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| Evangelical
Relationships Commitment |
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ACEA has adopted the Evangelical Relationship Commitment
of the Evangelical Alliance and the British Evangelical Council. The
commitment is designed to promote good relationship and fellowship
among Christians. It is intended to stand alongside our Basis of Faith,
and to express how we should be treating each other. It should be
seen as an integrated expression of the responsibilities we owe each
other in the Body of Christ. Members of ACEA must be committed to
these principles as a reminder of our basic Christian duty towards
fellow Christians, and in particular as a guideline when making comments
in the media, in book reviews and in public ministry generally. We
hope it will assist in building better relationships at every level
and in a wider field.
| Affirmations |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Actions |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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