8th Assembly: Seoul, 1985

A report from the Assembly reads:

“Christ sets us free from idols into the freedom to believe in the God who created us, and made the ultimate sacrifice that we may truly be what we are. We affirm this in the face of situations where it is forbidden to believe other than what society or culture provides. This is an affirmation that must be made in the midst of worldly powers—political or religious—that bar the recognition of the Father of our Lord Jesus.

“Christ sets us free to worship God and acknowledge him as the most worthy of adoration and praise. We make this affirmation in the face of cultural values that push us to worship the things God has created and to turn away from God himself. Christ has set us free to claim and renew what is of value in our culture and societies and incorporate them into the new life and the new future that we have in him.

“Christ sets us free to love and care for our peoples, particularly those who are poor, oppressed, exploited, marginalised, and to struggle with them to find the new life that is promised in Christ. We must affirm this in the midst of Asian societies in the clutches of an ethos of greed and domination, where the great power and wealth of a few are made possible through the misery of the many.

…The ground of our freedom is the holy, loving, and righteous God who became incarnate in His Son Jesus Christ and dwelt among us, and struggled with and showed his great love for us by his crucifixion, and conquered the evil powers that enslave and oppress, by his resurrection. To have faith in this God open us to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who leads us into all the truth about ourselves and our world, and about the life that shall be ours in the Kingdom of God. It is the Holy Spirit who leads us into the future as we exercise our freedom in Christ in service to the least of our brethren.”