore we are
all condemned by our sin, unless we accept the justification of Christ's
sacrifice.
---b. Repentance from our sinful ways. This is an ongoing process
that continues even after salvation since salvation does not make us
perfect (we are only perfect due to the mediation of our Advocate, Jesus
Christ before God in heaven.)
---c. Acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Personal Savior and as the only
way to be free from our sins.
Salvation, baptism, and fellowship in the Church of the Body of
Christ are signs of one's full acceptance of Christ's control in one's life.
Whew, that was quite a sermon, but I guess it really does take quite a
bit to define what one believes in clear terms...I apologize if I've
rambled a bit (too late)...If
you would like to know more please feel free to contact me at my e-mail address below...this is actually a
topic I love to discuss and talk about because it really helps me to
define myself and my faith...once again, I'm sorry if I've been somewhat
verbose, but I hope this clears up a little about the brethren...as
said, I invite anyone's feedback and any questions you may wish to discuss...
Please contact me at the following address or e-mail me at the address below for further info:
----->"There are many world views on how to get to heaven or on what
heaven really is. I think it's funny that we need a "world" view to see heaven.
I think what we really need to see heaven is a "heaven" view.
What I mean is that only one person has seen heaven and has come to this world to tell us about it...
That person is Jesus Christ...So if we really want to get to heaven we need to see things His way...
Because when you think about it, since He's the only one who's been there and back, He's the only one who knows the directions to get there
...So, what follows is a short history and doctrinal statement about the
Plymouth Brethren, a group of hearty folks who really believe that Jesus Christ is the way to heaven, the truth about heaven, and the reason
for life in heaven..."
---I. In the spectrum of Christian denominations (a term we don't
particularly like) we are closest to the Pentecostals and the Southern Baptists though we do differ
on some key points. Like I said, our church is conducted as close as possible to
the first century church...the following are our fundamental doctrines
(culled from one of our elder's (Bro. P.T. John's) recent ministry notes) which we believe in:
