The Moravian Covenant for Christian Living (page 2)
Formerly known as The Brotherly Agreement of the Moravian Church
Principles by Which We Live and Bear Our Witness
The Ground of Our Witness
1. We are called into a Christian fellowship by the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the eternal purpose of God the Father (Ephesians 3:11) by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:18-21), and as members of Christ's Body, the Church, to serve all people by proclaiming the Gospel and witnessing to our faith by word and deed.
2. The Triune God as revealed in the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments is the only source of our life and salvation; and this Scripture is the sole standard of the doctrine and faith of the Unitas Fratrum and therefore shapes our life.
3. With the universal Christian Church, we share our faith in the Triune God, who revealed Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Savior of all people. We particularly declare His living presence and Lordship over the Church, joy in the benefits of His life, sufferings, death and resurrection and emphasize a close bond of fellowship with each other in His name. We believe that Christ is present with us in Word and Sacrament. We decline to determine as binding what the Scriptures have left undetermined, or to argue about mysteries impenetrable to human reason. In this regard, we hold to the principle "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity."
4. We thankfully recognize the value of the historic creeds of the Christian Church in calling upon believers in every age to give an obedient and fearless testimony, recognizing Jesus Christ as Lord. A Moravian confession of faith is to be found in the Easter Dawn Liturgy.
I The Witness of the Christian Life
5. We believe that as in baptism we have been united with Christ in His death and resurrection, so we have died to sin and should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:1-11).
6. When seeking guidance we find that the simplest expression of Christian living is contained in the earliest of Christian confessions, "Jesus Christ is Lord." This implies that obedience is due Him as the absolute Ruler and Lord of our lives. Not only His teachings (e.g., Matthew 5-7) but, even more, the example of His life (Philippians 2:5; Ephesians 4:20) provide an understanding of the obedience that He desires. Although the early Church, guided by the Spirit of Jesus, did not develop a code covering all issues, it offered guidance in various areas of Christian living (e.g. Colossians 3:1-46; 1 Peter 2:11- 3:12; Ephesians 4:1-6:20).
7. Living the Christian life depends not only on our own effort but upon God our Father, who in Jesus Christ accepts us as heirs of God (Galatians 4:4-7) and strengthens and sustains us (Philippians 4:13).
8. We realize that our Christian faith must continually be nourished if it is to remain living and vital. Therefore, we desire to grow in our Christian lives through family devotions, personal prayer and study, and the opportunities for spiritual development offered by the Church.