PENDIK EVANGELICAL CHURCH
OUR ROOTS
Our main root is Jesus' trascendent message: the Gospel. The Protestants of Turkey are grounded in the historical roots of the Christian belief. Such roots include the Nicean and Chalcedonian creeds, which are part of the rich cultural heritage of Anatolia. Turkish Protestant Churches do not discriminate based on race, language, nationality, denomination, gender, etc. They are churches that embrace the gospel’s message of salvation from sin through Christ and conduct their worship in the Turkish language. Our ethos is to foster relationships based on love, respect, and tolerance with all people in Turkey regardless of their religious background.
WHAT ELSE DO WE BELIEVE?
The central message of the gospel is God’s love. Through his sacrificial death and resurrection, Christ Jesus has opened the gates of heaven to everyone who believes. All people are invited to repent and place their faith in this “good news.” We additionally BELIEVE:
1) That the one and only God has revealed himself as a trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit;
2) That, motivated by the gift of eternal life, the person who has surrendered to Christ lives out his life to please his Lord in all matters;
3) That the Church exists in order to know Jesus Christ and make him known.
WHAT IS PROTESTANTISM?
Protestantism is the general name given to the reform movements in the 16th century which encouraged a return to the essentials of the New Testament. The main features of this reform were the following:
1) In matters of faith and worship, the Bible alone is embraced as the ultimate authority, not traditions: “Do not go beyond what is written” (I Corinthians 4:6).
2) Eternal life is a God-given gift through faith alone in Christ Jesus, who died on the cross as our atoning sacrifice: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
3) The Church must be concerned with spiritual issues alone. The matters of faith and state are divided. In other words, a secular view is honored: “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's” (Matthew 22:21).
UNCHANGING SCRIPTURES
The Torah, Zabur (Psalms), and Injil (NT), cannot be revoked in their original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), nor can they be corrupted, nor can they ever vanish: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
The manuscripts available to us leave no reason to doubt that the New Testament we have today has not been changed. The Christian belief does not belong to the West or to the East. It is HEAVENLY and UNIVERSAL!