Our Purpose

Beit Emet (House of Truth) is called to glorify God by teaching the Body of Messiah the Scriptures from a Jewish perspective and understanding. We recognize God’s call to all people, but especially to the Jew first.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

We are called, by Yeshua, not to simply make believers but rather disciples.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

If we belong to the Lord then we will show it by obeying (implementing, observing, living-out) His commandments. (Ezekiel 11: 19-20, Matt. 7:21, Luke 6:46, John 10:27, 1 John 2:4) We encourage, train, and equip people to become wholly devoted followers of Messiah. Teaching all generations about their gifting and responsibilities within the Kingdom, and reaching out to repair the world (Tikkun Olam).


Statement of Faith

 THE SCRIPTURES

We believe that the Bible consisting of the TaNaKH (Old Covenant/Testament) and the later writings commonly known as the B’rit Hadasha (New Testament/Covenant) is God’s completed Word (Proverbs 30:5-6)  and that it in contradistinction to other religious scriptures is the only inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) . That it  in their original autographs were inerrantly written by divinely inspired men (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21); that it is the supreme, infallible authority in all matters of faith and conduct; and that it is true in all that it affirms (Isaiah 40:7-8; Matthew 5:18).

THE UNITY OF GOD

We believe by perfect faith that there is one God יהוה (Deuteronomy 6:4), eternally existent in three persons equal in essence; Abba (Father), HaBen (Son) and the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit)  who is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, infinite and perfect, holy, righteous, faithful, merciful and loving.

(Isaiah 43:10-11; 48:16, Psalm 2; Proverbs 30:4; Isaiah 9:6-7; John 1:1-2, 10:30; 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-15).

GOD THE FATHER (Abba)

We believe that the Father is all the fullness of the Godhead invisible. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all that come to Him through faith in Messiah Yeshua*

(Exodus 4:22; Jeremiah 3:4, 19; 31:9 Malachi 1:6, Matthew 3:17, 6:9,32; Luke 10:21-22, John 1:12,3:16; 6:27 8:24, 58; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 1:3 Galatians 1:1, 3:26; Revelation 3:5,21 )

 GOD THE SON (HaBen)

God does have a Son who was and is and will return (Psalm 2; Proverbs 30:4-6 (cf. Hebrews 1); Luke 12:35-37; John 1:29-34, 49; 3:14-18). The Son, called Yeshua (Jesus), meaning salvation, came to this world born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14 (cf. Luke 1:30-35)). The Son is God (Deity), and is worshiped as God, having existed eternally (Psalm 110:1 (cf. Hebrews 1:13); Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 28:18-20; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-19; Revelation 3:21 (Hebrews 1 – worshiped by angels); Revelations 4:8, 5:5-14). This One is the promised Mashiach (Messiah) of Israel (Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1; Daniel 9 (especially verses 20-26); Isaiah 53; John 1:17, 40-41, 45, 49; Mark 8:29). He is the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star (Numbers 24:17; Revelation 22:16). He is our Passover, the Lamb of God (I Corinthians 5:7; Revelation 5; John 1:29). We believe that Messiah Yeshua (*Jesus) is the eternal and only begotten Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a Jewish virgin, Miriam. He was sinless in His life and He made atonement for the sins of the world by the shedding of His blood unto death. We believe in His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension, His high priestly work in Heaven for us, and His visible premillenial return to the world according to His promise. (Leviticus 17:11; Psalm 22:16; 110:4; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10; Mark 10:45; Romans 3:24-26, 5:8-9; 2 Corinthians 5:14, 21; 1 Peter 3:18; Isaiah 7:14,9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Micah 5:2; John 1:1, 8:58; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:2-3; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Hebrews 7:1-25,8:1; 1 John 2:1).

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT (Ruach HaKodesh)

Genesis 1:2b: “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” In the Tanakh, the Spirit of God came upon individuals during the times of our forefathers, like Moses, David (2 Samuel 23:1-3), and the Prophets, for the specific purposes.

In the New Covenant, the Messiah Yeshua, promised His disciples that “the Comforter” would come to them after He was gone, described as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17, 26), 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 (John 16:13-15). He empowers us (Acts 1:8). The Spirit of God seals us (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). If we have not the Spirit, we are not His (Romans 8:9). He leads us and teaches us (Romans 8:14-17). His indwelling enables us to live a godly life. Acts 2:38 says, “Repent, be immersed, and receive the Holy Spirit.”

We believe the Ruach HaKodesh is a person of the Godhead; and as such, He possesses all the distinct attributes of Deity. He is ever present to glorify and testify of Messiah Yeshua. We believe that according to the New Covenant (Brit Chadasha), the Holy Spirit regenerates, permanently indwells, and seals the believer. He empowers, sovereignty imparting at least one spiritual gift to every believer for the purpose of edifying and equipping the Body of Messiah, guides, teaches, sanctifies, and fills believers, convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

We believe the immersion of the Holy Spirit is both initiatory and universal. Believers should therefore seek to identify, utilize and develop their God given gifts for service in the Lord (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 139:7-8; Neh. 9:20; 1 John 2:20, 14:16,17, 15:26,27, 16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 2:10,11, 12:4-31; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:13,14, 4:30).

We believe that humanity was created in the image of God. We believe that because of the original sin, all men are by nature and choice sinful and alienated from God. Man has no possible means of reconciling himself to God and that, by persisting in the sinful state of unbelief, man is justly condemned by God to eternal punishment. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:17,3:6; Isaiah 53:6, 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 7:20-23; John 2:24-25; Romans 5:12-15; Ephesians 2:1-3).

 MAN, HIS FALL AND REDEMPTION

We believe all men are made in the likeness and image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), but through Adam’s transgression and fall, sin came into the world. (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:10, 23) Yeshua, the Messiah, the Son of God, was manifested to undo the work of haSatan (the Adversary) and gave his life and shed blood to redeem and restore man back to God (Romans 5:14; 1 John 3:8). Salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the Torah, and is made operative by grace through faith in Yeshua, producing works acceptable to God (Ephesians 2:8-10).

 ETERNAL LIFE AND THE NEW BIRTH

We believe that God is not willing that any should perish, but that everyone should turn from his sins (2 Peter 3:9). Man’s first step towards salvation is godly sorrow that leads to repentance. In order to become a genuine follower of God, the New Birth is necessary to all men and, when fulfilled, produces eternal life (2 Corinthians 7:10; John 3:3-5; 1 John 5:12 ).

SANCTIFICATION

We believe God commands his followers to be holy, even as he is holy (Leviticus 11:44, 1 Peter 1:16). The Word of God teaches that without holiness no man can see God. We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation (1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians. 3:12-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 12:14; 2 Peter 3:18; Revelation 14:12).

THE TORAH

Etymologically the word Torah is taken from the root Hebrew word “yarah” meaning “to shoot an arrow” or “to hit the mark”. Properly used, the word “torah” means, “to teach”. In a broad sense, Torah is the revelation of God to His people. Within this framework, and depending on the context used both by many rabbis and some evangelical scholars, the term “Torah” can mean:

(1) The five books of Moshe;
(2) that, plus the Prophets and the Writings;
(3) that, plus the Oral Torah, which includes the Talmud and later legal writings;
(4) that, plus all religious teaching from the rabbis, including ethical and “aggadic” materials; or
(5) all of the above as understood and interpreted in light of what Yeshua the Messiah and the rest of the New Covenant Scriptures have said about it. For the most part, we will use definitions number (1), (2), and (5).

We believe that it is crucial for us to understand theologically, that the primary purpose in God’s giving of the Torah, as a way of making someone righteous, only achieves its goal when the person, by faith, accepts that Yeshua is the promised Messiah spoken about therein. Until the individual reaches this conclusion, his familiarity of the Torah is only so much intellectual nutrition. Only by believing in Yeshua will the person be able to properly understand God, and consequently, his Word. Therefore, we strongly encourage all believers, both Jews and Gentiles, to affirm, embrace, and practice these foundational laws (Torah) and ways (halakha, i.e., practical applications) as clarified through the Torah (teachings) of Messiah Yeshua (Ex. 19 & 20; Deuteronomy 5; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 5:17-19; Romans 3 & 4; 1 Corinthians 7:19; Hebrews 8:10; Revelation 14:12).

ISRAEL

We believe in God’s irrevocable choice of the Jewish People as His Family; the Land of Israel as His special place; the City of Jerusalem as His royal capital; the family of David as His royal dynasty (Genesis 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 17:9-14; 22:15-18; Ex. 19:5; Deuteronomy 4:5-8; 6:4; 12:5, 11, 21; 14:23, 24; 2 Sam. 7:13, 25-29; 1 Kings 2:45; Ps. 76:1, 2; 102:18-22; Is. 2:1-3; Jeremiah 31:35-37; Ezra 34:20-24; 37:21-28; Romans 9:1-13; 11:1-6, 11-29).

THE CONGREGATION

We believe God commands his true sheep to worship him in spirit and in truth, therefore we believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in the only True Shepherd, Yeshua the Messiah. We believe that Jewish followers of Yeshua are called to maintain their Jewish, biblical heritage and remain a part of their people Isra’el as well as the universal Body of Believers. This is part of their identity and serves as a witness to God’s faithfulness. We believe that Gentile Believers in Messiah are grafted into the Jewish Olive Tree, Isra’el (Romans 11), thereby making them fellow citizens and full-participants with the Commonwealth of Isra’el (Ephesians 2), thus granting them the divine privilege of following the whole of the Torah (see paragraph 8 above). We believe that God has written this very same Torah upon every heart (Jew and Gentile) of those who have placed their trusting faithfulness in Yeshua (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-12). We believe that this same Torah is a foundational revelation of the righteousness of God and serves as a description (along with the rest of the Scriptures) of the lifestyle of the Redeemed Community (James 1:16-27).

THE RESURRECTION

We believe in the physical return, in power and glory, of Yeshua the Messiah to judge the living and the dead (Daniel 7:9-14; Matthew 26:57-64; Revelation 1:1-18). We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, they that are lost to the resurrection of damnation (Daniel 12:2; John 5:19-29; Revelation 20:5-6).

THE SPIRIT WORLD

We believe by perfect faith that the Holy One, Blessed be He, is the Creator of all heavenly principalities, and that in submission to their rebellious leader haSatan, one third of the order of angels also fell into rebellion and direct disobedience to God (Is. 14:12-19; Ezra 28:12-19; Revelation 12:1-9). We believe that through the redemptive work of Messiah Yeshua these fallen angels, along with their leader, are a defeated foe, and that one day God the Father will indeed vindicate his Holy Name by casting them completely down to the sides of Sh’ol (Hell) and the Lake of Fire, which was prepared for haSatan and his evil minions (Is. 14:15-20; Ezra 28:16-19; Dan. 7:11; Matthew 25:41b; Colossians 2:15; 2 Thess, 2:8, 9; Revelation 19:20). We believe that the angels of light are ministering spirits unto those who in genuine trusting faithfulness name the name of Yeshua as Salvation unto all men, and that in conjunction with Yeshua’s mighty name these faithful followers have also been given power and dominion over the works of haSatan (Matthew 9:32-10:8; 17:14-21; Mark 6:12, 13; Luke 10:17; John 14:12; Acts 10:38; Ephesians 6:10-18; Phil. 4:13;; Hebrews 1:4-14).

About July 13, 2011