BLACKHEATH
CHURCHES TOGETHER
Our
Commitment To One Another:-
1 We welcome as Christian brothers and sisters all who
experience the grace of new birth, bringing them to that fear and knowledge of
God which is expressed in a life of obedience to His word.
2 We recognise our Christian duty of trust and mutual
encouragement to all who serve Christ as Lord, not least to those who
conscientiously prefer not to be identified with the same churches, alliances
or councils as ourselves.
3 We respect the diversity of culture, experience and doctrinal
understanding that God grants to His people, and acknowledge that some
differences over issues not essential to salvation may well remain until the
end of time.
4 We urge all Christians to pray as Christ prayed, that we may
be one in the Father and the Son, and so by the Spirit promote personal
relationships of love, peace and fellowship within the Body of Christ, His
universal Church.
5 We encourage all Christians earnestly to contend for biblical
truth, since only as we are open to learn from others and yield fuller
obedience to the truth will we be drawn closer to Christ and to each other.
6 We call on each other, when speaking or writing of those
issues of faith or practice that divide us, to acknowledge our own failings and
the possibility that we ourselves may be mistaken, avoiding personal hostility
and abuse, and speaking the truth in love and gentleness.
7 We owe it to each other, in making public comment on the
alleged statements of our fellow Christians, first to confer directly with them
and to establish what was actually intended. Then to commend what we can, to
weigh the proportional significance of what we perceive to be in error, and to
put a charitable construction on what is doubtful, expressing all with
courtesy, humility and graciousness.
8 We rejoice in the spread of the Gospel across the world and
urge all Christians to commit themselves to this task, avoiding unnecessary
competition and co-operating, wherever possible, in the completion of Christ's
kingdom of peace, justice and holiness, to the glory of the one God - Father,
Son and Holy Spirit.