Lechem HaChaim Statement of Faith

Hear, O Israel, the L-rd your G-d, the L-rd is One.
Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.
- Authority of Scripture
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the Tanakh (Holy Scriptures) and the
later writings commonly known as the B'rit Hadashah (Renewed Covenant/New
Testament), is the only infallible and authoritative word of God. We recognize
its divine inspiration and accept its teachings as our final authority in all
matters of faith and practice.
- God
We believe the Shema, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one," teaches that
God is echad, as so declared: eternally existent in plural oneness. We believe that He
is a personal God who created us, and that He exists forever in three manifestations:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- God the Father (Abba)
Commonly used titles being HaShem and Adonai
- God the Son (HaBen)
We believe the Son, called Yeshua, meaning salvation, (Jesus) came to this
world born of a virgin. The Son of God is worshipped as God, having existed
eternally. This One is the promised Mashiach (Messiah) of Israel. He is the root
and offspring of David.
- God the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)
We believe that the Spirit of God came upon individuals during the times of our
forefathers, such as Moses, David, and the Prophets, for specific purposes as revealed
in the Tanakh. In the Renewed Covenant, the Messiah, Yeshua, promised His disciples that
the Comforter would come to them after He was gone. The Comforter was described as the
Spirit of Truth, who was with them and would be in them. Yeshua further declared that the
Spirit of Truth would guide us into all truth and would glorify Him - the
Messiah - not Himself. He empowers us. He seals us. If we have not the Spirit,
we are
not His. He leads us and teaches us. His indwelling enables us to live godly lives.
- Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God, but through disobedience fell from
his first state and became separated from God. Therefore, according to the Scriptures,
all men are born with a sinful nature. Man's only hope for redemption (salvation)
is through the atonement made by the Messiah, resulting in regeneration by the Holy
Spirit, which is the new birth. For by grace we are saved through faith; it is a gift
of God.
- Resurrection and Judgment
We believe in the resurrection of both the redeemed and the lost, the former to
everlasting life and the latter to eternal separation from God.
We believe that the Scriptures promise two "comings" of the Messiah:
- the First Coming, the purpose of which was to make atonement for sin
and,
- the Second Coming, which will be Messiah's final return to
earth.
- Israel in Prophecy
We believe in God's end-time plan for the nation of Israel and for the world.
We believe in the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel, as taught in the
Scriptures. We believe that Israel's national restoration will be to recover the
remnant of His people, Israel, from the four corners of the earth, and to restore
the Davidic Kingdom by re-establishing the throne and the kingdom of David, which will
last forever.
- Messianic Judaism
We believe in observing and celebrating the Jewish Holy Days given by God to
Israel, with their fulfillment in and through the Messiah Yeshua. We believe that true
"Biblical Judaism," the faith of first century believers, which we seek to practice,
acknowledges the continuity of faith in the one true God, revealed throughout the
Scriptures and ultimately manifested in God's Son, Yeshua the Messiah. We believe in
observing the Torah as given to Moshe, not through a heavy yoke of legalism, but
through genuine and sincere effort that brings peace to the heart.
We believe that the Renewed Covenant body of believers is composed of both Jews
and non-Jews who have received Yeshua the Messiah as the Promised Redeemer.
Scripture References Supporting Lechem HaChaim Statement of Faith
- Authority of Scripture
Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Proverbs 3:1-6; Psalms 119:89, 105; Isaiah 48:12-16; Romans
8:14-17; Tim. 2:15, 3:16-17
- God
Deuteronomy 6:4; Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:24; Genesis 1,2; Romans
8:14-17; Matthew 28:18-20
- God the Father (Abba)
John 6:27b; I Corinthians 1:3; Galatians 1:1; Revelation 3:5, 21;
Jeremiah 3:4, 19; 31:9; Mal. 1:6; Matthew 6:9, 32; Luke 10:21-22; John 1:14; 4:23; 5:17-26; 6:28-46;
Romans 8:14-15
- God the Son (HaBen)
Psalms 2; Proverbs 30:4-6 (cf. Hebrews 1); Luke 12:35-37; John 1:29-34,
49; 3:14-18;
Isaiah 7:14 (cf. Luke 1:30-35); Psalms 110:1 (cf. Hebrews 1:13); Isaiah 9:6-7;
Matthew 28:18-20; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-19; Revelation 3:21; Revelation 4:8, 5:5-14;
Is. 9:6-7; 11:1; Daniel 9 (esp. verses 20-26); Isaiah 53; John 1:17, 40-41, 45, 49; Mark
8:29; Numbers 24:17; Revelation 22:16; I Corinthians 5:7; Revelation 5; John 1:29
- God the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)
Genesis 1:2; II Sam. 23:1-3; John 14:17, 26; John 16:13-15; Acts 1:8; Ephesians
1:13; 4:30; Romans 8:9; Romans 8:14-17; Acts 2:38
- Man
Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:17; 3:22-24; Psalms 14:1-3; 49:7; 53:13; Isaiah 64:6;
Romans 3:9-12, 23; 5:12; Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 53; Daniel 9:24-26;
I Corinthians 15:22; Hebrews 9:11-14, 28; John 1:12, 3:36; Titus 3:5; John 3:3-8;
Ephesians 2:8-9
- Resurrection and Judgment
Job 14:14; 19:25-27; Daniel 12:2-3; John 3:36; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 10-15;
21:7-8; Daniel 9:24-26; Daniel 9:24-26; Isaiah 53; Romans 3:21-31;
Hebrews 9-10; John 3:16-17; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 14:1-6; I Corinthians
15:51-57; Isaiah 59:20-21; Zechariah 14:4; Zechariah 12:8-13:1; Romans 11:25-27;
Hebrews 9:28; Jeremiah 31:31-40; Isaiah 11; Isaiah 9:6-7 (cf. Luke 1:30-33);
Jeremiah 23:3-8
- Israel in Prophecy
Ezek. 34:11-31; 36-39; Hosea 3; Amos 9:11-15; Zech. 12-14; Isaiah 11; 43; 54;
60-62; 66; Romans 11:1-34
- Messianic Judaism
Romans 2:28-29; Romans 11:17-25; Galatians 3:28-29; Genesis 15:6; Romans 2-6;
Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 11:6, 39; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 2:13-14