WHO WE ARE （中文）

 

The church in Metro-Madison is centered on Christ and the Bible. We are called out from the world by God. We have received the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He is living in us as our life, and He is everything to us. We love Him, we serve Him, and we are seeking to bring many others to have a living knowledge of Him. We are not sectarian, nor denominational, nor nondenominational, nor interdenominational. It is our sincere and earnest desire that we stand on the ground that all regenerated Christians are one. According to Ephesians 1:22 and 23, the Church is Christ’s Body, we greatly value the fellowship among the members of the Body.  We seek fellowship with all brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

OUR BELIEFS

 

The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe.  We do believe, however, that the following statement of faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members: The Bible is the inspired word of God. God is triune; He is uniquely one, yet at the same time, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit co-existing equally from eternity to eternity. God was incarnated and became a man, Jesus Christ. He died and shed His blood to accomplish redemption for our sins, and resurrected as the life-giving Sprit to regenerate us with the life of God. He ascended to the right hand of the throne of God as Lord and Christ. Today as the Spirit, He is building up the church. One day He will return in glory. All who repent and believe in Him are saved and are regenerated (born-again) with the life of God. The church is the Body with Christ as the Head; the church is the fullness of Christ to be His expression. At the end of this age Christ will come back to take up His members, to judge the world, to take possession of the earth, and to establish His eternal kingdom. Christ will reign with the overcoming saints in the millennium and that all the believers in Christ will participate in the divine blessings in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth for eternity.  (Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14;  John 1:1, 14, 18; Hebrews 1:6-8; I John 5:20; Matthew 1; Luke 1; Matthew 28:19; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 6:19-20; 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18. Ephesians 1:22, 23; 4:12; 5:24-30; I Corinthians 12:12, 13, 27; Philippians 1:1; Acts 2:41-47; Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 24:39-41; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 21 and 22)

 

OUR COMMITMENT

 

The church in Metro-Madison feels the Lord has committed us with four main items:

(1) Make disciples of all nations -In Matt 28: 18-20 Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

(2) Grow up in Christ- “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)

(3) Build up Christ’s Church-“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22)

(4) Fight the spiritual warfare-“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10-18)

 

OUR PRATICE

 

The headship of Christ: We honor the headship of Christ. The church is the life of the Body in miniature; we are the Body, and He is the unique Head of the Body. (Ephesians 2:22-23) No one and nothing can presume to usurp Christ's headship. We will not support any system, organization, or leadership that compromises the headship of Christ. We recognize no subheads, no intermediaries between Christ and the members of His Body. All the members of the Body are encouraged to have direct fellowship with the Head and receive from Him all directions concerning their life and movements.

 

Oneness: We care for the oneness. In order to maintain this oneness, we meet as believers on the ground of oneness, we receive all believers according to the common faith, and we seek to grow in Christ so that we may be with Him in the Father and in the Father's glory, where we are perfected into one. We believe that the Lord's prayer in John 17 will be answered on earth and that as we are perfected into one, the world will believe and know that the Father has sent the Son.

 

Build up one another: We care for the saints, the believers in Christ, in a practical way. We delight to bear one another's burdens, to extend hospitality to visitors, to open our homes for fellowship, and to meet the practical needs of the brothers and sisters through loving service in the name of Christ. We encourage one another, refresh one another, minister Christ as life to one another, and build up one another (Ephesians 4:15-16).

 

The word of God: All those in the church of Metro-Madison are encouraged to read the Word in a regular way, even to read it through once a year. We read the Word, we study the Word, and we take the Word by prayer as spiritual food. All teachings, inspirations, and guidance which claim the Holy Spirit as their source must be checked by God's revelation in His Word (Acts 17:11).

 

Our meetings: We have meetings several times a week. Every Sunday we have the Lord's Table meting (1 Cor. 10:16-17; Acts 2:42; 20:7); at which all the Lord's children are welcome to partake with us of the bread and wine. We pray, praise, sing, give testimonies, and minister the Word.  Every Tuesday, we have a pray meeting (Acts 2:42; 4:24, 31; 12:5); Every Friday and Saturday we have a Bible study meeting (Col. 4:16; 1 Thes. 5:27; Acts 2:42; 15:21, 30-31) in each locality.  Every month, we have a gospel preaching meeting for unbelievers or a special meeting for the edification of the new believers in Saturday evening.  

 

Our financial affairs: The members are encouraged to give in a way that is hidden and not ostentatious, according to the commitment they have with the Lord. No offerings are taken in the meetings, and there is very little talk of financial matters. Financial statements are available for examination by members. As far as financial affairs are concerned, we are properly registered with the government as non-profit religious corporations.

 

Our attitude toward the government: According to the Bible, human government has been ordained of God to preserve peace and to maintain order. For the sake of conscience, all Christians are to be subject to the civil authorities. Therefore, we submit to all governmental authorities and are obedient to them, living as good citizens of our nation, state, and community. We are prepared to fulfill all our responsibilities toward the human government ordained of God (Romans 13:1~7).

 

CONCERNING SALVATION

 

In Christ, God has provided for man a full and complete salvation. This full salvation includes our whole being: spirit, soul, and body. In God's salvation, man's spirit is regenerated, his soul is being transformed, and his body will be transfigured.

 

In order to be saved, one must have a living faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Every genuinely saved one has what the Bible calls the "common faith" (Titus 1:4), which includes what we must believe in order to be saved: we must believe that the Bible is the complete divine revelation wholly inspired by God; that there is a unique Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God incarnated to be a man; that Christ died on the cross for our sins, shedding His blood for our redemption; that on the third day He was bodily raised from the dead; that He has been exalted to the right hand of God and made the Lord of all; and that He is coming again for His own and to set up His kingdom on earth.

 

Eternal salvation is by grace through faith, not by our works. Once a person has been saved, he may have both the assurance of salvation and the security of salvation. Once we are saved, we are saved forever. (Mark 16:16; Rom. 10:13; 1 John 5:12-13; Rom. 8:16;1 John 5:1; 1 John 3:14.)

 

CONCERNING CHURCH GOVERNMENT

 

“Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons” (Phil. 1:1). The church of Metro-Madison consists of all the saints, the overseers, and the deacons. The deacons are the men appointed to serve tables (Acts 6:2-6), that is, those who care exclusively for the business side of things. The overseers are the elders, who take the oversight of all church matters. (Acts 20:17, 28, and Titus 1:5, 7) And besides the overseers and the deacons, there are all the saints.  However, among us there is no permanent, official, organized leadership. Furthermore, there is no hierarchy. Those who take the lead do not lord it over the saints, but rather shepherd them in love. Likewise, those who serve the Lord do not control the churches, but rather serve them as bondslaves of Christ in the ministry of the living Word.

 

CONCERNING SPIRITUALGIFTS

 

In I Corinthians 12:1~ 11, Paul gives nine illustrations of the manifestation of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are unlimited. In verse 7 Paul says, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for profit.” All the different gifts are the manifestation of the Spirit; that is, the Spirit is manifested in the believers who have received the gifts. Such manifestation of the Spirit is for the profit of the church, the Body of Christ. For profit means for the growth in life of the members of the Body of Christ and for the building up of Christ’s Body.  Of these nine, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues are listed as the last two because they are not as profitable as the other items for the building up of the church (I Corinthians 14:2-6, 18-19). Of these nine gifts and those listed in verses 28 through 30, prophecy as prediction, faith, gifts of healing, works of power, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues are miraculous. These miraculous gifts do not require any growth in life.  In I Corinthians 12:31 Paul says, “But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet I show to you a way of excellence.” To earnestly desire the greater gifts is to be zealous for them, to delight in them. The expression greater gifts indicate that some gifts, like speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues, are smaller because they are less profitable to the church. It also indicates that we should desire earnestly the greater gifts, like teaching, which are more profitable for the building of the church (I Corinthians 12:14:1-6). To have these greater gifts we need to grow in life unto maturity. They are developed, by growth in life, out of the initial gifts (I Corinthians 1:7) we received when we were regenerated.

 

CONCERNING THE LORD’S SECOND COMING

 

We believe that at the end of this age Christ will come back to take up His members, to judge the world, to take possession of the earth, and to establish His eternal kingdom. The overcoming saints will reign with Christ in the millennium and that all the believers in Christ will participate in the divine blessings in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth for eternity. 

 

Concerning Tribulation: The word “tribulation” is a special term in the study of prophecy. It denotes a period of time at the end of the church age. At the end of the church age there will be a period of seven years, the last of the seventy weeks prophesied in Daniel 9. Daniel 9 speaks of seventy weeks of years concerning the history of Israel. First we have seven weeks, then sixty-two weeks, and finally, after a long interval, the last week, the last seven years. Just before the beginning of these seven years, a powerful man will rise up—the Antichrist. In 2 Thessalonians 2 Antichrist is called the man of lawlessness. According to prophecy, this powerful person will restore the Roman Empire and will become the last Caesar of that empire. Then Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, will make a covenant, an agreement, with the Jews. This agreement will be intended to last for seven years. Because Antichrist will be so powerful, the Jews will be afraid of him; they will fear that he will persecute them in the practice of their religion. For this reason, the Jews will make an agreement with him, and in that agreement he will promise them freedom of worship. The Jews will be very pleased with this agreement, happy to have the freedom to worship the God of their fathers. However, after three and a half years, in the middle of the last seven years of the church age, the man of lawlessness will break his agreement with the Jews and begin to persecute them. The last seven years may be divided into two periods, each three and a half years in length. In the Bible the second period of three and a half years is also called forty-two months, or 1260 days (Rev. 11:2-3; 13:5). From our study of the Bible we can say strongly and definitely that these last three and a half years will be the time of the great tribulation. This means that the great tribulation will be the second half of the last week; it will last three and a half years, or forty-two months, or 1260 days.

 

Concerning Rapture:   There are three main schools concerning the Lord’s coming and the rapture of the believers. One of these schools is called the pretribulation school. This is the teaching that the coming of the Lord Jesus will take place before the great tribulation. According to their understanding, the whole of the last week of Daniel’s seventy weeks will be the period of the great tribulation. They teach that Christ will come back to rapture the believers before this time of tribulation, that is, before the last seven years of this age. For this reason, this school of teaching is called the pretribulation school.  A second school is the school of post-tribulation. This is the teaching that Christ’s coming will be after the great tribulation. Those who teach that the coming of Christ will be after the tribulation use many verses from the Bible as a strong basis for their teaching. Those of this school teach that Christ will come back at the very end of the tribulation. Therefore, their teaching is called the post-tribulation school.  According to the third school, Christ’s parousia (presence) will probably begin a little before the middle of the last seven years and will last nearly to the end of this period. Christ will leave the throne in the third heaven and descend to the air concealed in a cloud and remain there for about three and a half years. During this period of time, a number of things will happen. The man-child in Revelation 12 will be raptured just before Antichrist begins to persecute every kind of religion and he will exalt himself above every object of worship. The man-child will be raptured not to the air but to the throne of God. Furthermore, according to Revelation 14, the one hundred forty-four thousand will also be raptured during this time as the firstfruit, before the second half of the last seven years. We should not make the mistake of regarding the one hundred forty-four thousand in Revelation 14 as identical to the man-child in Revelation 12. These are two different groups of overcomers. The man-child and the one hundred forty-four thousand will be raptured to the throne of God. Then the Lord Jesus will begin His parousia; He will descend from the throne of God to the air. It seems certain that the man-child and the one hundred forty-four thousand will descend with Him. Then at the end of the last seven years, the Lord Jesus will come to earth. Second Thessalonians 2:8 refers to this: “And then the lawless one shall be revealed (whom the Lord Jesus will slay by the breath of His mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of His coming).” The Greek word rendered “coming” is parousia, presence. The appearing of the Lord’s parousia will be at the end of the last seven years, after Antichrist, the lawless one, has been revealed.

 

Concerning the Bema Seat Judgment: The concept of the Bema Seat comes from the ancient Olympics, where a judge would sit on the Bema Seat at the finish line. The judge's purpose was to determine what position the runners came in-first, second, and so on-and then to give out the appropriate rewards. That is the imagery behind what is known as the Bema Seat.  Also known as the Judgment Seat of Christ, in 2 Corinthians 5:10 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." Paul is teaching us that all Christians will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, believers are rewarded based on how faithfully they served Christ (1 Corinthians 9:4-27; 2 Timothy 2:5). The things we will likely be judged on are how well we obeyed the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), how victorious we were over sin (Romans 6:1-4), how well we controlled our tongue (James 3:1-9), etc. The Bible speaks of believers receiving crowns for different things based on how faithfully they served Christ (1 Corinthians 9:4-27; 2 Timothy 2:5). The various crowns are described in 2 Timothy 2:5; 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4; and Revelation 2:10. James 1:12 is a good summary of how we should think about the Judgment Seat of Christ, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”

 

Concerning the White Throne Judgment: The Great White Throne judgment is at the end of the millennium (Revelation 20:11-15); which is the judgment of unbelievers in which they are judged according to their works and sentenced to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire.

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