CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE COURSE Lesson 2

WHO ARE THE CHRISTADELPHIANS?
Reading: John 15
The Christadelphians
This course is about the Bible. However , you may want to know who the Chr istadelphians
are, so we wi l l tel l you something about ourselves.
The Chr istadelphians are a wor ldwide communi ty of people who read the whole of the
Bible and accept i t al l as the Word of God. They bel ieve in the Old and New Testament
promises concerning the Lord Jesus Chr ist and the future of the wor ld. They are wai t ing
for the return of the Lord Jesus f rom heaven to set up God’s kingdom on this ear th.
The name ‘Chr istadelphian’ comes f rom two Greek words that mean ‘Brothers in Chr ist ’
(Colossians 1:2) . I t is a phrase taken f rom the New Testament , which was or iginal ly
wr i t ten in Greek.
Where do Christadelphians live?
There are Chr istadelphians in many par ts of the wor ld, for example in Br i tain and par ts
of Europe, many Af r ican count r ies, the Far East f rom India to Indonesia, Aust ral ia, New
Zealand and the Paci f ic Islands, Nor th and South Amer ica f rom Canada to Argent ina,
and in the islands of the Car ibbean. The communi ty includes people of many races and
cul tures.
What do Christadelphians believe?
Chr istadelphians base thei r fai th on the things which were bel ieved and taught by Jesus
Chr ist and his apost les about 2,000 years ago. The t rue message of Chr ist iani ty has not
changed and there have always been groups who have bel ieved t rue Bible teaching.
However , many ‘Chr ist ian’ churches have turned to man-made ideas. Chr istadelphians
keep to the t ruth of God’s Word by reading the whole Bible, not just thei r favour i te
passages. A reading plan helps them to read the whole of the Old Testament once each
year and the New Testament twice.
How did the Christadelphian community begin?
In 1832 an Engl ish doctor named John Thomas took a ship going to New York because
his father wanted to set t le in Amer ica. The ship ran aground in a violent storm and Dr .
Thomas thought that he was going to die. He real ised that he knew ver y l i t t le about the
future and vowed that i f he reached land he would not rest unt i l he had found the t ruth
about l i fe af ter death. He did reach New York and spent the next f i f teen years studying
the Bible ver y careful ly and examining the teachings of many ‘Chr ist ian’ groups. When
he was sure that he understood the things wr i t ten in the Old and New Testaments
concerning Jesus Chr ist and the coming Kingdom of God on ear th, he ar ranged to be
bapt ized, by ful l immersion (going under water completely) . He preached in Amer ica and
Br i tain, and produced rel igious magazines and books.
Among those who bel ieved the same Bible teachings and joined John Thomas in his work
was a man cal led Rober t Rober ts. He helped to organise the growing number of fel lowbel
ievers into local groups or ‘ecclesias’ . ‘Ecclesia’ is the Greek word for ‘church’ in the
Bible. I t means ‘an assembly (gather ing) of people who have been cal led’ .
Chr istadelphians prefer to use ‘ecclesia’ instead of ‘church’ because people now think of
a church as a bui lding rather than a special group of people.
The name ‘Chr istadelphian’ was f i rst used in 1864 when the bel ievers in Amer ica asked
thei r Government to be excused f rom joining the army at the t ime of the Amer ican Civi l
War . A name was needed to ident i f y the bel ievers as a communi ty separate f rom other
churches, and John Thomas chose ‘Chr istadelphian’ . These 19th Centur y
Chr istadelphians preached in many par ts of the wor ld, so that by the end of the centur y
there were groups of bel ievers in many countries.


How do Christadelphians organise themselves?
There are var ious commi t tees for organising missionar y work and the care of our sick,
elder ly and lonely members. We have of f ices in a few count r ies for publ ishing magazines
and books. However , we have no paid ministers and no pr iests ( the Lord Jesus, now in
heaven, is the only pr iest – through him bapt ized bel ievers confess thei r sins in prayer ) .
Chr istadelphians have no cent ral organisat ion, but members throughout the wor ld share
the same bel iefs, hope and way of l i fe, and this binds them together as a communi ty.
The work of the communi ty is f inanced by money given voluntar i ly by members.
Each ecclesia chooses i ts own elders, usual ly by vot ing once a year . Those who are
chosen serve the ecclesia in var ious dut ies, such as secretar y, t reasurer , steward or
chai r ing meet ings, and they are not paid for thei r work. Chr istadelphians do not bui ld
enormous, elaborate church bui ldings. Of course, some ecclesias do own thei r hal l or
room for meet ing, but others meet in houses, or rent vi l lage hal ls or rooms in schools.
The same beliefs
Al l Chr istadelphians read and study thei r Bibles and have come to the same essent ial
bel iefs. For over 100 years we have had a Statement of Fai th (a summary of Bible
teachings) which every member accepts as the basis of membership and worship
together . Before anyone is bapt ized and becomes a Chr istadelphian, he (or she) must
sat isf y himsel f that he understands the impor tant teachings of the Bible and that he is in
ful l agreement wi th our Bible-based bel iefs and pract ices. This is what binds
Chr istadelphians together .
“There is one body … one Lord, one fai th, one bapt ism” (Ephesians 4:4,5) .
This makes i t possible for Chr istadelphians, wherever they l ive, to share a happy and
rewarding fel lowship wi th each other .
The people we try to be
We al l need God’s help, and so we read the Bible ever y day. This is as impor tant as
having regular food. I t is also ver y impor tant to pray. Once a week we meet to eat a l i t t le
piece of bread and dr ink a sip of wine to remind us of the death of Jesus.
Chr istadelphians are ver y happy people because they have a sure and pract ical fai th,
but they are ver y ser ious about the way they l ive. Jesus Chr ist is coming back to the
ear th ver y soon and we wish to be ready for his coming. This means leading clean and
honest l ives. I t means avoiding heavy dr inking, gambl ing and other evi l habi ts. I t means
having only one wi fe, and not having sex before or outside mar r iage. (We real ise that
some students taking this course may al ready have more than one wi fe, and this mat ter
is discussed in Lesson 33. ) Chr istadelphians are law-abiding ci t izens of thei r count r y.
They t r y to do good, but they do not take par t in pol i t ics, nor do they f ight or take people
to cour t .
The Christadelphian Bible Mission
The aim of the Chr istadelphian Bible Mission (CBM) is to preach the good news of the
Kingdom of God al l over the wor ld. The CBM produces Bible courses and booklets and
organises missionar y work. CBM workers are unpaid Chr istadelphian volunteers who do
this work as wel l as thei r normal employment . They want to help people to learn the
Gospel , to encourage them to repent , be bapt ized, and fol low the example of the Lord
Jesus and the apost les.
We want to share right beliefs, hope and joy with you
Chr istadelphians sincerely bel ieve that thei r fai th represents the t rue Gospel as found in
the whole of the Bible. We hope that you, too, wi l l enjoy discover ing ‘The Truth’ . I t wi l l
sat isf y you because i t is r ight , and i t wi l l br ing hope and joy to your l i fe. May God bless
you in your search for Bible t ruth.


Verses to read:
Psalm 119:130
The unfolding of your (God’s) words gives l ight ; i t impar ts understanding to the simple.
Mark 16:15,16
And he (Jesus) said to them, “Go into al l the wor ld and proclaim the gospel to the whole
creat ion. Whoever bel ieves and is bapt ized wi l l be saved, but whoever does not bel ieve
wi l l be condemned. ”
John 17:3
And this is eternal l i fe, that they know you the only t rue God, and Jesus Chr ist whom you
have sent .
Verses to learn: John 15:13,14
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his l i fe for his f r iends. You
are my f r iends i f you do what I command you.
SOME IMPORTANT BIBLE TEACHINGS
The Bible is the only t rue message f rom God.
There is only One God, the Creator , who is in cont rol of wor ld af fai rs.
Jesus Chr ist is the Son of God, born of the vi rgin Mar y. He was a sinless man. He
died on the cross to save those who bel ieve in him. He was raised f rom the grave
and given ever last ing l i fe. He is now in heaven wi th his Father .
Jesus Chr ist wi l l soon return f rom heaven. He wi l l set up the Kingdom of God on the
ear th. He wi l l rule as King of the wor ld. His capi tal ci ty wi l l be Jerusalem in the land
of Israel .
The Jews are God’s wi tnesses to His purpose, even though many of them do not
real ise i t . God made promises to Abraham and David which wi l l be ful f i l led when the
Lord Jesus returns to the ear th.
Death is the punishment for sin and we al l sin. The only hope of l i fe af ter death is
bodi ly resur rect ion f rom the grave at the return of Jesus Chr ist .
There wi l l be a day of judgement . The fai thful fol lowers of the Lord Jesus wi l l be
given a place in God’s kingdom and wi l l l ive for ever .
We must bel ieve the Gospel , repent f rom our sins and be bapt ized. I f we t r y hard to
obey God’s commands, and pray for forgiveness when we fai l , then by God’s grace
we shal l be saved.
The Bible prophecies about past and present wor ld events have al l come t rue. The
Bible shows that the return of Jesus Chr ist to the ear th is very near . That is why you
should study your Bible now.


Christadelphian Bible Mission, Box CBM, 404 Shaftmoor Lane, BIRMINGHAM, B28 8SZ, UK

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