OUR BELIEFS

First, the church of our Lord, Jesus Christ (Rom 16:16) has no official, published list of beliefs, or doctrines, nor does it have a “Confession of Faith.” The church does not adhere to, or recognize any man-made document for outlining its ideology and theology. The Bible is the sole authority for all things pertaining to the church.

Secondly, there exists no central headquarters that decides or mandates the affairs of the church of Christ. Instead of those earthly-type of arrangements, each congregation of the church of Christ is autonomous (governing itself) by simply recognizing Jesus as the Head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23) and the Bible as its only guide in “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). The entire Bible is infallible and is the inspired Word of God. It is the supreme and final authority in all doctrine and practice (Isaiah 40:8; II Tim 3:16-17; Heb 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

Jesus stated, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter in to the kingdom of heaven, except he who does the will of my Father in heaven,” (Matt 7:21). So, the real question is, “What is His will that we should be doing?” Based upon the two, simple principles stated above, leaders of each congregation make decisions for leading the church from the Bible in order to fulfill His will. We strive to speak only where the Bible speaks and remain silent where the Bible is silent. We do Bible things in Bible ways and call Bible things by Bible names. With this being understood, below are just a few general statements regarding our beliefs, directly from the Bible.

• • The Bible presents one God, eternally existing in three equal persons. This is known as the “God Head” which consists of the Father (Creator), the Son (Redeemer), and the Holy Spirit (Sustainer) as is presented in John 1:1-3; Matt 3:16-17; and II Corinthians 13:14. These three have the same nature, essence and attributes. They are distinct in office and activity according to Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; Acts 5:3-4; and Hebrews 1:8.

  • According to the pattern seen in the New Testament, an individual is added to the church (body of Christ) when baptized (immersed in water) for the remission of sin (cf. Acts 2:47; Acts 2:38; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:11-16, 5:22-23; Colossians 1:18). There is no passage that teaches one must say a “sinner’s prayer” or invite Jesus into their heart. Instead, there are many passages that give examples of the first Christians obeying “from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered,” (Rom 6:17).

  • Those added to the church receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), and walk in newness of life by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1-6).

  • Ephesians 4:5 says that there is only one Lord, one Faith and one Baptism. This means denominationalism is unscriptural and there cannot be multiple ways for being saved (as is taught by other religious groups).

  • The Bible teaches us about the resurrection of the dead (at the Second Coming of Christ) and the eternal conscious existence of all individuals in either heaven or hell, after the judgment of God (Luke 16:19-31; I Corinthians 3:11-15; II Corinthians 5:8-10).

  • The church is described in many ways in the Bible. It is described as, “the body of Christ,” (Colossians 1:18); the “household of God,” (Ephesians 2:19); the “church of Christ,” (Romans 16:16), the “church of God,” (Acts 20:28); and “the kingdom” (Matthew 16:18,19; Colossians 1:13). These are all synonyms for the same entity.

  • The Lord’s Supper (Communion) was celebrated every “first day of the week,” on Sunday (Acts 20:7).
    Jesus commissioned His disciples to evangelize the world (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16).

There is much more to the Christian faith than what is listed here, but these are some of the first, essential teachings for true Christianity. If you have questions about these, or would like to know more, we will be happy to sit down and study with you to show you, in your Bible, how God’s will is clearly presented in His Word.