The United Church of Christ in the Philippines is trinitarian and
believes in the deity, humanity, and atonement of Jesus. It believes
that the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired
Word of God and that salvationis by grace through faith, repentance
and following after Christ. The United Church of Christ in the
Philippines view the Christian life as one of personal faith and of
serious dedication to living according to the highest Christian
precepts. Each person is thus to be born again, converted into a
new life, and gathered into the church community. For them, the
church is essentially the result of conversion and of grace, a
gathered community of committed believers. It is not the mother of
Christian experience or the source (rather than the effect) of grace,
as in the Roman Catholic tradition. The church is, therefore, holy
only because the faith and life of its people are holy.
The UCCP traces its roots in the Protestant Reformation,
when Martin Luther, John Calvin and others led the movement to
reform the Christianity. This is often expressed in the "Five Solas"—
God's grace alone as the only way to be reconciled to God, faith
alone as the only means of receiving God's grace, Christ alone as
the ground of God's saving grace, Scripture alone as the only
infallible authority for belief, and God's glory alone as the ultimate
purpose for the lives of men and women.
The following distinguish the UCCP from other communions:
Their concern for freedom of speech and conscience and for
freedom from interference by any civil or ecclesiastical authority
The primacy they give to Scripture in matters of faith,
doctrine, and morals
The authority they give to the congregation in church affairs
Their concern for establishing social justice in political, social
and economic life and
Their active involvement and commitment to
interdenominational activity as a protest against denominational
exclusiveness.[11]
SacramentsEdit
The church believes that there are two sacraments only: baptism
and The Lord's Supper. The church takes a neutral position on the
observance of feet washing, taking into consideration the various
traditions brought in by the uniting churches. The 1948: Article III
Historic Faith and Message states, " We do preserve all the heritage
of faith brought into the union by each of the constituent churches
and hereby declare as our common faith and message: 'Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God, our Lord and Saviour.'[12]"
BaptismEdit
The UCCP defines baptism as a sacrament of initiation into the
church.[13] They believe that baptism is not a means of salvation but
a first step of obedience for the new believer. The church permit
believer's baptism, and infant baptism alike. Infant baptism is
administered only to infant children of church members as a sign of
God's covenant of mercy. In recent times infant baptism has given
way to more frequent infant "dedication" ceremonies
or Paghahandog (in Filipino), thus reserving baptism until after the
time when the child makes a conscious decision to follow Christ. The
church also recognize and accept the baptism of other Christian
churches.[13]
Disciples' understood that baptism is a confessional expression of
faith and repentance, rather than a "work" that earns salvation.
Thus they insisted that believer's baptism is necessary part of
conversion and necessary for its validity. Local churches in the
Tagalog and Ilocano regions established by their missionaries
practice only baptism by immersion by its adult members.
Lord's SupperEdit
The church believes in the symbolic presence[14] of Jesus in the
Lord's Supper (Santa Cena o Banal na Hapunan in Filipino). They
believe that it was given by Jesus Christ[15] to his church as a way of
remembering and proclaiming the sacrifice He made on the cross. It
is a sacrament that contains an element of remembering and
proclaiming Christ's death while at the same time looking forward to
the time when they will enjoy communion with Christ in heaven.
[15] It involves solemn and serious self-examination. This includes
confession of sin and repentance. Communion for them should not
be received in a flippant or careless manner.It is the joyful feast of
the Lord, hence, it is a celebration.
Every UCCP church is required to celebrate the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper once a month. In most local churches, communion is
served in the first Sunday of the month. The observance of the Rite
of the Last Supper of our Lord with His disciples is done during
Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday.[15] Since the Disciples of Christ
custom is to have the Lord's Supper central to every worship
service, the sacrament is administered every Lord's Day.
