East Ham Christadelphians

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Who we are...

'Christadelphian' means brothers and sisters in Christ.
We meet on a regular basis to worship God and often run Bible reading groups.
If you are interested in joining us, please come along on a Sunday or contact us. To do this see 'Contact us'

In more detail...

The community was established 150 years ago and is now world-wide (see “Christadelphians world-wide” for a Christadelphian church near you).

The aim of the community is to follow the teachings and example of Jesus as recorded in the Bible. As a guide to our understanding of what the Bible teaches, we endeavour to read the whole Bible at least once a year. We believe only the Bible has the truth and that it teaches all we need to know for salvation through Jesus.

Very briefly these are some of the main beliefs of the Christadelphians, with a few selected Bible references in support :

1. There is only one God, He is in heaven, immortal, invisible and all powerful
(Isa. 45:5-6, 1 Tim. 6:15-16)

2. God Created all things, sustains all things and has a purpose for the earth
(Gen. 1, Num. 14:21)

3. The Bible is God’s inspired word given to mankind to guide them to himself
(2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet 1:20-21)

4. The Holy Spirit is the power of God bringing about His purpose in the world
(Job 33:4, Rom. 8:11)

5. Jesus is the Son of God. He is also son of man, born of the virgin Mary by God’s power
(Luke 1:35, Rom. 1:3-4)

6. Jesus overcame all temptation and then died to save his followers from sin and death
(Rom. 10:9-13, 1 Tim. 1:15-16)

7. Jesus was raised from death by God, later he ascended into heaven, but he will return!
(Acts 2:22, 1:11)

8. When Jesus returns to the earth he will raise the dead to judgement, the faithful will receive eternal life in God’s kingdom on earth
(Dan. 12:1-2, John 5:28-29)

9. Jesus will be king over Israel and over the whole earth, he will rule from Jerusalem
(Isa. 9:6-7, Zec. 14:9)

10.The followers of Jesus will be made immortal and will help him bring peace to the earth
(Mic. 4:1-5, Matt. 19:27-29)

11. The devil is not a supernatural being but is another name for sin, of which we are all guilty, sin’s power to bring death has been destroyed by the salvation through Jesus
(Matt. 15:19-20, Heb. 2:14-15)

12. Salvation involves covering our sins with the righteousness of Jesus, and so having freedom from sin and death when he returns
(Heb. 9:27-28, 1 Pet. 2:21-22)

13. The Bible teaches that when we die we cease to exist, our only hope is resurrection when Jesus returns to the earth at the time appointed by God
(Eccl. 9:5-6, Rom. 5:21)

14. A proper understanding about God’s promises through Jesus are essential
(Gal. 3:6-9, 14, 16, 26-29)

15. Repentance and baptism into Jesus through full immersion in water is the first step in a life of following his example, leading to salvation from sin and death for the individual.
(Mark 16:15-16, Rom. 6:4)

This is only a very brief outline, see other articles on site, or E-mail us with any queries or questions you may have. Literature is also available free (plus postage) on request.

Questions...

To ask any questions email:

We will reply to your questions and if we think they will be of interest to others (and with your permission), we will anonymously publish them here:

"What is the “immortal Soul” that we receive at birth?"

The Bible, contrary to general belief, does not mention” immortal” and “soul” together anywhere in its pages, and it is very clear in the Bible that humankind was not created with a ever-living part which survives after death. “Living soul” of Genesis 2:7 in the Authorised Version is now “living creature” in the ESV. When God punished Adam and Eve with death He did not have to change their natures, God said “Dust you are and to dust shall you return”.
But what of the New Testament? Jesus says, “No man has ever gone into heaven except (In prospect) the Son of Man (himself) who came down from heaven.” The 250 or so references in the Bible to life after death are all about resurrection of all the faithful, to live on earth forever, this will only happen when Jesus returns! Read 1 Corinthians 15, verses 12 to 28

"I do not understand about the Trinity. Can you explain it?"

Few people understand this confusing doctrine, this is because it is a belief which has evolved in the early Catholic Church by means of various meetings of the Bishops through many centuries, it is not a belief which readily presents itself in the Bible.
The Bible clearly states that Israel must believe that the Lord is One God (Deuteronomy 6:4), the Church seem to say that there are three Gods in one, co-equal and co-eternal, the Farther, Son and Holy Spirit. Is there any direct Bible evidence for this or any reference to a trinity? None that I know of, Jesus is shown as being at one with his Father, but that is as you would expect for one who did the will of his Father perfectly. Jesus however repeatedly showed that he could do nothing without the power of God (see John 5:19). In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed to his Father in a way which made it clear that he was tempted to resist the burden of death which he knew God had placed on him, but he was obedient to the end; “My Father, if it be possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39. This is neither co-equal nor co-eternal, for Jesus had a separate and at rare times contrary will to God. He was born by the power of the Holy Spirit (God’s Power), had a beginning, lived a life of perfection, died for the sins of the world, was resurrected, and exalted to heaven to sit at God’s right hand. One day Jesus will be sent back to the earth by God to rule the world.
Do I understand the Trinity? I do not. But I do understand Almighty God the Father, His Spirit Power and His Son, the man, Christ Jesus our Saviour (see 1 Tim 2:5).

"Can you tell me how I can be saved?"

There is a very easy answer to this question, go to Acts 2:37-38, when the people had heard the gospel from Peter on the day of Pentecost they said “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” This is what is required by God, baptism, so that our sins are covered. “The Wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23. Now read the first part of Romans 6, which shows why baptism is so important. This is only the beginning, thereafter we should live for God in Christ Jesus after his example.

Articles...

We will peridocially publish articles here. You may want to come back to read new ones. This one is entitled:

Why the Christadelphians believe the Bible is the Word of God

If you came to a town to question the people about an incident, you would not expect to get the same basic story whoever you talked to, you would expect some slight variations. If the stories were all exactly the same you would assume that someone has told them what to say. So it is with the Bible, although it is not just one book, it is a collection of 66 different books, several of which are written by more than one writer. Yet even with so many different kinds of writers spread across at least 4,000 years, the Bible is remarkably consistent, giving the same message from beginning to end. Who told all those writers what to write?

This is what the Bible says about itself: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim 3:16, NIV.

The Bible is unique in other ways; it records a great deal of history. Yet while most history books sometimes get things wrong through human error or prejudice, the Bible, though often challenged, has never been found in error, for God has overseen the Bible’s formation.

The Bible also contains hundreds of prophesies which have proved time and again to be remarkably accurate. Take for example the history of the people of the book, the nation of Israel. God’s book foretold their history from the very beginning to the present day. The history of the nation of Israel is amazing, they were taken into exile by the Assyrians and the Babylonians but a number had returned to the land at the time of Jesus. Whenever they obeyed God they prospered, but when they turned their backs on God, He turned His back on them. All these things, good and bad, are well documented in the Bible. The Jews were in the land but under the rule of the Romans. Jesus, the last of the prophets, foretold that before a generation had passed the nation of Israel shall “fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations, Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Luke 21:24. A “Generation is reckoned to be 40 years, Jesus was about 30 when he spoke these words, in AD 70 the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and started the process of scattering the Jews across the whole world. The land has been trampled on by the Gentiles (non Jews) up until our day, when after nearly 2,000 years the Jews have returned to the land.

Jeremiah 30:3, 31:8 and 10 say “The days are coming declares the Lord, when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave to their forefathers to possess…see I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth…Hear the word of the Lord O nations…He who scattered Israel will gather them.” This is an event unique in history, a small nation is scattered over all the earth for 2000 years yet still retains its identity, and then returns against all odds!

This is too extraordinary to be anything other than God working in the nations to fulfil these prophesies, making every word of those prophecies as from God.

Jesus himself was prophesied about in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 53 we read a description of the perfect life and suffering death of our Lord, here is a selection: “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities…by his wounds we are healed…he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is silent so he did not open his mouth…he was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” That description of the death of Jesus was written some 3 thousand years before his birth. And in Psalm 22:16-18, “a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet…people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” Crucifixion was clearly described in the psalm although it was unknown at the time of writing! The Jewish method of capitol punishment at that time was stoning.

Sunday
Public Bible discussion	10:00
To break bread together	11:00
Wednesday
Public Bible Study	20:15
This is held in various locations. Email or phone ahead for location

East Ham Christadelphians

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