Church of God in Christ, Mennonite
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, is a small group of churches calling themselves Mennonite. Their vision is to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and His apostles faithfully. The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, follows and claims their faith and practices are from the Anabaptists, Paulician, Novatians, Donatists, Waldenses, and Albigenses.
Anabaptism is a Protestant Christian theological tradition that developed during the 16th century during the Protestant Reformation. The Anabaptists believed Martin Luther was right to demand the Roman Catholic Church reform and encouraged the movement to go farther with their demands. The Anabaptists remained outside the mainstream of the Reformation yet still believed the Pope needed his powers revoked. The Anabaptists movement rejected the Reformed idea of justification by faith alone. They insisted the only way a sinner could be acceptable to God was by righteousness created within a justified person.
Paulicians Paulicianism was a Gnostic Christian sect of the Byzatine Empire. Paulicians sects also were derived from those who followed the apostle Paul. Paulicians believed that Jesus was not the son of Mary. The founder of the sect was Consantine-Silvanus from Armenia. The Gnostic Christian sect was early Christians claiming superior knowledge of spiritual matters. They believed the world was created by the powers of a Godhead.
Novatianism followed Novatian who was a Roman priest in AD 251 who opposed the election of Pope Cornelius. Novatianism refused to allow those baptized Christians who had denied their faith or performed a ritual sacrifice to the pagan gods to participate in communion. They believed second marriages were unlawful.
Donatists were founded by the Berber Christian Donatus Magnus who lived in the Roman Africa Province during the fourth century. This movement was considered as heresy by the Catholic community. It had a strict view about the sacraments of the church. They believed the Catholic Church and the sacramental system were corrupted. The Donatists believed it was necessary to re-baptize and re-ordain those who were baptized and ordained by traditions.
The Waldensian denomination believed in poverty, public preaching, and the literal interpretation of Scripture. The Waldensian were anti-Catholic and rejected the authority of the clergy. They believed taking oaths was a sin and that the Bible alone was all that was needed for salvation. The Waldensians rejected the Catholic concept of purgatory, relics and icons.
Albigenses Albigensian was a sect from southern France who followed the Gnostic religious movement. They believed that the principles of good and evil continually opposed each other in this world. The Albigensians oppose marriage, child bearing, and eating meat. They believed bringing life into the world was a sin.
The Mennonites were often referred to as Holdeman Mennonites after the leadership of their leader John Holdeman.
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite believes in Jesus Christ as Savior, repentance, abandoning sin, and changing their lives from sin into serving Christ.
History
The Mennonite movement came out of the Reformation of 1500 and was known as the Anabaptists. The Anabaptist means re-baptizers because they demanded the believer’s baptism and disallowed infant baptism. The Mennonites were not considered Catholic nor were they considered Protestant. They were persecuted by both the Catholics and the Protestants.
Menno Simons was a Catholic priest in Holland. Born in 1496 and died in 1561. Menno Simons rejected Catholicism in 1536 and unified with the persecuted Anabaptists and received the believer’s baptism. Menno Simons was a passionate Bible scholar and teacher. Because of him the Anabaptists in Holland became known as Mennonites. Eventually the French, German and Swiss Anabaptists adopted the name of Mennonites. These Mennonites followed the teachings of Jesus in every area of their lives. They practiced pure speech, modest apparel, social and moral purity, separation from all worldliness and a policy of nonresistance not only in times of war but also in their everyday life.
Germantown, Pennsylvania was the first permanent Mennonite settlement in America in 1683. William Penn, an English Quaker, invited the Mennonite to occupy land that was granted by Penn by the king of England.
The Mennonite Church was referred to as the Old Mennonite Church. The Mennonites were faithful and lived by the Gospel. They had a strong conservatism in their doctrine and the way they lead their communities.
The Old Mennonite Church remained strong through the Revolutionary and Civil War. Gradually they experienced a spiritual decline.
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, was formed out of this drifting away of the solid doctrine of the Old Mennonite Church. The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, was under the leadership of John Holdeman who was born in Wayne Country, Ohio in 1832 and died in 1900. The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, became known as the Holdeman Mennonites.
The main concern of John Holdeman was the Old Mennonite Church had become corrupted and abandoned their true doctrine. John Holdeman disagreed with the traditionalism and their lack of spiritual life. The Old Mennonites were baptizing people who were still holding on to their worldliness. There was a deficient of training for the children and an inadequate church discipline. Because the church leaders did not listen to John Holdeman there was a permanent separation form the Old Mennonite Church. The birth of The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, took place in April of 1859.
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, recognizes the faith of the Waldenses. They believe that Jesus Christ established one true, visible Church and through her He has preserved His faith and doctrine throughout the ages.
Belief
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, believes that man is saved by grace of God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They believe they are justified by the blood of Christ if they meet the conditions of faith, repentance and obedience. They believe they must go through a new birth and become a child of God and then they are saved from the condemnation of sin and may be partakers of eternal life.
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, believes the Church is the visible representative of the spiritual kingdom of Christ on earth and is created of regenerated baptized followers. The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite believes it is the mission of the Church to proclaim the faith of the Gospel to the world, to nurture the redeemed, teach obedience to the commandments of Christ, and show good works for the glory of God.
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, believes Jesus is the head of the Church. They believe Jesus Christ has delegated to the Church the authority and the responsibility to call and ordain faithful leaders, to regulate the observance of the ordinances, and to exercise discipline for the purity of the Church.
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, believes in following the New Testament Ordinances. They believe Baptism should be conducted only with the confession of faith and an inward cleansing and filling of the Holy Spirit. Communion should be observed as a memorial of the death of Jesus Christ and it symbolizes the blood and the body of Christ. They observe the practice of the washing of the feet with the Communion service, which symbolizes both a cleansing walk of life and the humility of serving one another in Christian brotherly love. They believe Holy Matrimony is an ordinance involving marriage of two believing people that are united in the Lord, and symbolizes the relationship of Christ and the Church. They believe it is wrong for a Christian to marry and unbeliever or one from another church. Divorce and remarriage of divorced people are a violation of the commands of Jesus.
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, believes this present world will come to an end with the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus will come to judge the world, and to claim His own. They believe Hell is the place of everlasting torment prepared for the devil and his angels, and that the wicked shall suffer with them forever. The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, believes Heaven is the final resting place of the righteous, where they will abide in the fullness of joy with God and the holy angels forever.
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, believes it is the Bible that teaches Christians to be a separate people. They believe they are not to conform to the world in spirit, attitude or lifestyle. They believe in a modest simple dress, homes and life style in which women should wear the devotional head covering and men should wear a beard.
The Church of God in Christ, Mennonite believes in the separation of Church and State. A true Christian may not hold civil office, vote in civil elections, or sit on civil juries. They may not serve in the armed forces or in any kind of war; they may not serve in civil law enforcement.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Church of God in Christ, Mennonite:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2006.<https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2640,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006, January) “Church of God in Christ, Mennonite:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2640,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006) “Church of God in Christ, Mennonite:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2640, (accessed).
