Things to Believe
- Faith in God & the Bible must be based upon evidence, and not blindly accepted (John 8:32; Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1).
- The entire material universe was specially created by almighty God in 6 days of approximately 24-hours each, resulting in a relatively young Earth, in contrast to evolutionary views of a multi-billion-year age for the Earth (Genesis 1:1-31; Exodus 20:11).
- Christianity is the one true religion (John 14:6), and Jesus Christ is the only divine Son of God & Savior of the world, who died for our sins and arose from the dead (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; 1 John 4:14).
- The Bible is the verbally inspired word of God and is all-sufficient, therefore it is inerrant & authoritative, and a complete guide for moral & religious conduct & doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3).
- The Bible is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105).
- Man-made doctrines are to be completely rejected (Matthew 15:9).
- The virgin birth of Christ is indisputable (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-22).
- Forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life are available to all who will accept it (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:4).
- Sin is neither inborn nor inherited, but a personal choice (Ezekiel 18:20; James 1:13-16; 1 John 3:4).
- The church Christ built & purchased with His blood is neither a denomination nor Protestant nor Catholic (Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:28).
- There are no “clergy” & “laity” classes in Christ’s church; all members are equal (Galatians 3:26-29).
- The organizational structure of Christ’s church as revealed in the scriptures only allows for local congregational autonomy; no creeds, synods, councils, etc., govern the Lord’s church (Acts 14:23; Acts 20:17; 1 Peter 5:1-2).
- The headquarters of the church of Christ is in heaven where its Head resides (Ephesians 1:20-22).
- No man-made, self-exalting titles such as Father, Rabbi, Reverend, etc., are worn by members of the Lord’s church (Matthew 23:8-9).
- Christ’s kingdom is now in existence; the church & the kingdom are both one & the same institution (Matthew 16:28; Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27; Acts 1:3-8; Colossians 1:13).
- The Holy Spirit convicts, educates, empowers, and encourages us solely through the word of God (John 16:8-9; Acts 2:36-37; Acts 20:32; Romans 1:16; Ephesians 6:17).
- Human life begins at conception and voluntary abortion takes the life of an innocent person (Exodus 21:22-25; Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:4-5).
- The institution of marriage was created by God Himself in the beginning and He intends for marriage to be a monogamous, life-long, loving relationship between one man & one woman (Genesis 2:21-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Hebrews 13:4).
- We are saved by grace & obedient faith (Ephesians 2:8-10; James 2:14-20).
- We are justified by grace (Romans 3:24), faith (Romans 5:1), the blood of Christ (Romans 5:9), and by works of faith (James 2:24).
- Christ’s second coming will occur at some unknown point in the future (Matthew 24:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:2), at which everyone who has ever lived will be judged (John 12:48; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).
- We all will face the final judgment, which will result in everlasting life or eternal punishment (Hebrews 9:27; Matthew 25:46; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15).
