Beliefs of Middle River Friends

Consider the following scriptures:

The arm of the Lord is not to short to save, nor his ear to dull to hear. But our sins have separated us from Him, our sins have hidden his face from us, so that He will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2

But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. Romans 3:21-23

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with us not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. II Peter 3:9

For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

I tell the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again from above. John 3:3

Here is a simple prayer you can pray that will be a start to your relationship with God:

Lord Jesus Christ,

I am sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. (Take a few moments to ask His forgiveness for anything particular that is on your conscience.) Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong.

Thank You that You died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free.

Thank You that You offer me forgiveness and the gift of Your Spirit. I now receive that gift.

Please come into my life by Your Holy Spirit, to be with me forever.

Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Entering the life of Middle River Friends

Having been led by the Holy Spirit to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I will.

Worship Him whenever the Church gathers as I am able, and be a part of discerning His will for the life of Middle River Friends.
Share in the work of His Church using my talents as time and health allow.
Contribute cheerfully to His work, spreading the gospel to the community and world.
Follow Christ at all times and do my part to maintain the unity of Middle River Friends.

Middle River receives into active membership those whose faith in Jesus Christ as personal Savior is manifest in their lives and who are in unity with the teachings of Christian truth as held by Friends. (Friends Discipline)

PART I

THE FAITH AND DOCTRINE OF FRIENDS

CHAPTER I

THE CHURCH AND HER DENOMINATIONS

1. The Church of Jesus Christ is composed of those persons who, through repentance of their sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, have been born into His kingdom by the Holy Spirit. By the revelation of the Holy Spirit, they look to Christ as their Prophet, Priest, and King, and by the Spirit's baptism and power are enabled to resist temptation and to live in obedience to God's holy will.

2. A Christian denomination is an organization composed of those who hold similar views of the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, and maintain certain practices based upon these teachings, and who voluntarily associate themselves for joint participation in worship, for fellowship and mutual help, and for united effort in the promotion of truth and righteousness. The Society of Friends is such a Christian body.

3. Each denominational body has its own system of government and rules for the transaction of its business and for individual observance by its members.

CHAPTER II

THE BELIEFS OF FRIENDS

SECTION I—STATEMENT OF ESSENTIAL TRUTHS

The vital principle of the Christian faith is the truth that one's salvation and higher life are personal matters between the individual soul and God.

Salvation is deliverance from sin and the possession of spiritual life. This comes through a personal faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior who, through His love and sacrifice, draws us to Him.

Conviction for sin is awakened by the operation of the Holy Spirit causing the soul to feel its need of reconciliation with God. When Christ is seen as the only hope of salvation, and one yields to Him, he/she is brought into newness of life, and realizes that his/her relationship as a child of God has become an actual reality. This transformation is wrought without the necessary agency of any human priest, or ordinance, or ceremony whatsoever. A changed nature and life bear witness to this new relation to Him.

The whole spiritual life grows out of the soul's relation to God and its cooperation with Him, not from any outward or traditional observances.

Christ Himself baptizes the surrendered soul with the Holy Spirit, enduing it with power, bestowing gifts for service. This is an efficient baptism, a direct incoming of divine power for the transformation and control of the whole self. Christ Himself is the Spiritual bread, which nourishes the soul, and He thus enters into and becomes a part of the being of those who partake of Him. This participation with Christ and apprehension of Him become the goal of life for the Christian. Those who thus enter into oneness with Him become also joined in living union with each as members of one body.

Both worship and Christian fellowship spring out of this immediate relation of believing souls with their Lord.

The Holy Scriptures were given by inspiration of God and are the divinely authorized record of the doctrines which Christians are bound to accept, and of the moral principles which are to regulate their lives and actions. In them, as interpreted and unfolded by the Holy Spirit, is an ever fresh and unfailing source of spiritual truth for the proper guidance of life and practice.

The doctrines of the apostolic days are held by the Friends as essentials of Christianity. The Fatherhood of God, the Deity and humanity of the Son, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the atonement through Jesus Christ by which people are reconciled to God, the Resurrection, the high priesthood of Christ, and the individual priesthood of believers, are most precious truths to be held, not as traditional dogmas, but as vital, life-giving realities.

The sinful condition of an individual and his/her proneness to yield to temptation, the world's absolute need of a savior, and the cleansing from sin, in forgiveness and sanctification through the blood of Jesus Christ, are unceasing incentives to all who believe to become laborers together with God in extending His kingdom. By this high calling, the Friends are pledged to the proclamation of the truth wherever the Spirit leads, both in home and in foreign fields.

The indwelling Spirit guides and controls the surrendered life, and the Christian's constant and supreme business is obedience to Him. But while the importance of individual guidance and obedience is thus emphasized, this fact gives no ground for license; the sanctified conclusions of the Church are above the judgment of a single individual.

The Friends find no scriptural evidence or authority for any form or degree of sacerdotalism in the Christian Church, or the establishment of any ordinance or ceremonial rite for perpetual observance. The teachings of Jesus Christ concerning the spiritual nature of religion, the impossibility of promoting the spiritual life by the

ceremonial application of material things, the fact that faith in Jesus Christ Himself is all-sufficient, the purpose of His life, death, resurrection and ascension, and His presence in the believer's heart, virtually destroy every ceremonial system and point the soul to the only satisfying source of spiritual life and power.

With faith in the wisdom of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and believing that it is His purpose to make His Church on earth a power for righteousness and truth, the Friends labor for the alleviation of human suffering; and for the intellectual, moral, and spiritual elevation of humankind; and for purified and exalted citizenship. The Friends believe war to be incompatible with Christianity and seek to promote peaceful methods for the settlement of all the differences between nations and between peoples.

It is an essential part of the faith that an individual should be in truth what he/she professes in word, and the underlying principle of life and action for individuals, and also for society, is transformation through the power of God and implicit obedience in his revealed will.

For more explicit and extended statements of belief, reference is made to those officially put forth at various times, especially to the letter of George Fox to the Governor of Barbadoes in 1671 and to the Declaration of Faith issued by the Richmond Conference in 1887.