Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us. (Luke 1:1)
But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my
fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. (Acts 24:14)
Introduction
The only complete and infallible source of truth in the universe in contained in God's holy
Scriptures. These articles of faith represent a brief summary of many of the aspects of the truth
that God has revealed to us in His Word over time. Being the work of men, we know that this
writing will contain errors, though none are put here intentionally. As God gives us more light in
the future, we expect and plan to add to and revise this document so as to accurately represent our
knowledge of His divine will for us.
The Scriptures
Nature of the Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old (Hebrews 1:1) and New Testament (2 Peter 3:15-
16; Revelation 1:1-2) only and exclusively, in whole and in part, are the divinely inspired (2
Timothy 3:16-17), inerrant (Psalm 19:7-11), God breathed (2 Samuel 23:2; 2 Peter 1:19-21),
written word of God, and are the sole and total rule together of our faith and practice(Psalm
119:104,128; Isaiah 8:20).
Identification of the Scriptures
We believe the Authorized or King James Version of 1611 is the Word of God in English. We
believe that God, according to His promises, has providentially preserved and transmitted this
Word through the scattered remnant of His true churches; and has providentially directed the
collating, editing, and translating of the precious and essential text and manuscripts, the witness
being that these are the only texts God has ever used in all the great fruit-bearing evangelical
movements of history (Matthew 7:16-20), and also that these texts have never been used in any of
the awful and bloody ecclesiastical persecutions of history. We therefore believe any production
based in whole or in part on any other texts, manuscripts (however ancient or accepted), or versions
to be not the Word of God but to be a fraud.
Unity of God
We believe that there is a Trinity of three Persons, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit (1
John 5:7), in the unity of the essence of the Godhead; that these three Persons are equal in nature,
power, and glory; and that the Word and the Holy Spirit are as truly and as properly and as eternally
God as is the Father.
We believe that the Scripture shows five distinct divisions, aspects or phases of the work of God
in the salvation of His people, and they are as follows:
We believe the legal sentence of death against the elect was executed upon the Lord Jesus Christ
upon the cross of Calvary, His pure and sinless life being the perfect and only substitute for the
filthy rags of their righteousness, and His holy blood being the only acceptable propitiation for
their sins (Romans 3:24-26; 2Corinthian 5:21).
We believe that the Father received this offering of the Lamb of God (Hebrews 10:10, 14), and
that He accordingly justifies the elect, seeing in them not their sins, but the spotless righteousness
of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, their sins being forgotten and covered by His precious
blood.
The Church
Identity of the Church
We believe that the church, as referred to most often in the New Testament, is a local congregation
or body of disciples of Jesus Christ; that it is identified by its location and membership, and referred
to under various titles and descriptions, singularly considered as the church, the whole church, the
body, the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the temple of the Holy Ghost, and collectively known
as the churches of Christ and the churches of God.
We believe that a church is formed by the mutual consent and commitment of individual believers
to perform their Scriptural duties. It does not require any pastor, church or other body to ordain
them as a church, though there is nothing unscriptural with a pastor or another church assisting or
aiding in the forming of a new church.
We believe that this is the kingdom foretold by the Old Testament prophets, proclaimed by John
the Baptist, and established by the ministry of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Independence of the Church
We believe that each church stands alone under Christ as its head, independent of any pope,
cardinal, president or moderator and separate from any other body, group or organization in this
world.
We believe that fellowship, as described in Scripture, is a function of individual members of a
local body and not of churches in conventions, associations, denominations or other such
structures, and, while praying for God's blessing on His churches where ever they may be and
being willing to help those whom we encounter, we believe it to be improper to form any alliance
between our congregation and any other body or congregation.
Duty of Self-Examination
We believe that God expects His children to judge themselves and to come to His table with clean
hearts, having confessed their sins to Him, and that those who come without such preparation bring
upon themselves His chastisement and judgment.
Foot Washing
We believe that the example given by Christ in John 13 was to teach His disciples the importance
of humility and service to one another; but the absence of further instructions on the subject in the
Pauline and General epistles as well as no further examples in the New Testament lead us to
conclude that this is not a practice that is required of New Testament saints.
Separation
Personal Separation
We believe that God has called His children to be light and salt in a dark and corrupt world, so that
it is incumbent upon every believer to walk in wisdom toward those who are in the world, to be
renewed in his mind, to think soberly and righteously, to keep his body under subjection, and to
keep himself unspotted from the world.
Separation from Holy days
We believe that the religious holidays observed by the world, such as Christmas, Easter, and
Halloween, are, at best, mixtures of pagan practices and doctrines with portions of God's truth.
They are products of the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth (the Roman Catholic
church). We believe they are strictly forbidden and condemned by God in His holy Word, and
cannot be participated in by godly, knowledgeable Christians, but should be separated from and
taught against in His churches.
Authority
The purpose for authority
We believe that God, as the Supreme Lord and King of all creation, has ordained positions or offices of authority
over men for the orderly functioning of society, for the good of those under them, and for His own honor and
glory.