# Spirit and Truth Fellowship International (STFI)



## MMasztal (Oct 5, 2008)

Anyone familiar with this group? A neighbor of mine, Gary, who had been attending our neighborhood Bible study decided to start his own home study using material from this group and many folks, not well versed in the Faith, are attending. Gary attends a Methodist church and from a few things he's said in our Bible study in the past, we know his theology is pretty shaky. Looking at the STFIstatement of beliefs shows them to be cultish and surely non-Trinitarian among other discrepancies. My neighbor, a ruling elder at my church and were wondering on how to confront Gary. We're not sure whether this individual is steeped in this line of belief or just undiscerning. 

Thanks in advance. 


Spirit & Truth Fellowship International - Statement of Beliefs

We believe the Scriptures are God's "heart" revealed to mankind. The reason God wants us to know the truth is so we can live it and share it with others. God wants us to be "imitators" of Him, and His chief characteristic is love. Truth without love is vanity; love without truth is sentimentality. 

We believe the following are the crucial teachings of Scripture, crucial because misunderstanding them detracts from the quality of one's life, that is his ability to reverence and obey the one true God and His Son. Though there are many other teachings that we think are important, we do not list them here in order to have the greatest possible opportunity to "keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace" with our beloved Christian brethren (Eph. 4:3). 

We believe that the Scriptures are "God-breathed," perfect in their original writing, without flaw or contradiction, and provide the only sure and steadfast basis for faith. Understanding the Scripture is attainable by applying logic and sound principles of biblical interpretation, in conjunction with the spirit of God in us. 


We believe that God, the Creator, the Father of Jesus Christ, is "the only true God" (John 17:3), holy and separate from all His creation. He is a personal God who has committed Himself to us in writing. 


We believe that Jesus Christ, the "last Adam," is the only-begotten Son of God. He was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, suffered and died as a payment for all men's sin, was raised from the dead and exalted to the position of "Lord" by God His Father.


We believe that "the Holy Spirit" is another name for God, while "holy spirit" is God's gift of His divine nature that a person receives when he is born again, the "spirit of truth" that Jesus promised. He differentiated between these two when He said, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." 


We believe that all nine "manifestations" of the gift of God ("holy spirit") are available, desirable and profitable to every believer to operate by faith, in conjunction with God's energizing. 


We believe that today, in the "Administration of the Secret," salvation is permanent for those who have once confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and believed that God raised Him from the dead. We believe that when one adheres to Romans 10:9, he is "saved," "born again," "sealed," "anointed," "clothed with power from on high" and "baptized with holy spirit." This baptism in holy spirit is the "one baptism" of Ephesians 4:5.


We believe that when a person dies, his life is gone and he no longer exists anywhere in any form. He stays dead ("asleep") until he is "awakened" from the dead by the Lord Jesus for judgment unto either everlasting life or everlasting death. The only hope for the dead is the resurrection of mankind from the dead by the Lord Jesus Christ, the firstborn from among the dead.


We believe that there is a scriptural distinction between the Church of the Body of Christ and Israel. The Church to which believers today belong began on the day of Pentecost and will end with a Rapture of all Christians, followed by a period of tribulation for Israel and then Christ's thousand-year reign on Earth. The "Mystery" ("Secret") revealed in Ephesians is that those from both Jew and Gentile would be joint heirs, joint partakers and members of a joint body ("one new man"). This secret is not revealed in the Old Testament, the Gospels or the Book of Revelation, and was first made known to the Apostle Paul. The Church Epistles (Romans through Thessalonians) form the nucleus of Scripture written to the Church.


We believe that the Lord Jesus is the Head over all matters to the Church, His Body. Church leaders derive their authority to serve only as they walk worthy of their calling to the end that their character and their example earn them recognition from those they serve. 


We believe that God is love; He is good and righteous, and not the author of evil, sin or suffering. When the First Adam made his free-will decision to disobey God, he transferred his God-given dominion over the earth to the Devil. Satan is now the "god of this age" (2 Cor. 4:4); the world is now under his dominating influence (1 John 5:19) and it is he who now holds the power of death (Heb. 2:14). When the "Last Adam" comes again, He will eventually destroy the Devil and put an end to evil.


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## MMasztal (Oct 13, 2008)

Bump.

Anyone??


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