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MY DECLARATION OF FAITH
From Charlie Borjas,
Dear brethren, since I have been a non-member of The Family International, there have been several people I know who have
asked me a few questions of which I felt I should make a few matters clear.
I have always believed that it is a good thing to know what you believe so you can be ready to answer people who ask questions.
First of all I would like to say that I am not a detractor, apostate, enemy or unfriendly towards The Family. I have been
and still am enjoying the fellowship of nearby Family members and plan to continue doing so, as long as they have a will to
continue to have mutual fellowship with my family and me.
I have no negative feelings against any Family member, in fact I encourage sincere missionary work, and my hopes are that
Family members will continue to be the best missionaries they can be.
Nothing That I share here is out of bitterness or malice, but what I share here is out of love, and according to my understanding
of the Holy scriptures in the Bible.
Secondly, I have children who are still members of The Family International, and I am proud of them wanting to be missionaries
and help others.
Thirdly, I respect those who believe that the Lord has called them to be missionaries to the fields where they are called
and feel chosen to go.
In addition, I would like to say that despite the many difficulties different Family people have and are going through, it
is commendable to have a fighting spirit.
The reasons I chose to no longer follow the ways of The Family International as a member or active participant of it’s
activities are written in the following paragraphs.
1. I have made a commitment in my life to the Lord Jesus Christ to work on developing a close relationship with God, which
requires me to seek Him first and abide in His Words that are in the Bible. In order to do that I have decided to devote my
time with the Lord in praise and worship, thanksgiving, adoration, communication and fellowship as well as intercessory prayer
and supplication, based upon what I find written in the pages of the Holy Bible.
I FOUND THIS INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT to do while inside
The Family as a member, as I was tired and burned out, as well as confused about many of the various unusual, complicated
and ever changing teachings that developed over the years which I found increasingly difficult to equate with the truth that
is written within the pages of Bible.
2. I have made a free will choice to renew my mind in the power of the Word of God and the Holy Ghost, accepting and believing
in what the Bible teaches face value, and that are clearly stated in the New Testament.
and the Old,
3. I believe that there is no private interpretation of God’s Word, no taking out of context what God has said and using
it as the basis to start new doctrines that have not already been clarified in the Bible as the thoughts and will of God.
4. I do not believe that scriptures taken out of context in the Old Testament referring to specific personalities ,being
the fulfillment of Ezekiel 34:23 and other similar passages should be taken out of context and used to verify self-claims
of a person today fulfilling those prophecies in him or her own individual personage.
The Bible is specific in this aspect and scriptures regarding any of the men or women of God in the Old Testament cannot be
taken out of context to apply to anyone else thousands of years later when it is obvious that it is not talking about that
person nor referring to them.
5. I believe that prophecies stating specific predictions and deeds regarding certain people were and will be fulfilled by
the people for whom the prophecy was intended, as the scriptures are read in context, and harmony.
Taking only certain selected scriptures out of the original context for which it was intended , to try and prove a doctrine,
causes confusion, breaks the flow and harmony of the scriptures, causes division, shows foolishness and expresses ignorance
of what God originally intended to say to man.
Hence the confusion which exists to day in the body of Christ manifested by the multitude of churches, denominations, Christian
groups, sects, and cults. Many of these churches, sects, and cults believe that their way is the only way, biblical prophecies
are being fulfilled by them or their leaders, their prophets are the only true prophets that bear God’s message for
this age, claiming to have the only true words of God, and have their own interpretations of the scriptures as well as their
own writings by their leaders and prophets which are supposed to supplement the Bible, claiming to fill in the gaps, clear
the rubble, excavate the lost hidden truths in the Bible, and lead the sheep to greener pastures. Whew! That was a long sentence!
6. I believe that the Bible, is the unchangeable Word of God for today as well as 400 years ago, and you cannot add completely
NEW revelations to it that take away from the harmony and truths already in the scriptures. Whatever translation or version
you choose is okay with God.
7. I do believe and am firmly convinced that New revelation knowledge of the already existing scriptures can be revealed
by the Holy Spirit, as we increase in the knowledge of God according to the words He has already spoken to us in the Bible.
I also believe that God does speak to His children today in various ways, and one of those ways is through prophecy in the
body of Christ. I do not believe, however, that prophecy was meant to be used as a weapon with which to control, manipulate,
or even influence strongly a person or persons, groups, churches, etc., to the point that it does not give the believer any
other choice but to believe what is being said is the final, immutable word from God, which cannot be contested.
8. That just about takes care of every church, sect and cult that has a book or books of their own writings which they believe
are inspired by God, or direct prophecies from God, yet proclaim beliefs and doctrines that are even forbidden in the scriptures,
have nothing to do with the Bible, do not flow with God’s plan for man in relation to the Bible and today, and have
not shown man how to apply the Word of God in the Bible to their lives, abiding in it now as the truth to guide their lives,
but rather have made NEW scriptures, and NEW sayings that do not even quote the Bible, and are contrary to much of the truth
that is taught in scripture.
9. It is of my understanding that many of these prophecies are intended to put restrictions upon believers which bring them
into bondage to the leaders who promote such prophecies, instead of encouraging, uplifting, and edifying the believers to
act according to their faith. Instead much of what is considered to be prophetic is intended to dictate to the believers how
they should think about a certain issue or issues, and how they should believe if they wish to stay a member of the group,
or have a close relationship with the Lord, or gain and earn God’s blessings.
10. I believe everyone has a right to be faced with the truth and be given a chance to make the decision for themselves to
do what they will with their life, and this should include every member that was born into the Family or any other religious
organization or church, as soon as they are old enough to, being that they so desire to know about the world around them.
I believe that they should be given that opportunity if they so seek it, and should be physically helped and supported as
well as encouraged int he life they choose to live, with all rights and privileges as a Christian and human being.
11. I believe that no one should be upset that things did not always go their way, and thank God they didn’t, in fact,
should not be upset at all, about anything and have no regrets about their life they lived for the Lord because they know
it was working not unto men but unto God as a servant of Christ.
12. However, perhaps even if they did not always agree with everything they read, but most of the time got behind it because
they were a member of the group and thought that doing so would be in the best interests of the others they worked with, it
would not necessarily mean that they wanted to become a troublemaker or cause division because of the struggles they were
having with the doctrines and procedures and policies.
13. Sometimes it is not until after leaving a group that a former member is able to learn things that they never knew all
of the time they were in, although, perhaps they did suspect some of the things, they never dared to question for fear of
getting “dealt with”.
14. To be honest, in a Christian missionary group that is actually a movement, unfortunate incidents that happen can have
a devastating effect on members. No matter how people attempt to explain it away, they may just have this feeling where they
knew in their heart that something just was not right. Maybe they even wrote to state their questions, but the answer they
received was that the questions they asked had already been answered. Perhaps they didn’t feel like they had been answered,
so wrote again asking the same questions, to which they received a similar answer with also added remarks that it was unfortunate
that they had been confused by all of the negative input they read.
15. Maybe you think, “wait a minute now. I never stated that I was troubled or in a confused state. This remark was
made to me and I had never ever said anything to the effect that what I read confused me.” Some of the things they read
did trouble them a bit as it were things they never knew happened to quite a few young people, and were shocked that these
things actually did happen.
16. All they read up to that time was what allowed to be read, which was information that countered the negative, which amounts
to an edited version with limited information to be read to certain age groups as required reading, but perhaps they are left
with the feeling that they were not specific enough to get the whole picture.
17. So it stands to reason that some may feel like there was information that was being kept from them, and they wanted to
know the truth, so they searched and searched, communicated with different people, and gathered a whole slew of information
that they were totally unaware of previously.
18. That which was being passed over as false and exaggerations they were finding out to be true. So the feeling that may
follow next is that if they could not be trusted anymore than that, after giving years to this organization in dedicated service,
it isn’t worth remaining a member of an organization that keeps the truth from it’s members and only releases
what the leadership wants them to know and believe.
19. Yes, it can be a shocking thing to find out what actually did happen in the past, and what actually did go on for years
and you wonder why you never heard any of that information before, and why is it coming out now?
20. Nevertheless, I intend to continue serving the Lord in the ways He shows me, being led by His Holy Spirit in service for
others. I have entered into a relationship with God that has been long overdue. God is my heavenly Father, and I am happy
to be in a Father and son relationship with Him. Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and I am happy and thankful to be in a loving
relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit is the representative of Jesus on the earth, and is my comforter and the only spirit
guide I have or need. I have no need of any other spirit to lead me and guide me, as I am perfectly satisfied to focus on
the one spirit that was sent by God to the earth to take the place of Jesus, who sits at the right hand of the throne of God.
21. I am happy and thankful to have the chance to have fellowship with all three members of the Godhead, and benefit from
their invaluable words of love and wisdom they speak to me.
22. I am very happy and thankful that the promises of God’s Word state that I have protective angels assigned to watch
over and minister to me. I do not communicate with these angels, but I know they are there and doing their job faithfully.
23. I communicate with God and relate to Him through His Holy Word, the Bible, prayer, worship, praise, and loving Him with
all my heart.
I fellowship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit and The Father, and try to live my life in praise and worship of this Godhead.
I have come to the scriptural conclusion that since I have the awesome power of the Holy Spirit on the inside of me, the same
power that raised Jesus from the dead, I have no need for any other spirits to communicate with me.
One of my main goals is to strengthen my relationship with the Lord and communion with Him and not other spirits or angels.After
all, why should I seek to have communication with the disembodied spirits of the departed when what I really need is to strengthen
my connection with the true God, and eternal life, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit?
24. I make an effort to relate this happiness and peace I have found with others by witnessing all of the wonderful things
God has done for me and my life to others and ministering to them as God leads me.
25. So you see, I am very happy and at peace with the Lord and others, and am learning and growing in the Spirit as the Holy
Spirit ministers to me.
26. For me, things in the Family had been getting more and more complicated over the years, and at times quite a bit confusing.
Standards changed quickly, then would change back again, then change again, so I found myself at a spiritual plateau quite
frequently.
27. The Bible prophecy I learned when I joined also changed. The meanings and interpretations of the Bible also changed and
I found myself confused about God’s Word and forced to only believe and accept the approved interpretations that were
written in the GN’s and Mo Letters.
28. I am happy to say that I have been set free from all that and am no longer confused now. I am on the right path to discovering
the many uncountable truths in the Bible and making daily declarations that give strength to every step I take. My relationship
with the Lord is growing stronger than ever, as He has his way in my life and teaches me to follow His will by the Holy Spirit.
29. Life is more exciting than ever now, and I look forward to everyday and what the Lord will bring my way. I am blessed
with all spiritual blessings, and rejoice in the Lord always.
30. You might think that is because the devil isn’t fighting me anymore because I am not in the Family. That the devil
only fights Family members and that is why The Family has a lot of sicknesses and problems. Well, I can truly say that I have
studied the Word on this subject pretty thoroughly and have come to the conclusion that according to God’s Word, Satan
is already a defeated foe. He was defeated 2000 years ago with the cross. He is no longer a factor in the equation, unless,
of course , you invite him to be. In that case he will gladly oblige you, and deal out the consequences that come along with
entering into an agreement with him.
31. I, for one, am not entering into any agreements with him. I have overcome the wicked one, and Jesus Christ rules my life
with the rod of His Word, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
32. I fight the good fight of faith, the spiritual war right between my ears, and have learned how to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked one.
33. The devil has no real power. His only power lies in deception. Deceiving people into believing his lies in order to take
their joy and peace away, and cause them to lose the blessing of God in their life.
34. I hereby do make this declaration of Faith on this 19th day of June, 2007, and hereby do state that what is written here
is my true belief, and happy state of mind in Christ Jesus, my Savior.
Thank you to all the Family members I have known for your friendship and help in the past, and I pray we may still have fellowship
in His truth, and even work together to win the lost in unity of His Spirit. I hope that our differences do not separate us
in our fellowship and friendship.
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