Statement of Faith
Our goal first and foremost is to be the body of Christ. We exist to support all of Christendom, to be an example of believers, to feed the poor, to clothe the naked, to visit the imprisoned, and to be a light to the world. We also seek to profess the truth as it has been handed to us by the apostles. We are disciples of Jesus Christ, and we seek to preserve the truth of the gospel without faction or division.
Our purpose is to disciple and teach with the truest faithfulness given to us by the apostles through the Holy Scriptures, and through both tradition and scholarship as needed for the interpretation thereof. We seek to share the message that Christ Himself gave the apostles for the building up of His church. We believe that we preach the closest message to that which was preached on this earth two millennia ago, so help us God.
-
We believe in the Godhead of the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The Father, the one true God, stands at the head, from whom the Son is eternally begotten and the Holy Spirit proceeds. While the three are functionally and personally distinct, they share the same divine essence and are all fully divine.
(Deuteronomy 6:4, John 17:3, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 4:6, John 5:26, 1 Corinthians 11:3, John 1:14, John 15:26, Matthew 3:16–17, Acts 5:3–4, 1 Corinthians 2:11, Matthew 28:19)
-
We worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God, fully human and fully divine, one person of two natures without confusion or mixture. He is the physical manifestation of God as the divine Logos. He is begotten, not created, equal in divinity with the Father, yet subordinate to the Father. He was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and was resurrected bodily three days later. Through the pre-incarnate Christ, God spoke to men in the Old Testament. Jesus is the Messiah spoken of by the prophets and the one who fulfilled the Law of Moses.
(John 1:1, Matthew 16:16, John 1:34, Colossians 2:8-9, Hebrews 2:14, Colossians 1:17, John 5:30, John 14:28, 1 Corinthians 15:28, Luke 22:41-42, Matthew 1:18–23, 1 Peter 2:21-22, 1 Peter 3:18, Matthew 28:5–7, Luke 24:39, John 8:56–58, 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, Isaiah 9:6–7, Luke 24:44, Romans 10:4)
-
We believe that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Father, fully divine, sent to us by Jesus Christ. While a separate agent from the Father, He is the divine presence of the Father. We believe that the Holy Ghost is a constant companion, guiding believers in truth and delivering them from evil, and while we can quench the guidance of the Holy Ghost, He will never leave us.
(Matthew 10:20, Acts 5:3–4, 1 Corinthians 2:11, John 15:26, John 16:7, Romans 8:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:19, John 14:16-17)
-
We believe that God created humanity so that He might share His love and image, just like how a human parent craves to have their own children for the same reason. While we’re here, it’s our mission to spread God’s love with one another and to experience joy through outward expressions of love, charity, and obedience to God’s commandments. We are here in the physical world so that God can enjoy His creation, and one day, we will be resurrected in the flesh like Christ and enjoy the fullness of God’s glory.
(1 John 3:1-2, Ephesians 1:5, Isaiah 43:7, John 15:10–11, 1 John 4:11, Matthew 5:16, Psalm 149:4, Revelation 4:11, Philippians 3:21, 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, Romans 8:16–17)
-
We believe that salvation is a free gift from God. All humanity is marred by sin, but through the atoning work of Jesus Christ we may inherit eternal life by grace through faith.
(John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8–9, Romans 3:23, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 5:15–16)
-
Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Bible is the Word of God given to His prophets and apostles through the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Scriptures are wholly true and stand as the highest authority of God on the earth.
(2 Timothy 3:16, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Psalm 119:160, Proverbs 30:5, Matthew 4:1–11, Mark 7:5-13)
-
We believe that the family is the most important unit on earth. The way we treat our spouse is a reflection of how we view Christ’s love for us, and the way we bring up our children is a reflection of how we see God providing for us. We believe in marriage between one woman and one man, and that having strong families mirrors the strength of our relationship with God. We also believe that sexual relations must be kept inside the boundaries of marriage. Most importantly, we believe that families can be together forever, not as a legal unit like here on earth, but unified through the body of Christ at the resurrection.
(Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1–4, Matthew 19:4-6, Ephesians 5:23–32, Matthew 7:11, Psalm 103:13, Hebrews 13:4, 1 Corinthians 7:2, Matthew 22:30, Ephesians 3:14–15)
-
We believe that Jesus gave his twelve apostles unique authority to guide the church, perform miracles, and establish doctrine, and this authority is known as “keys”. We believe that while this authority ended with the apostles, they ultimately established the church, opened the gates of heaven, and gave us the doctrines found in the Holy Bible that guide us in the same way that they guided the first century church.
(Matthew 16:19, 2 Corinthians 12:12, Acts 5:12, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 14:37, 2 Timothy 3:16–17)
-
We do not believe that sacraments bestow saving grace, but we practice many sacred ordinances that bring believers closer to Jesus Christ, including baptism, the eucharist, confirmation, marriage, confession, fasting, and evangelism.
(1 Peter 3:21, Galatians 5:14, Hebrews 6:2, Genesis 2:24, James 5:16, Matthew 6:16-18, Romans 10:14–15)
-
We baptize in the name of the Holy Trinity. While we acknowledge that baptism saves, we believe that baptism works as the occasion for salvation and not the instrument, which is by grace through faith. We believe that baptism functions as a sign of the new covenant, replacing circumcision as the means of declaring publicly that the individual is one of God's people. We believe that this is done both to make disciples and to bring people into the flock of Christ. Therefore, we leave it up to the families and individuals whether to practice paedobaptism or credobaptism, with either option equally bringing someone into the body of Christ with full eucharistic participation. We practice baptism by immersion, with sprinkling under extenuating circumstances.
(Matthew 28:19,1 Peter 3:21, Mark 16:16, Romans 3:28, Colossians 2:11–12, Galatians 3:27, Acts 2:41, Acts 16:15, Acts 16:33, 1 Corinthians 1:16, Acts 8:38–39)
-
We believe that by eating the bread and drinking the wine in the eucharist, we are remembering the body and blood of Christ and professing His death until He returns. We follow the practice of the apostles that the eucharist is meant to be a closed communion for those who have already been baptized. We use unleavened bread and unfermented wine, although we also acknowledge the validity of leavened bread and fermented wine in other traditions.
(1 Corinthians 11:24–26, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, Acts 2:41–42, 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, Didache 9:5)
-
While we do not necessarily reject the theological conclusions of the historic ecumenical councils, we do not believe that doctrine from any man or council comes infallibly from God.
(Colossians 2:8, Acts 17:11, Mark 7:5-13, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, 1 John 4:1, Galatians 1:8)
-
We believe that through Adam’s transgression, sin entered into the world. However, we would clarify that we are ultimately responsible for our own sins and not Adam’s transgression.
(Romans 5:12, Genesis 3:17–19, 1 Corinthians 15:21–22, Romans 3:23, Ezekiel 18:20, Deuteronomy 24:16, Romans 14:12)
-
We believe that God’s work has been accomplished, and so now it is the duty of man to spread the gospel. We believe that because prophecy was meant to point towards Jesus, revelation ceased with the apostles.
(John 19:30, Matthew 28:19–20, Romans 10:14–15, Luke 24:44, Jude 1:3, 1 Corinthians 13:8–10, 2 Timothy 3:16–17)
-
We encourage the use of images as a means of expressing the beauty of biblical truth and honoring the saints of God. However, images must not be venerated or worshiped, as such practices violate God’s commandment against making graven images for worship.
(Exodus 31:3–5, Exodus 20:4–5, Leviticus 26:1, Isaiah 42:8)
-
We believe that the church is the body of Christ, and all who belong to Christ are saints. We honor the saints of the past for their faithful witness but do not pray to them or seek their intercession, because Jesus Christ alone is the mediator between God and humanity.
(1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesians 1:1, Psalm 112:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, John 14:6, Hebrews 7:25)
-
We believe that God desires all people to come to Him. We reject the doctrine that God predestines some for salvation while excluding others. Likewise, we deny that salvation cannot be abandoned by human choice. As in the Garden of Eden, humanity is responsible for whether we choose to obey God. Nevertheless, salvation ultimately depends upon God’s grace.
(1 Timothy 2:3–4, Ezekiel 18:23, 2 Peter 3:9, Genesis 2:16–17, Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15, Romans 14:12, Hebrews 6:4–6, 2 Peter 2:21, Titus 3:5)
-
We believe that it is only through the blood of Christ that we will be found righteous and that our names will be written in the book of life. We believe that in the resurrection, we will share in the same inheritance of Jesus Christ as co-heirs in the Kingdom of God. We believe in one single salvation, but within that salvation, we will receive different rewards according to our works.
(Romans 5:9, Revelation 21:27, Romans 8:17, Galatians 4:7, 1 Corinthians 3:11–15, Matthew 16:27, 1 Corinthians 15:41–42)
-
We believe in the literal second coming of Jesus Christ. One day all people will be resurrected and stand before God in judgment. We look forward to the eternal kingdom of God, described in Scripture as the New Jerusalem, where the redeemed will dwell with God forever.
(Matthew 24:30, Acts 1:11, John 5:28–29, Revelation 20:11–15, Romans 14:10, Revelation 21:10–27)
-
We believe in the separation between church and state. While we seek to build up the church here on earth, we refuse to do so through political means.
(Matthew 22:21, John 18:36, 2 Corinthians 10:4, Philippians 3:20)