The video below is a ten minute message on “about us” here at First Century Christianity. The message is also written out below with our beliefs below that.
Humility and Respect
Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.(Jas 3:1)
James 3:1 dictates that we must be careful and mindful to only teach what is true and to treat the Word of God with the utmost respect.
This ministry is about First Century Christianity which is also called The Way. I’m more of a generalist and only study things out as needed. The goal here is to provide a solid resource for those coming out of Babylon. The brethren need to be able to learn what to retain from mainstream Christianity, what to discard, and what to learn about the faith once delivered. But it’s more than just learning. We must learn then do. Knowledge must drive action or else it is meaningless. This ministry is a resource to teach you HOW to walk out the faith once delivered, not just what to believe. Now a little history and why I’m talking about humility and respect.
History of the Ministry
We were originally founded as Northland Hebrew Roots Group (NHRG). The group wanted to do the liturgy in Hebrew. Liturgy means using corporate prayers either directly from scripture or based on scripture. Our corporate prayers are the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), the Aaronic Blessing (Numbers 6: 24-26), and the Our Father (Matthew 6: 9-13). The group wanted to say the Hebrew prayers in the holy tongue and we were pronouncing the Hebrew awfully. If we are going to offer up prayers to Yahweh in His tongue, we must learn to pronounce it properly. I then studied enough Hebrew to understand the prayers and pronounce them properly. This is the humility part. We must put in the time and effort to do it right if we’re going to do it at all. Like I said earlier, this is about doing, not just learning. Say Shema.
A year or so after our founding as NHRG, I learned the phrase Hebrew Roots was trademarked by someone named Dean Wheelock. Trademarking is very expensive and time consuming. I had no idea who this man was or what he taught, but I must honor his intellectual property. We had to change our name. This is when we became The Word and the Way, which is the name of our 501c3, the name on our checkbook, and who you would donate to should you decide to bless us with an offering. We use this website for outreach and ministry because the name is easy for people to understand.
Years later I met Dean Wheelock at a Sukkot site and was honored to speak with him in attendance. I told him about our name and how we had to change when I learned it was Trademarked. He had no idea we had used it. It was good to honor an elder, especially one who is credited with founding the Hebrew Roots Movement. It was very good to be able to tell him I respected him when I didn’t even know him. This brother in the faith has since passed away. I was honored to know him briefly and show him the respect he was due. May he rest in peace.
Closing
Our official name is The Word and the Way, Inc (TWTW). but we use this website, First Century Christianity (FCC), as the face of the ministry so people can quickly understand what we are about.
This walk is about deeds, not just words. This website and these messages will teach the truth of early Christianity, even when it’s uncomfortable. Please understand the words will be put out with humility and respect, to the brethren, and most importantly to Yahweh and Yeshua. Shalom.
Chris DeWeese, Pastor of TWTW/FCC
Our Beliefs
We believe it is important to study the Hebraic Word as it was once delivered to the saints.
What does this mean?
We strive to study the Bible from the same perspective as those who received the Gospel in the first century AD, i.e., the Saints. The first-century believers who accepted Yeshua as the prophesied Messiah and the Son of YHVH became adopted children of YHVH and heirs, according to the promise. Accepting Yeshua as Messiah means joining Israel by being grafted in and, just like the first-century believers, studying the Torah and applying it to our lives.
We observe the Biblical holidays listed in Leviticus 23 starting with the weekly Sabbath that was instituted on the 7th day of creation and then by having or attending annual gatherings for the rest of God’s Holy Days. In all things, we strive to understand the Word of God as shown to us by His Son, apply it to our lives, and live as Yeshua did, as we anxiously await His return and the restoration of all things.
Some First Century Christianity beliefs:
Yahweh is Elohim (God). (Exodus 20:1-3)
Yeshua (Jesus) is His Son. (1 John 5:11-12)
Salvation is only through Yeshua, the Son of God. (Acts 4:8-12)
Accepting Yeshua as the Messiah and the Son of God makes us adopted children of God and heirs according to The Promise. (Galatians 3:28-29)
The Promise is the promise that Yahweh made to Abraham to make his descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. (Genesis 22:15-18)
We keep the commandments (Torah) which include the weekly Sabbath and the annual appointed times of Leviticus 23. (Acts 15:21, 1 Corinthians 5:8, Revelation 12:17)
The dead sleep in the grave awaiting one of two resurrections separated by 1000 years. Daniel 12:2, John 5:28-29, Revelation 20.
The 66 book bible is the inspired Word of Yahweh.
Faith must products works of repentance. James 2: 14-26
More beliefs can be found on this index page Beliefs – (firstcenturychristianity.net)