The Campbellite Church of Christ Creed

The Design of this work is not the suppression of a movement in all places, but the orderly setting forth of its principles, that they may no longer operate under concealment.

The Method and Scope of This Document

This document has been developed by drawing together teachings, assumptions, and practices that are often expressed piecemeal, implicitly, or inconsistently across sermons, classes, debates, and informal instruction within the Churches of Christ.
In order to present these beliefs with clarity and coherence, certain liberties have been taken in organizing, systematizing, and articulating doctrines that are not always formally stated in creedal form.

These liberties include the use of precise theological language, logical consolidation of related teachings, and explicit articulation of implications that are commonly assumed but rarely stated outright.

This document does not claim to reproduce any single official statement, publication, or congregation’s wording. Rather, it represents a synthesized and internally consistent presentation of doctrines as they function in practice across conservative and patternist expressions of the movement.

Where language has been sharpened or conclusions made explicit, this has been done to avoid ambiguity and to ensure that readers outside the movement are able to accurately understand the theological framework being described.

No attempt has been made to caricature, exaggerate, or impute motives. The intent is descriptive, not rhetorical: to present the system as it operates logically and pastorally when its stated principles are applied consistently.
Variations in tone, emphasis, or local practice do exist within the movement. However, such variations do not negate the shared underlying assumptions this document seeks to make visible.

This document is offered as a tool for clarity, comparison, and informed engagement, particularly for clergy, theologians, and pastoral caregivers seeking to understand how these doctrines function as a coherent system.

Why These Teachings May Not be Recognized

Those within the Churches of Christ may deny, resist, or fail to recognize the teachings articulated in this document for several reasons, many of which arise from the movement’s historical development and teaching habits rather than from conscious deception.

First, the movement has traditionally rejected formal creeds and systematic theology, preferring to express doctrine through sermon fragments, proof-texts, debate formats, and isolated biblical arguments. As a result, beliefs are often held functionally rather than formally, making adherents unaccustomed to seeing their convictions arranged into a coherent doctrinal system.

Second, many of these teachings are transmitted implicitly through repeated phrases, inherited assumptions, and boundary setting practices rather than through explicit theological instruction. Members may therefore affirm individual statements in isolation while denying the larger system those statements necessarily produce when held together.

Third, interpretive rules, such as reliance on commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences, are often treated as neutral “Bible reading methods” rather than as theological commitments. When the conclusions generated by these rules are made explicit, they may appear unfamiliar or extreme to those who have never examined the rules’ cumulative effect.

Fourth, there is often a sharp distinction made between what is said and what is meant. Language such as “saved by grace,” “faith in Christ,” or “not earning salvation” may be employed, while the operative definitions of grace, faith, works, and salvation differ substantially from those used in historic Christian theology. When those operative definitions are stated plainly, adherents may object to the wording despite agreeing with the underlying requirements.

Fifth, long-term immersion within the system can normalize its assumptions to such an extent that alternative Christian formulations are perceived as vague, dangerous, or unscriptural. In this context, the system itself may become invisible to those within it, appearing instead as simple obedience to “what the Bible says.”

Finally, because identity, community belonging, and faithfulness are often closely tied to adherence to the system, recognizing its theological distinctiveness may feel destabilizing or threatening. Denial or minimization can therefore function as a protective response rather than an analytical one.

For these reasons, disagreement with this document should not be assumed to reflect dishonesty or malice. However, such disagreement does not, by itself, invalidate the accuracy of the theological synthesis presented here.

Certain theological subjects cannot be articulated with the same level of creedal precision due to acknowledged variation among congregations. Doctrines such as the Trinity, Assurance, Justification, the nature of heaven and hell, and related metaphysical questions are often affirmed in general terms while being defined differently, emphasized unevenly, or deliberately left underdeveloped in practice.

In some congregations these matters are addressed explicitly, while in others they are minimized, avoided, or treated as secondary to the operational requirements of the System of Faith. These topics function more as tolerated ranges of belief, provided they do not interfere with the prescribed plan of salvation, worship pattern, or fellowship boundaries. Their limited treatment should not be interpreted as denial, but as an accurate reflection of the way such doctrines are frequently handled across congregational contexts. Variability at the congregational level should therefore be understood as variation in presentation, not as theological neutrality or doctrinal openness.

Each congregation may differ in outward expression or interpretive emphasis; however, the underlying doctrines governing the plan of salvation and the authorized acts of worship remain fixed and controlling across congregations.

Explanation of Sources Used to Form This Document

This document was developed through a combination of historical research, doctrinal analysis, and firsthand testimony. No single source, historical, textual, or experiential, was treated as sufficient on its own. Instead, the creed represents a synthesis of what is taught, assumed, required, and enforced within the Churches of Christ across time.

Primary historical sources include the writings, sermons, debates, and periodicals of Restoration Movement leaders such as Alexander Campbell, Thomas Campbell, Barton W. Stone, and Walter Scott. These writings are foundational because they articulate the system that later generations inherited, even where terminology has evolved.

Contemporary teaching materials were also examined. These include sermon outlines, Bible class curricula, Plan of Salvation charts, tracts, gospel meeting themes, elder position statements, and commonly repeated instructional phrases. These materials demonstrate how nineteenth-century theology continues to function in modern congregations, often under updated language while retaining the same structural assumptions.

Observed congregational practice was treated as theological evidence. What a church enforces reveals its actual doctrine more clearly than what it merely claims. Practices such as fellowship boundaries, disciplinary procedures, requirements for baptism, restrictions on worship, limitations on acceptable teaching, and responses to dissent were evaluated alongside formal teaching. Doctrine that is enforced functions as doctrine, whether or not it is formally articulated.

Testimonies of former members constitute a critical and irreplaceable category of source material. These testimonies include individuals raised within the Churches of Christ, members of long-standing families, former preachers, elders’ children, Bible class teachers, and those subjected to correction, withdrawal, or discipline. Their accounts provide insight into how doctrine operates in lived reality rather than in abstract description.

Former members are often the only ones capable of describing implicit teachings, assumptions that are rarely stated outright but are nonetheless required for acceptance, faithfulness, and salvation. These include how doubt is treated, how disagreement is framed, how fear functions pedagogically, and how authority is exercised informally. When similar accounts arise independently across different regions, decades, and congregations, they indicate a system rather than isolated incidents.

Testimony was not treated as authoritative simply because it is personal. It was evaluated for consistency, corroboration, and alignment with historical sources, published doctrine, and observable practice. Where testimony conflicted with written claims but aligned with enforced behavior, enforcement was treated as the more accurate indicator of belief.

Historical and theological sources outside the Restoration Movement were consulted to evaluate claims of uniqueness, restoration, and continuity. These include early church history, Reformation theology, and pre-Restoration dissenting movements. Such sources are necessary to assess whether doctrines presented as “simply biblical” are in fact historically situated interpretations.

It is acknowledged that many within the Churches of Christ are taught to distrust outside religious or historical sources and to regard former members’ testimony as biased or spiritually compromised. This posture itself was treated as a data point, since information control and dismissal of dissent play a role in preserving doctrinal systems.

This creed is not based on any single congregation, publication, or personality. It reflects patterns that recur across conservative Churches of Christ where authority, salvation, and fellowship are closely guarded through appeals to the New Testament pattern.

Glossary of Terms

Ancient Order – The presumed first-century arrangement of doctrine, worship, church organization, and conversion practices, reconstructed from the New Testament, especially Acts, and treated as a binding blueprint to be restored and precisely followed.
Antichrist – Anyone who denies the Father and the Son, especially by denying that Jesus Christ truly and literally came in the flesh. This term applies primarily to apostate Christians who abandon the true faith while still claiming religious authority.
Apostasy – Loss of salvation through doctrinal error, moral failure, or abandonment of correct practice.
Apostolic Testimony – The recorded words and actions of the apostles in Scripture, treated as authoritative evidence establishing the required conditions, order, and practices for valid conversion, worship, and church life.
Approved Example – Recorded actions of Jesus or the apostles in the New Testament that are interpreted as divinely sanctioned models and therefore binding patterns for belief, worship, church organization, and conversion.
Assurance – Confidence derived from continued obedience, not from Christ’s finished work or inward witness.
Authority – Scripture as interpreted through approved rules of command, example, and inference.
Buried in Baptism – The act of being fully immersed beneath the water in baptism, understood as a literal and necessary reenactment of Jesus Christ’s burial. This burial is not symbolic only, but constitutes an essential part of the divinely prescribed response to the gospel. Being buried with Christ occurs exclusively through immersion and marks the moment when the old life of sin is put to death and the individual enters into Christ.
Christian – One who has been obedient to the Gospel of the New Testament Pattern and has baptized for the remission of sins only according to the correct understanding.
Christian Unity – Uniformity of belief, interpretation, and practice.
Conscience – Valid only when aligned with accepted interpretation. Personal conscience must yield to doctrinal conclusions.
Confession – A verbal acknowledgment of belief in Jesus as the Son of God, required as part of the conversion sequence, and used as evidence of doctrinal understanding rather than as a personal testimony of faith.
Conversion – Completion of the prescribed steps culminating in baptism.
Creed – A human-authored statement of belief that is rejected in principle as divisive and unauthorized, yet functionally replaced by unwritten doctrinal conclusions enforced through teaching, discipline, and fellowship boundaries.
Denomination – Apostate congregations that deviated from the New Testament Church and refuse to return to the correct doctrine and worship practice. Uniform doctrine and mutual recognition are not considered denominationalism.
Faith – Mental belief that motivates obedience; not salvific on its own. Faith is not trust, assurance, or inward confidence apart from obedience.
False Teaching – Any teaching deviating from accepted interpretations of Scripture, even when citing the Bible.
Fellowship – Spiritual association limited to those who meet doctrinal and practical requirements and may be withdrawn for error.
Grace – God’s provision that allows salvation if the correct conditions are met. Grace is not unmerited favor applied directly to sinners apart from obedience.
Heresy – Any teaching that deviates from approved interpretations, especially regarding worship, baptism, or church organization.
Love – Correcting error, enforcing discipline, and withdrawing fellowship when necessary.
Necessary Inference – A conclusion deemed logically unavoidable within the system. Disagreeing with an accepted inference is treated as rejecting biblical authority.
Obedience – Compliance with God’s commands as interpreted by the restored pattern. Obedience is a condition of salvation and its continuation.
Obeying the Gospel – Responding correctly to gospel facts by belief, repentance, confession, baptism, and continued obedience. Failure at any point constitutes disobedience.
Pattern – A divinely mandated blueprint for worship, organization, and practice that must be precisely followed.
Plain Reading The Bible – refers to interpreting Scripture according to the surface meaning of the text as filtered through the accepted hermeneutical framework of command, approved example, and necessary inference (CENI).
Priesthood of Believers – Allows access to God but not independent interpretation or dissent.
Remaining Faithful – Continuing in correct belief, worship, conduct, and association throughout life. Failure results in loss of salvation.
Salvation – A conditional status entered through obedience and maintained through doctrinal and moral correctness.
Saving Faith – Correct intellectual understanding of Gospel Facts followed by the required response. Faith that lacks correct knowledge or obedience is invalid and condemning.
Scriptural – explicitly authorized by the New Testament through a command, approved example, or necessary inference. A belief or practice is considered scriptural only if it can be demonstrated directly from the text of Scripture using the accepted interpretive method.
Silence of Scripture – Treated as prohibition, not permission.
Testimony – A verbal statement or account used to demonstrate one’s understanding of the gospel and obedience to it, particularly as evidence that baptism was performed with correct knowledge, intent, and sequence.
The Body of Christ – The one true church, made up of all people who have obeyed the gospel and been baptized. Christ is the head, and members are joined to the body through obedience. The body exists today as faithful local congregations that follow the New Testament pattern.
The Church – The body of people who have been correctly baptized, hold correct doctrine, worship correctly, and remain faithful. The church is the saved condition.
The Churches of Christ – Not as a sect among many, but as the visible expression of the biblical church, united by common doctrine, worship, and submission to scriptural authority as properly interpreted.
The Gospel – A fixed set of facts, namely Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, plus the divinely required response. The message that must be obeyed, not merely believed; effectively incomplete until baptism occurs.
The Lord’s Church – The one true church established by Christ, made up of people who have obeyed the gospel and been baptized according to the New Testament. It exists today in faithful congregations that follow the apostolic pattern, with Christ as the head and the Bible as the only authority.
The New Testament Pattern – A precise blueprint for the church, worship, doctrine, and salvation derived from commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences.
The One True Church – Only congregations adhering to the restored pattern constitute the true church, regardless of sincerity elsewhere. The One True Church preaches the Gospel Facts plus the appropriate response and is identified by the correct Acts of Worship, done correctly and according to the New Testament Pattern.
The Plan of Salvation – A fixed sequence of steps that must be understood, believed, and obeyed exactly.
The System of Faith – The complete and binding structure of doctrine, worship, organization, salvation, and conduct revealed in the New Testament. Salvation exists only within this system.
The System of Grace – The arrangement God put in place through Christ that allows salvation to be accessed by meeting specified conditions.
Walking in the Light – Living in ongoing conformity to the system of faith.
Works – Human actions, except those commanded by God; commanded actions are reclassified as obedience, not works.
Worship – Specific acts performed in the approved manner; deviation risks invalid worship

THE CAMPBELLITE CHURCH OF CHRIST CREED

On The One True New Testament Church

We believe the original church established by Christ in the first century fell into widespread apostasy shortly after the apostolic age.

We believe this apostasy resulted in the rise of Roman Catholicism, later Protestant denominations, and various human traditions foreign to the New Testament pattern.

We believe the true church did not cease to exist entirely, but faithful Christians practicing the pattern have always existed, though often obscured or unnamed in history.

We believe the Restoration Movement was not a new church, but a return to primitive Christianity, clearing away accumulated error.

We believe we are not a denomination because we are the One True Church and are not affiliated with apostate groups that do not worship according to the New Testament Pattern.

We believe the goal of restoration is not reforming doctrine, but restoring exact practice according to Scripture.

We believe the success of restoration is measured by conformity to the New Testament pattern, not by historical continuity or catholicity.

On The Restorers

We believe we are not a denomination and have no human founder, despite identifiable historical origins and theological development.

We believe Alexander Campbell, Thomas Campbell, Barton W. Stone, Walter Scott, and others were instruments used by God to recover the original gospel and the original church as revealed in the New Testament.

We believe these men did not invent new doctrines, nor borrow theological systems from prior sects, but correctly identified and articulated biblical truths long neglected, obscured, or corrupted by post-apostolic tradition.

We believe their writings, debates, sermons, and publications provide reliable guidance in understanding Scripture and restoring the church to its New Testament form.

We believe that while these men were not inspired apostles or prophets, their conclusions are substantially correct, authoritative in substance, and normative for the restoration of New Testament Christianity.

We believe disagreement with their restored conclusions often reflects misunderstanding, prejudice, attachment to human tradition, or resistance to biblical authority.

On Claims of Prior Similar Movements

We believe that various groups preceding the Restoration Movement, including the Glasites, Sandemanians, the Haldane brothers, and certain independent Scottish Baptist congregations are sometimes cited as evidence that the restored church already existed in identifiable form prior to the nineteenth century.

We believe such groups may have held isolated truths, practices, or critiques of established religion, but did not follow the New Testament pattern in its entirety, nor restore the gospel in its proper order, completeness, or purity.

We believe similarity in outward practices or partial agreement in doctrine does not constitute restoration, unless accompanied by full conformity to the apostolic pattern in doctrine, worship, organization, and terms of fellowship.

We believe these prior groups failed to restore the church fully because they retained errors in doctrine, incomplete understandings of the gospel, improper emphases, or unauthorized practices, and therefore cannot be regarded as embodiments of the restored New Testament church.

On the Distinctiveness of the Restoration

We believe the Restoration Movement differs from all preceding reform efforts in that it sought not partial reform, isolated correction, or reaction against error, but the complete restoration of the ancient order of Christianity as revealed in Scripture.

We believe the recovery of New Testament Christianity occurred not through historical succession, institutional continuity, or sectarian lineage, but through the clear articulation and correct arrangement of biblical truth as rediscovered through honest and rational inquiry into Scripture.

We believe that prior movements, however sincere, lacked either the correct understanding of the gospel, the proper order of obedience, or the full pattern of church organization, and therefore do not invalidate the necessity or uniqueness of the Restoration.

We believe the existence of earlier groups with partial resemblance does not diminish the Restoration, but instead confirms that truth, though long obscured, may surface imperfectly until fully restored according to the New Testament standard.

We believe the Restoration Movement represents the first successful and comprehensive recovery of the apostolic gospel and church since the apostolic age, not by inheritance from prior sects, but by submission to Scripture alone.

On the Return to Primitive Christianity

We believe that Christianity, as inaugurated by Jesus Christ and practiced by the apostles in the New Testament, is complete, sufficient, and uniquely authoritative for all times and places. We reject every attempt to modify, improve, supplement, or modernize the faith through human inventions, creeds, traditions, or ecclesiastical institutions not authorized in Scripture.

We believe that all elements of Christian doctrine, worship, discipline, and church order must be derived exclusively from the written testimony of the apostles and prophets contained in the New Testament.

We believe that primitive Christianity is not a vague aspiration or symbolic ideal but a definite and intelligible pattern revealed through apostolic teaching and practice. Restoration is not reform, which presumes Christianity requires improvement, but a return to the original form, to the ancient order of things as instituted by Christ and exemplified by His apostles.

We believe that all forms of religious authority outside Scripture, including ecclesiastical hierarchies, councils, synods, conventions, and denominational boards, are foreign to the New Testament model. Primitive Christianity recognizes Christ alone as the head of the church and the local congregation acting by scriptural command, without clerical superstructures or delegated religious power.

We believe that the pattern of worship, discipline, and governance practiced in the first-century church constitutes the only legitimate model for the church in every age. We therefore reject all innovations not explicitly authorized in Scripture, including extra-biblical sacraments, professionalized clergy as a distinct ruling class, hierarchical authority structures, and denominational identities that impose beliefs or practices beyond the apostolic testimony.

We believe that the restoration of the ancient order of Christianity is not optional but indispensable to the church’s faithfulness, unity, and obedience to Christ. To restore the ancient order is to bring every congregation of believers into full conformity with the New Testament standard, discarding whatever conflicts with, adds to, or is absent from the apostolic revelation.

On Creeds, Catechisms, and Confessions

We believe the New Testament alone constitutes the complete, sufficient, and final rule of faith and practice, and that no post-apostolic creed, confession, or catechism possesses binding authority over the church.

We believe all human authored creeds and confessions are inherently fallible and therefore must not be used as standards of doctrine, tests of fellowship, or instruments of church unity.

We believe the use of written creeds, catechisms, or confessional statements as authoritative theological summaries constitutes an addition to Scripture and a substitution for direct biblical teaching.

We believe the church of the New Testament recognized no creed but Christ, no confession but faith in Him, and no rule of faith beyond the apostolic writings.

We believe requiring assent to creeds or confessions violates Christian liberty and imposes human tradition where God has not spoken.

We believe creeds historically function to formalize theological speculation, entrench denominational identity, and enforce interpretations not explicitly stated in Scripture.

We believe the correct response to doctrinal disagreement is not creedal formulation, but a return to the plain teaching of Scripture using commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences.

We believe the New Testament pattern must be restored directly from Scripture rather than reconstructed through post biblical theological systems.

We therefore reject all creeds, confessions, and catechisms as sources of doctrinal authority, while recognizing that informal doctrinal summaries may exist insofar as they merely restate Scripture and do not function authoritatively.

On The Bible

We believe the Bible alone is authoritative in all matters of faith and practice, and that it must be interpreted according to commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences, commonly known as CENI, a method articulated and systematized by Alexander Campbell and consistently applied by later restorers.

We believe the Holy Scriptures are the Divine Oracles of God, verbally inspired, infallible in purpose, and fully sufficient to reveal God’s will to humanity without the aid of creeds, traditions, or ecclesiastical interpretation.

We believe the New Testament provides a complete and binding pattern, often called the System of Faith, for doctrine, worship, church organization, and salvation, and that deviation from this system constitutes departure from apostolic Christianity.

We believe the book of Acts functions as the authoritative historical model for the implementation of the gospel and the establishment of the church, demonstrating in concrete form how the System of Faith is to be obeyed and embodied.

We believe public error requires public correction to protect the congregation.

On the Principles of Biblical Interpretation

We believe Scripture must be interpreted according to fixed and rational rules, and not according to personal feeling, mystical illumination, ecclesiastical tradition, or theological speculation.

We believe the Bible is a book of divine facts rather than human opinions, abstract theories, or philosophical definitions, and that biblical doctrine consists in the proper understanding of those revealed facts.

We believe words in Scripture must be understood according to their common and natural usage, unless the context clearly requires a figurative or symbolic meaning.

We believe no interpretation may be drawn from Scripture that contradicts the plain sense of the text, the immediate context, or the broader testimony of Scripture rightly understood.

We believe nothing may be required as an article of faith, term of communion, or act of worship unless it is expressly taught or necessarily implied in the New Testament.

We believe necessary inference, when legitimately drawn from Scripture, is as binding as explicit command or approved example, and carries equal authority.

We believe the meaning of Scripture is determined by what God has revealed, not by what interpreters feel, experience, or assume beyond the text.

We believe the Bible is clear, intelligible, and self-interpreting to those who approach it with the proper moral disposition and correct method.

We believe a sound understanding of Scripture requires humility, singleness of aim, and sincere desire to know and obey the will of God, and that pride, love of preeminence, and attachment to human authority hinder understanding.

We believe faith arises from testimony rather than inward experience, and that certainty in matters of faith is attainable through proper attention to the divine record.

We believe disagreement in interpretation most often arises not from obscurity in Scripture, but from improper disposition, faulty method, or resistance to the authority of the Divine Oracles.

We believe the silence of Scripture is prohibitive rather than permissive, and that whatever is not authorized by command, approved example, or necessary inference is forbidden in the worship, doctrine, and organization of the church.

We believe to go beyond what is written is to substitute human wisdom for divine authority, and to abandon the ancient order of Christianity.

On The Old and New Testaments

We believe the Holy Scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments in the original Hebrew and Greek, constitute a full, complete, and perfect revelation of God and His will, adapted to humanity as it presently exists.

We believe all genuine spiritual understanding is derived from the Scriptures, and that human reason, philosophy, or conscience cannot produce independent spiritual truth apart from the Divine Oracles.

We believe the Scriptures do not primarily address humanity in speculative, philosophical, scientific, political, or metaphysical terms, but speak to humanity as it is and as it ought to be in moral and religious character.

We believe the Bible communicates divine truth chiefly through historical testimony rather than abstract theory, and that faith is produced by testimony to facts rather than by philosophical reasoning or inward experience.

We believe the Old and New Testaments together reveal God’s dealings with humanity through recorded events, promises, commands, and prophetic anticipations, and that doctrine arises from the proper understanding of these revealed facts.

We believe history and prophecy comprise the principal form of divine revelation, and that religion properly springs from belief in what God has done, revealed, and promised, rather than from speculation or theological abstraction.

We believe the unity of the Old and New Testaments consists not in a single law, but in a single divine purpose progressively revealed and finally completed in the New Testament.

We believe the Old Testament serves as preparatory revelation, providing historical context, moral instruction, and prophetic anticipation, while the New Testament provides the final and binding expression of God’s will under the Christian Age.

On the Ages of Revelation

We believe God revealed His will to humanity in successive ages, each governed by its own covenantal arrangement, authority, and requirements.

We believe these ages are properly identified as the Patriarchal Age, the Mosaic Age, and the Christian Age, and that failure to distinguish between these ages results in doctrinal confusion and disobedience to God’s revealed will.

We believe each age was authoritative in its proper time, but only the Christian Age remains binding upon humanity today.

On the Patriarchal Age

We believe the Patriarchal Age extended from creation until the giving of the Law of Moses, during which God governed humanity through direct revelation to heads of households.

We believe obedience during this age was rendered according to divine instruction given at the time, and that faith was demonstrated through compliance with God’s commands as revealed.

We believe this age has ceased and is no longer authoritative, and that its commands and practices are not binding under the present covenant.

On the Mosaic Age and the Old Law

We believe the Mosaic Age began with the giving of the Law through Moses and constituted a covenant given specifically to the nation of Israel.

We believe the Old Testament Law was a covenant of works, including commands, sacrifices, ordinances, and statutes, intended to govern Israel and to point forward to Christ.

We believe obedience under the Old Law was required for temporal blessing and covenant standing before God, but could not provide eternal salvation apart from faith in the promised Messiah.

We believe the Old Law included moral, ceremonial, and civil regulations, all of which were fulfilled and rendered obsolete by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe the Old Law has been abolished and is no longer binding upon Christians in any form.

On the Christian Age and the New Law

We believe the Christian Age began on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in the book of Acts, with the proclamation of the gospel and the establishment of the church.

We believe the New Testament constitutes the New Law of Christ, a covenant of grace administered through what is commonly called the System of Faith.

We believe obedience to the New Law is required for salvation, including agreement with and belief of the gospel facts, repentance from sin understood as a return to the New Testament pattern, confession of faith by verbally restating, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:37), baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sins only, and continued faithful obedience to the New Testament pattern.

We believe the New Law replaces the Old Law not in purpose, but in means, salvation is now accessed through obedient participation in the gospel rather than through the works of Moses.

We believe the moral principles reflected in the Old Law may serve as instruction and illustration, but possess no binding authority apart from their reaffirmation within the New Testament.

We believe the New Law provides the complete and final pattern for doctrine, worship, church organization, and the conditions of salvation.

We believe failure to obey the New Law places one outside the saved condition, regardless of knowledge, sincerity, or professed faith in Christ apart from obedience.

We believe all believers must understand the distinction between the Old and New Laws in order to rightly submit to God’s revealed plan and to avoid the error of trusting in obsolete covenantal requirements.

On the Kingdom of God, the Tabernacle, and the Body

We believe the kingdom of God is now realized on earth and exists wherever Christ reigns through submission to His revealed will.

We believe the church constitutes the present manifestation of the kingdom of God, such that to be in the church is to be in the saved condition, and to be outside the church is to be outside the kingdom and therefore outside salvation.

We believe the church is the body of Christ, instituted by the Lord Himself, separated from the world, and constituted as a distinct community possessing laws, ordinances, manners, and customs immediately derived from Christ as its Head, King, Lord, and Lawgiver.

We believe the true church is composed only of those who publicly acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior, who are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, who associate under the constitution authorized in the New Testament, and who walk in the ordinances and commandments of Christ, and of none else.

We believe the kingdom of God consists of one body composed of many local congregations, each equally constituted according to the same apostolic charter, walking by the same rules, enjoying the same salvation, and owing allegiance to no other community but Christ alone.

We believe God has always governed His people by revealed patterns, and that just as Moses was strictly warned not to deviate from the pattern shown on the mountain, Christians are equally bound not to deviate from the New Testament pattern revealed through Christ and His apostles.

We believe the construction of the tabernacle under Moses provides the controlling analogy for understanding how God’s people must order worship, service, and covenant faithfulness, demonstrating that obedience to divinely revealed form is essential to remaining in right standing with God.

We believe the church is the New Testament tabernacle, established as the dwelling place of God among His people, and constructed according to a precise and divinely revealed blueprint, just as the tabernacle was built according to the pattern shown to Moses.

We believe the ordinances, worship, doctrine, and moral statutes of the church are divinely fixed and immutable, and that no individual or congregation may alter, add to, or remove them without presuming to touch what God has made sacred.

We believe Jesus Christ, acting through His apostles, delivered the exact and binding pattern for the church’s doctrine, worship, organization, and terms of entrance, and that this pattern constitutes the law of the kingdom under the Christian Age.

We believe faithfulness to God under the New Covenant consists in continued conformity to this revealed pattern, and that deviation from the New Testament order constitutes disobedience to Christ’s kingship.

We believe salvation is therefore maintained through obedient participation in the life of the church as structured according to the New Testament pattern, just as Israel maintained covenant standing through faithful adherence to the tabernacle system under the Old Law.

We believe cooperation among congregations within the one body of Christ is essential to the advancement of the kingdom, provided such cooperation does not alter or interfere with any element of the divinely instituted order of the church.

On Original Sin

We believe sin entered the world through the disobedience of the first man, Adam, but that guilt for sin is not inherited by his descendant.

We believe every person is born innocent and perfect before God and does not bear moral guilt, condemnation, or accountability at birth.

We believe human beings are created in the image of God and possess moral capacity, rational ability, and freedom of will to choose obedience or disobedience.

We believe a person becomes a sinner only when he or she personally commits sin through conscious and accountable choice.

We believe a sinful nature is not inherited at birth, but develops through repeated acts of disobedience and the formation of sinful habits.

We believe each person is individually accountable to God and will be judged solely on the basis of his or her own actions and personal response to God’s revealed will.

We reject the doctrine that Adam’s guilt is imputed to all humanity or that mankind is born under divine condemnation.

We reject the teaching that human beings inherit a corrupted nature that renders them incapable of obedience prior to personal sin.

We believe sin is universal because all people eventually choose to sin, not because guilt, corruption, or moral inability is transmitted from one generation to another.

On Sin

We believe sin is any action, belief, practice, or omission that deviates from God’s revealed will as expressed in the New Testament pattern.

We believe sin is defined not only by immoral conduct, but by doctrinal error, unauthorized worship, incorrect belief, improper practice, or failure to conform to the System of Faith.

We believe sin includes both acts of commission and acts of omission, including the failure to perform required acts of obedience or worship.

We believe sin is not limited to personal moral wrongdoing, but includes holding, teaching, tolerating, or associating with false doctrine or unauthorized practice.

We believe ignorance of God’s revealed will does not excuse sin once the truth has been made available, and that responsibility increases with knowledge.

We believe sincerity does not mitigate sin, excuse disobedience, or alter God’s requirements.

We believe sin separates an individual from the saved condition and places the soul in danger of condemnation.

We believe sin may occur through incorrect belief, wrong confession, improper baptism, deviation from the New Testament pattern, or failure to remain faithful.

We believe doctrinal error is a form of sin equal in seriousness to moral transgression, and often more dangerous because of its capacity to mislead others.

We believe participation in unauthorized worship or fellowship constitutes sin, even when motivated by good intentions.

We believe continued sin after knowledge of the truth results in forfeiture of salvation unless repentance and correction occur.

We believe repentance from sin requires more than regret or sorrow, and consists of abandoning error, correcting belief and practice, and returning to conformity with the New Testament pattern.

We believe forgiveness of sin is granted only through obedience to the gospel, initially at baptism for the remission of sins, and subsequently through repentance and renewed submission to the System of Faith.

We believe unrepented sin, whether moral or doctrinal, results in loss of fellowship with God and the church.

We believe persistent sin necessitates correction, discipline, and, when required, withdrawal of fellowship to preserve purity and call the sinner to repentance.

We believe sin is ultimately lawlessness, defined by failure to submit fully and continually to God’s revealed authority as expressed in the New Testament.

On the Redemptive Plan of God

We believe God’s redemptive plan consists in restoring humanity to a right relationship with Himself through obedience to the gospel as revealed in the New Testament.

We believe this plan was prepared in the Old Testament, announced by Christ, and fully revealed through the apostles following the establishment of the church.

We believe redemption is accomplished by God through Christ, but is applied to individuals only upon their obedient response to the gospel according to the New Testament pattern.

We believe the gospel consists of divinely revealed facts to be believed, commands to be obeyed, and promises to be received, and that faith is properly defined as agreement with these revealed facts.

We believe entry into the redeemed condition occurs through belief of the gospel facts, repentance from sin understood as turning to the New Testament pattern, confession of faith, and baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sins.

We believe redemption is maintained through continued faithful obedience to the New Testament pattern, including proper worship, correct doctrine, and faithful participation in the church.

We believe Christ reigns as King over His kingdom through His law, and that submission to His authority is expressed through conformity to the apostolic pattern delivered in the New Testament.

We believe deviation from the revealed plan of redemption constitutes disobedience to Christ and places one outside the saved condition.

We believe the church exists as the visible community of the redeemed, charged with preserving the purity of the gospel, maintaining the New Testament order, and calling all people to submit to God’s redemptive plan.

On the Restored New Testament Church

We believe Jesus Christ established one true church in the first century, and that this church continues today only where it conforms in all essential respects to the New Testament pattern.

We believe the New Testament church is the divinely established body of Christ, called out of the world and organized according to the exact pattern revealed in the New Testament.

We believe the apostles, acting under divine authority, recorded this complete and binding blueprint for the church in the New Testament through commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences.

We believe faithfulness to Christ requires strict adherence to this revealed pattern, and that departure from it constitutes disobedience to Christ’s authority.

We believe the church is composed exclusively of those who have obeyed the gospel according to the New Testament pattern, including belief of the gospel facts, repentance, confession of faith, and baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sins with correct understanding, and not merely those who profess belief in Christ.

We believe continued membership in the church depends upon continued faithfulness and obedience to the New Testament order, and that salvation is forfeited upon leaving the one true church through doctrinal error, unfaithfulness, or rebellion against the revealed pattern.

We believe the mission of the church is to preserve, defend, and proclaim the System of Faith, maintaining doctrinal purity, proper worship, and correct practice as revealed in the Divine Oracles.

On The System of Grace

We believe grace is God’s provision of salvation through the establishment of a divinely ordered system, rather than an unconditional or immediate saving act applied apart from obedience.

We believe the System of Grace consists in God’s arrangement whereby salvation is made available through specific, revealed conditions rather than through human merit or effort.

We believe grace is the reason Jesus Christ died and was resurrected, in order to establish the System of Faith through which salvation is now administered.

We believe the System of Grace is conditional and is applied only when the divinely revealed conditions of the gospel are met.

We believe grace does not save directly, but makes salvation possible by providing the means, terms, and order by which salvation may be obtained.

We reject the teaching that grace operates independently of human response or is applied apart from obedience to the gospel.

On The System of Faith

We believe the System of Faith is the complete and binding New Testament arrangement governing doctrine, worship, salvation, and continued faithfulness.

We believe the System of Faith is not mere trust or reliance upon Christ’s finished work, but includes the divinely revealed Plan of Salvation.

We believe the System of Faith consists of belief in the gospel facts, repentance, confession of faith, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and continued faithful obedience.

We believe faith is not saving in itself, but is completed and perfected by obedience, and remains incomplete until the commanded acts are rendered.

We believe faith is a system to be entered and obeyed, not simply reliance upon Christ apart from submission to His commands.

We believe salvation occurs at baptism, not at belief alone.

We believe baptism by immersion is necessary for the forgiveness of sins and constitutes the moment one enters Christ and the saved condition.

We believe no one is saved prior to baptism, regardless of belief, repentance, or confession.

We believe justification within the System of Faith is conditional and ongoing, dependent upon continued faithfulness and obedience.

We believe assurance of salvation is not grounded in a completed act of justification, but is maintained through perseverance and continued conformity to the New Testament order.

On The Categories of Works

We believe salvation is not by works, meaning not by the Law of Moses or by human traditions, inventions, or merit.

We affirm the necessity of Works of Obedience, or commanded acts, as required by God in order to obtain salvation under the System of Faith.

We believe obedience within God’s revealed system does not constitute condemned works, because such obedience is commanded by God and required by the gospel.

We believe there are three kinds of works:

Works of Merit, including moral effort and fruits of the Spirit, which cannot save.

Works of Obedience, consisting of commanded acts required for salvation and continued faithfulness under the System of Faith.

Works of the Law, referring to commands of the Old Testament, which are no longer binding and cannot save.

We believe the apostle Paul’s condemnation of works refers only to Works of the Law or Works of Merit, and does not include Works of Obedience commanded by God.

We believe Works of Obedience, including those commanded in the Plan of Salvation and the Acts of Worship, are not works in the condemned sense, because they are acts of submission within God’s system rather than humanly devised efforts.

We believe doing what God commands in order to be saved does not constitute earning salvation, but is the proper means by which salvation is received according to the System of Faith.

On Fruits of the Spirit or Works of Merit

We believe the fruit of the Spirit refers to the visible moral outcomes produced by a life that walks according to the Spirit’s teaching as revealed in the New Testament.

We believe the fruit of the Spirit is the natural result of continued obedience to the gospel system, and not the cause of salvation nor evidence of unconditional justification.

We believe the singular term “fruit” describes a unified set of moral characteristics that must be present together, and that the absence of these characteristics indicates failure to properly walk according to the Spirit.

We believe the fruit of the Spirit does not result from an inward or immediate operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, but from setting the mind on spiritual things and conforming one’s life to the revealed will of God.

We believe believers do not produce the fruit of the Spirit through passive reliance or inward experience, but through deliberate effort to crucify the flesh, resist sinful desires, and obey the commands of Christ.

We believe walking by the Spirit requires continual discipline, submission, and adherence to the New Testament pattern, and that fruit results only where such obedience is present.

We believe love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are the moral characteristics that demonstrate continued faithfulness to Christ and proper alignment with the gospel system.

We believe these characteristics are not independent virtues to be selectively practiced, but collectively reflect whether one is faithfully walking according to the Spirit.

We believe the presence of this fruit serves as evidence of continued obedience and spiritual health, while the absence of such fruit reveals a serious spiritual failure requiring correction.

We believe the fruit of the Spirit is not a basis for pride, competition, or self-assurance, but a standard by which believers examine themselves and encourage one another to greater obedience and conformity.

We believe Christians are called to walk in step with the Spirit by maintaining correct belief, correct conduct, and correct adherence to the revealed pattern, working together to preserve faithfulness within the body.

On Works of Obedience

We believe Works of Obedience are divinely commanded actions required by God under the New Covenant and revealed within the New Testament System of Faith.

We believe Works of Obedience include all acts God has explicitly required in response to the gospel, including belief, repentance, confession, baptism, participation in authorized worship, and continued faithfulness.

We believe Works of Obedience are necessary conditions for salvation and are not optional expressions of gratitude or post-salvation fruit.

We believe Works of Obedience do not constitute works of merit, because they do not earn salvation but are required responses to God’s authority.

We believe Works of Obedience are not the “works” condemned by the apostle Paul, since Paul refers only to Works of the Law or humanly devised systems of righteousness.

We believe obedience commanded by God cannot be categorized as legalism, because obedience to divine law is the proper response to God’s revealed will.

We believe faith that does not result in Works of Obedience is incomplete, dead, and incapable of saving.

We believe Works of Obedience complete and perfect faith, rendering it effective for justification within the System of Faith.

We believe refusal to perform any commanded act of obedience constitutes rejection of the gospel and places the soul outside the saved condition.

We believe Works of Obedience must be performed with correct understanding and intent to be valid before God.

We believe obedience performed without correct doctrinal understanding does not fulfill God’s requirements and cannot result in salvation.

We believe Works of Obedience are required not only for entrance into salvation but for continued standing within the New Testament Church.

We believe failure to continue in Works of Obedience results in loss of salvation and separation from the saved body.

We believe Works of Obedience are the objective means by which individuals demonstrate submission to Christ’s authority as Lawgiver and Judge.

We believe salvation is obtained and maintained through continued obedience to the commands revealed in the New Testament, rather than through reliance on Christ’s finished work apart from obedience.

On Works of the Law

We believe Works of the Law refer specifically and exclusively to the commands, ordinances, and regulations of the Mosaic Law given to Israel under the Old Covenant.

We believe Works of the Law include circumcision, sabbath observance, dietary restrictions, sacrifices, feast days, ritual purity laws, and all other requirements unique to the Mosaic covenant.

We believe the Law of Moses was a temporary covenant, binding only upon Israel, and has been fulfilled, abolished, and set aside through the death of Jesus Christ.

We believe no part of the Mosaic Law is binding upon Christians today, either for justification, sanctification, worship, or moral authority, unless it is explicitly restated in the New Testament.

We believe Paul’s condemnation of justification by works refers specifically to Works of the Law and not to acts of obedience commanded under the New Covenant.

We believe when Scripture states that a person is not justified by works, it does not include baptism, repentance, confession, worship, or other acts commanded within the System of Faith.

We believe confusing Works of the Law with Works of Obedience results in doctrinal error and false accusations of legalism.

We believe attempting to bind any part of the Mosaic Law upon Christians today constitutes a denial of the sufficiency of the New Covenant and a misunderstanding of God’s redemptive plan.

We believe appeals to Old Testament practices, patterns, or regulations as authoritative apart from New Testament authorization are invalid and unscriptural.

We believe moral instruction may be drawn from the Old Testament for teaching and illustration, but no Old Testament command possesses binding authority unless reaffirmed in the New Testament.

We believe the rejection of Works of the Law does not eliminate obedience, but clarifies that obedience is now rendered exclusively under the Law of Christ.

We believe salvation is not obtained through Works of the Law, but through obedient participation in the New Testament System of Faith.

We believe failure to properly distinguish between the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ leads to confusion regarding grace, faith, works, and salvation.

On the Rejection of Faith Alone

We believe the doctrine commonly called “faith alone” or “salvation by faith only” is false, unscriptural, and dangerous to souls.

We believe faith alone, defined as trust or reliance on Christ apart from obedience to divinely commanded acts, is expressly denied by Scripture and cannot result in salvation.

We believe faith that does not include obedience to the gospel is incomplete, invalid, and condemning, regardless of sincerity or intensity of belief.

We believe the teaching that a person is saved at the moment of belief, prior to baptism, contradicts the New Testament pattern and nullifies the divinely revealed Plan of Salvation.

We believe faith alone separates belief from obedience in a way never authorized by God and falsely assures individuals of salvation while they remain outside the saved condition.

We believe Scripture consistently presents faith as something to be obeyed, completed, and perfected through action, not as a passive inward confidence or emotional trust.

We believe faith alone improperly defines faith as inward reliance, assurance, or subjective trust, rather than as correct understanding of gospel facts followed by submission to required commands.

We believe the doctrine of faith alone minimizes or denies the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins and therefore constitutes rejection of the gospel itself.

We believe faith alone elevates human interpretation over apostolic example by treating obedience as optional, evidentiary, or secondary rather than essential.

We believe faith alone confuses the distinction between condemned works and commanded obedience, falsely labeling obedience as “works” in order to dismiss God’s requirements.

We believe faith alone undermines the authority of the New Testament pattern by allowing salvation apart from conformity to the divinely revealed System of Faith.

We believe faith alone produces false assurance by grounding confidence in a moment of belief rather than in continued obedience and faithfulness.

We believe the doctrine of faith alone is incompatible with the teaching of Jesus, the preaching of the apostles, and the practice of the first-century church.

We believe faith alone contradicts the book of Acts, which consistently presents salvation as occurring only after obedient response, including baptism.

We believe faith alone redefines grace as unconditional favor rather than God’s provision of a system with defined conditions, thereby misrepresenting the nature of grace.

We believe faith alone promotes doctrinal error by separating salvation from the church, obedience, and the New Testament order.

We believe those who teach faith alone, even while using biblical language, proclaim a different gospel by removing or altering God’s required response.

We believe acceptance of faith alone places individuals outside the saved condition unless they repent of that belief and submit to the gospel as revealed in the New Testament.

We believe rejecting faith alone is necessary to preserve the integrity of the gospel, the authority of Scripture, and the conditional nature of salvation.

On God

We believe there is one God, eternal, infinite, immutable, and almighty, who is the Creator of heaven and earth, the Sustainer of all things, and the source of all life, light, and truth.

We believe God is one in being and divine nature, yet revealed through distinct personal manifestations, namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are each equally divine, though personally distinct, sharing one and the same divine essence.

We believe God is knowable through His word and His works, and that the being, character, and perfections of God are learned from divine revelation, creation, providence, and redemption, as these testify to His nature and attributes.

We believe God reveals Himself as Creator, Lawgiver, and Redeemer, and that in each of these roles His attributes are made known, as Creator displaying knowledge, wisdom, power, and goodness, as Lawgiver displaying justice, truth, and holiness, and as Redeemer displaying mercy, condescension, and love, all of which are infinite, eternal, and immutable.

We believe God’s will is made known through the Bible, and that true knowledge of God is attained through the correct understanding and faithful interpretation of the Holy Scriptures.

We believe God governs humanity through covenants administered according to revealed law, and that obedience to His commands is the proper and required response to His divine authority.

We believe God is holy and just, and therefore does not acquit the guilty apart from submission to His revealed will, showing mercy to those who love Him and keep His commandments.

We believe God’s grace is an expression of His mercy and goodness, yet is dispensed according to His sovereign will through divinely appointed means, the System of Grace, rather than applied unconditionally apart from obedience.

We believe God honors faith when it is expressed through obedience to His commands, and withholds the saving benefits of grace where obedience is lacking or incomplete.

On the Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit inspired the Holy Scriptures and revealed the complete and final will of God through the apostles and prophets.

We believe the Holy Spirit operates today only through the written Word of God, and not by direct or immediate action upon the human heart apart from Scripture.

We believe regeneration occurs through hearing, believing, and obeying the gospel as revealed in Scripture, and not through an inward or immediate work of the Spirit independent of the Word.

We believe the Spirit does not act directly upon individuals apart from the written Word, but accomplishes His work through instruction contained in the Divine Oracles.

We believe all conviction, instruction, sanctification, guidance, and assurance provided by the Holy Spirit are grounded exclusively in the written Word of God.

We believe feelings, impressions, inner experiences, claims of direct spiritual influence, inward illumination, or personal revelation apart from Scripture are unreliable and potentially deceptive.

We believe the present role of the Holy Spirit is limited to instructing believers through the Scriptures He inspired, and not to providing inward testimony or immediate revelation.

On Jesus Christ and His Teachings

We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, fully divine, sent by the Father into the world. We reject the Nicene Creed and do not affirm the traditional doctrine of the Trinity as defined by post-apostolic creeds.

We believe Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and perfectly fulfilled the will of God by keeping the Old Testament Law in its entirety, and that His obedience serves as the authoritative example for all who follow Him.

We believe Jesus Christ died on the cross to make salvation possible through the System of Faith, not to save anyone unconditionally.

We believe the death of Jesus Christ established the System of Grace, whereby God set forth the System of Faith through which salvation is now offered on the basis of faith and obedience.

We believe Jesus Christ did not complete salvation at the cross, but made provision for salvation through the gospel system revealed after His resurrection.

We believe the primary purpose of Christ’s work was the establishment of the New Covenant system, through which the terms, conditions, and pattern of salvation are revealed, rather than the once-for-all justification of sinners apart from obedience.

We believe Jesus Christ is the Lawgiver of the New Testament and the author and architect of the divinely revealed blueprint for doctrine, worship, church organization, and the conditions of salvation, as delivered through His apostles.

We believe the authority of Jesus Christ is exercised today through commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences recorded in Scripture, rather than directly through His finished work.

We believe the benefits of Christ’s atoning blood are applied only at the point of obedient faith, specifically baptism by immersion, and not prior to that act.

We believe Jesus Christ presently serves as advocate and mediator only for those who remain faithful to the New Covenant system, and that His advocacy is conditional upon continued obedience and perseverance in correct doctrine and practice.

We believe the lordship of Jesus Christ is demonstrated by obedience to His commands, especially those governing entrance into salvation.

We believe the teachings and parables of Jesus Christ primarily function to reveal moral obligations, required obedience, and the conditions for entrance into the kingdom of God.

We believe the parables of Jesus are intended to instruct hearers in accountability, obedience, and divine judgment, rather than to proclaim unconditional grace or salvation apart from compliance with God’s revealed will.

We believe when Jesus speaks of “doing the will of the Father,” He refers to conformity with the divinely revealed System of Faith, as articulated and implemented by the apostles.

We believe when Jesus contrasts hearing with doing, He emphasizes the necessity of obedience to specific commands as conditions of salvation, rather than mere profession of belief.

We believe Jesus’ warnings concerning judgment are directed toward those who fail to obey God’s revealed pattern, even when such persons profess faith or claim association with Him.

We believe Jesus’ parables of separation, exclusion, rejection, and loss teach that many sincere individuals will be condemned for failing to meet the required conditions established by God for entrance into the kingdom.

On Paul and the Teachings of the Apostles

We believe the apostles of Jesus Christ were divinely inspired, personally commissioned witnesses whose teachings constitute the final and binding authority for doctrine, salvation, worship, and church order.

We believe the apostles did not deliver independent or competing messages, but taught a single, unified System of Faith revealed by Christ and implemented through the New Testament.

We believe the writings of the apostles must be interpreted in harmony with one another and within the established New Testament pattern.

We believe the teachings of Paul the Apostle do not contradict the teachings of Jesus, Peter, James, John, or the other apostles, and therefore cannot be used to justify salvation apart from obedience.

We believe Paul did not teach justification by faith apart from obedience, but consistently affirmed the necessity of submitting to the gospel as revealed in the New Testament.

We believe Paul’s statements concerning justification “apart from works” refer only to Works of the Law of Moses or works of human merit, and do not exclude commanded acts of obedience within the System of Faith.

We believe Paul did not oppose baptism, but taught its necessity as part of obedient faith, including participation in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

We believe Paul was not saved on the road to Damascus, but only after submitting to baptism for the remission of sins.

We believe Paul’s conversion account demonstrates that belief, repentance, and sincerity alone do not constitute salvation apart from obedience.

We believe Paul taught that faith is brought to completion through obedience and that faith without obedience is incomplete and insufficient.

We believe Paul’s use of terms such as “grace,” “faith,” “works,” “justification,” and “righteousness” must be understood according to the System of Faith and not redefined apart from it.

We believe Paul did not teach assurance based on Christ’s finished work alone, but warned believers repeatedly about falling away through disobedience, error, or unfaithfulness.

We believe Paul taught conditional salvation that must be maintained through continued obedience, doctrinal faithfulness, and perseverance.

We believe Paul’s warnings concerning apostasy apply to baptized believers and demonstrate that salvation may be forfeited.

We believe the apostles collectively taught one gospel, one faith, one body, and one system of obedience, not multiple paths to salvation.

We believe apostolic teaching establishes binding doctrine rather than optional interpretation, and disagreement with apostolic conclusions constitutes rejection of divine authority.

We believe the authority of the apostles continues today through their recorded writings, which serve as the definitive guide for faithfulness under the New Covenant.

We believe all teaching, preaching, and interpretation must conform to the apostolic pattern preserved in the New Testament.

We believe deviation from apostolic teaching places one outside the System of Faith and therefore outside the saved condition.

On The Atonement

We believe the atonement refers to the act by which God’s righteous anger against sin is satisfied through divinely authorized action, so that fellowship with God may be lawfully restored.

We believe throughout Scripture, atonement is consistently connected with sin, divine wrath, and the stopping or removal of judgment when God’s prescribed conditions are met.

We believe Old Testament instances of atonement demonstrate that God’s wrath is not ignored or bypassed, but is appeased when obedience is rendered according to His revealed will.

We believe the Old Testament sacrificial system did not remove sin permanently, but provided temporary atonement that restrained God’s wrath when properly administered, and judgment followed when atonement was neglected.

We reject the idea that sins under the Old Covenant were merely “rolled forward” automatically, and affirm that God remembered sin annually and required repeated acts of atonement to avert judgment.

We believe Jesus Christ fulfilled all righteousness required by God and perfectly satisfied the demands of God’s System of Grace, thereby establishing the New Testament covenant.

We believe the primary purpose of Christ’s atoning work was not to unconditionally remove sin from individuals, but to institute the New Testament System of Faith by which forgiveness may now be lawfully granted.

We believe Christ’s death satisfied God’s justice in such a way that God could justly offer forgiveness according to specified conditions, without compromising His holiness.

We believe the atonement made salvation possible by providing the legal and covenantal basis for forgiveness, rather than securing salvation apart from human response.

We believe the benefits of Christ’s atonement are applied only when an individual properly understands, believes, and obeys the gospel according to the Plan of Salvation revealed in the New Testament.

We believe Christ’s blood is applied at the point of obedient faith, specifically baptism, and remains effective only so long as the individual continues faithfully within the System of Faith.

We reject the doctrine that Christ’s atonement automatically or unconditionally saves sinners apart from their compliance with God’s revealed conditions.

We reject the teaching that Christ’s work completed salvation at the cross in such a way that human obedience is rendered secondary, optional, or evidential only.

We believe the atonement does not remove human responsibility, but establishes the means by which individuals may lawfully obtain forgiveness by obedience to the gospel.

We believe misunderstanding the nature or purpose of the atonement results in false assurance and places souls in danger by separating forgiveness from obedience.

On Conversion

We believe conversion is not an inward, gradual, or experiential transformation, but a specific and identifiable transition from a lost condition to a saved condition accomplished through obedience to the New Testament Plan of Salvation.

We believe conversion consists of correct intellectual understanding of the gospel facts, acceptance of those facts as true, and submission to the divinely required steps of obedience revealed in Scripture.

We believe conversion begins with hearing and understanding the gospel message, including the facts concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ .

We believe conversion requires belief defined primarily as intellectual agreement with the gospel facts rather than personal trust or inward reliance upon Christ.

We believe conversion includes repentance, understood as a conscious decision to abandon error and submit to the New Testament pattern in belief and practice.

We believe conversion requires verbal confession of faith, specifically the acknowledgment that “Jesus Christ is the Son of God,” as an expression of agreement with the gospel facts .

We believe conversion is completed at baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, which constitutes the precise moment when forgiveness is granted and one enters the saved condition.

We believe no person is converted prior to baptism, regardless of belief, repentance, confession, sincerity, or religious devotion.

We believe conversion is invalid if any element of the Plan of Salvation is misunderstood, omitted, performed in the wrong order, or carried out with incorrect intent.

We believe conversion is not a work of God performed directly upon the heart, but a human response to God’s revealed system of salvation.

We believe emotional experiences, inward impressions, or claims of personal encounter with Christ do not constitute conversion and are unreliable indicators of salvation.

We believe conversion establishes one’s initial standing within the New Testament System of Faith, but does not guarantee final salvation apart from continued obedience.

We reject the teaching that conversion is accomplished solely by faith apart from obedience.

We reject the belief that conversion is a progressive process that unfolds over time apart from a clearly identifiable moment of obedient response.

We reject the doctrine that regeneration precedes or produces faith.

On Conscience

We believe conscience is the human faculty by which individuals recognize moral obligation, but that conscience itself is not an independent authority in matters of faith, doctrine, or practice.

We believe conscience must be instructed, corrected, and governed by the New Testament System of Faith as properly interpreted through the restored understanding of Scripture.

We believe a conscience that permits unauthorized doctrine or practice is misinformed and must be brought into conformity with God’s revealed pattern.

We believe sincerity of conscience does not justify error, excuse disobedience, or mitigate condemnation when one acts contrary to the System of Faith.

We believe conscience is subject to correction by Scripture and by congregational authority, particularly the oversight of elders charged with guarding doctrine and practice.

We believe acting according to personal conscience against established scriptural conclusions constitutes rebellion rather than faithfulness.

We believe conscience does not grant liberty to introduce, tolerate, or participate in unauthorized practices, even where Scripture is silent.

We believe appeals to conscience that challenge restored conclusions undermine unity and threaten the purity of the church.

We believe true freedom of conscience consists not in personal judgment, but in submission to God’s revealed will as expressed in the New Testament pattern.

We reject the teaching that conscience may function as a final arbiter where Scripture is disputed or unclear.

We reject the idea that individual discernment, personal conviction, or inward assurance may override doctrinal authority or congregational judgment.

We believe a properly trained conscience will align fully with the System of Faith and will submit willingly to correction, discipline, and instruction.

On Justification

We believe justification is not an instantaneous or purely declarative act of God apart from human response, but a conditional status granted only within the New Testament System of Faith.

We believe justification occurs at the precise point of obedient faith, specifically baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, when the gospel is correctly understood and obeyed.

We believe justification is not grounded in Christ’s righteousness alone, but in compliance with the divinely revealed conditions established by Christ.

We believe justification is not permanently secured at conversion, but remains conditional upon continued faithfulness, doctrinal correctness, and obedience to the New Testament pattern.

We believe justification may be forfeited through doctrinal error, unauthorized practice, neglect of required obedience, or departure from the System of Faith.

We believe justification is therefore reversible and must be continually maintained through faithful conformity to God’s revealed will.

On Sanctification

We believe sanctification is not a progressive inward transformation worked directly by the Holy Spirit apart from Scripture, but a practical process of conformity to the New Testament pattern through obedience.

We believe sanctification occurs as individuals submit their lives to the commands, examples, and necessary inferences of Scripture, as properly understood within the restored System of Faith.

We believe holiness consists in correct belief, correct practice, and separation from error, rather than in inward experience or mystical transformation.

We believe sanctification is demonstrated through visible obedience, doctrinal conformity, and continued submission to congregational authority.

We believe failure to maintain sanctification through obedience results in loss of standing before God and separation from fellowship.

We reject the teaching that sanctification is primarily the result of an internal work of grace independent of human obedience.

On Imputed Righteousness

We reject the doctrine of imputed righteousness, which teaches that Christ’s righteousness is credited to believers apart from their own obedience.

We believe Christ’s righteousness is not transferred or imputed to individuals, but rather provides the standard and system by which God evaluates obedience.

We believe righteousness is not a legal status granted apart from works of obedience, but a condition maintained through faithful compliance with God’s commands.

We believe God does not declare sinners righteous while they remain doctrinally or practically disobedient.\

We believe righteousness is therefore conditional, ongoing, and dependent upon continued faithfulness to the System of Faith.

We reject the teaching that believers stand before God clothed in Christ’s righteousness apart from their own continued obedience.

On Assurance of Salvation

We believe assurance of salvation is not guaranteed, normative, or absolute in this life.

We believe confidence in salvation apart from continual self-examination, obedience, and doctrinal correctness is presumptuous and spiritually dangerous .

We believe salvation may be lost through error in belief, failure in practice, neglect of required obedience, or departure from the New Testament pattern.

We believe assurance must be continually reassessed in light of one’s conformity to the System of Faith rather than resting upon past obedience or conversion experience.

We believe doubt, vigilance, and self-scrutiny are proper responses to the seriousness of salvation and help prevent apostasy.

We reject the doctrine that salvation is secure apart from continued obedience or that believers may possess unshakable assurance based solely on Christ’s finished work.

On the Plan of Salvation

We believe God has established a specific, divinely ordered Plan of Salvation within the New Testament System of Faith (Mark 16:15–16).

We believe salvation is administered through correct intellectual understanding of revealed gospel facts and proper obedience to the divinely prescribed response.

We believe saving faith is not an inward trust, personal reliance, or experiential confidence in Christ, but an intellectual conviction and agreement with the objective facts of the gospel as revealed in Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:1–4).

We believe faith consists primarily of correctly knowing, assenting to, and affirming the historical and doctrinal facts of the gospel, rather than resting in Christ’s finished work.

We believe emotional response, subjective experience, inward assurance, or personal relationship language are not components of saving faith and are unreliable indicators of salvation.

We believe the Plan of Salvation consists of identifiable steps that must be correctly understood, believed, and obeyed in the divinely revealed order (Acts 2:37–38).

We believe this Plan includes:

hearing the correct gospel (Romans 10:17),
intellectually believing the gospel facts (1 Corinthians 15:1–4),
repenting of sin by conforming to the New Testament pattern (Acts 26:20),
confessing faith in Christ through a prescribed verbal statement (Romans 10:9–10),
baptism by immersion for the remission of past sins (Acts 2:38),
and continued faithful obedience to the System of Faith (Revelation 2:10).

We believe confession consists of verbally stating, “I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God,” as the required intellectual affirmation preceding baptism (Acts 8:37).

We believe repentance is not primarily a change of heart or inner disposition, but a decision to submit intellectually and practically to the New Testament pattern and its required acts (Romans 6:17).

We believe salvation does not occur at belief, trust, or repentance, but only at the precise moment when baptism is correctly administered with proper intellectual understanding (Acts 22:16).

We believe correct understanding requires agreement with the Churches of Christ’s interpretation of the gospel facts and the required response to those facts (Galatians 1:6–9).

We believe faith based on incorrect doctrine, incomplete knowledge, or improper understanding of the gospel facts is invalid and results in condemnation, regardless of sincerity (John 8:24).

We believe sincerity, moral conduct, emotional belief, or subjective faith experiences cannot save apart from correct intellectual belief and precise obedience (Matthew 7:21–23).

We believe deviation from the Plan of Salvation, whether by incorrect belief, incorrect confession, incorrect baptism, or continued doctrinal error, places one outside the saved condition (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

On Baptism

We believe baptism by immersion in water is essential for the forgiveness of sins and is not optional, symbolic, or secondary to salvation.

We believe baptism is not a sign of salvation already received, but the divinely appointed act through which past sins only are forgiven and one enters Christ.

We believe baptism forgives sins committed prior to baptism and does not provide automatic or unconditional forgiveness for sins committed afterward.

We believe continued salvation after baptism is contingent upon continued obedience, faithfulness, and conformity to the New Testament System of Faith .

We believe baptism is the precise moment at which God forgives past sins, unites the individual with Christ, and adds the individual to the church, which alone constitutes the saved body.

We believe baptism has no saving efficacy apart from correct intellectual understanding of its purpose, namely, the remission of past sins and entrance into the New Testament System of Faith .

We believe baptism performed for reasons other than the forgiveness of past sins, including symbolism, testimony, church membership alone, obedience without understanding, or belief in prior salvation, is invalid and must be repeated.

We believe the validity of baptism depends not upon sincerity alone, but upon correct belief, correct purpose, correct understanding, and correct administration according to the restored pattern.

We believe any able-bodied male may administer baptism, regardless of education, title, clerical status, or age, provided he is a member of the Churches of Christ and was himself baptized according to the Plan of Salvation.

We believe baptism must be administered verbally “in the name of the Father,” in obedience to the command of Christ.

We believe this wording does not constitute agreement with or acceptance of the doctrine of the Trinity, but is an act of obedience to the command itself.

We believe baptism must be performed by immersion only, as sprinkling or pouring is unauthorized and does not conform to the New Testament pattern.

We believe no person is saved prior to baptism, regardless of belief, repentance, confession, sincerity, moral reform, or religious experience.

We believe denial of the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins, or denial of continued obedience after baptism, constitutes rejection of the gospel and places one outside the saved condition.

On the 5 Acts of Worship

We believe God has authorized specific and exclusive Acts of Worship to be practiced by the church, and that worship must be offered according to divine instruction rather than human preference (John 4:24).

We believe the authorized Acts of Worship include preaching, prayer, congregational singing, the Lord’s Supper, and giving, as revealed through apostolic command, approved example, and necessary inference (Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 16:1–2).

We believe preaching must consist of proclaiming the correct gospel as restored, understood, and taught by the Churches of Christ, without addition, subtraction, or doctrinal innovation (Galatians 1:8–9).

We believe preaching that emphasizes grace, assurance, or Christ’s finished work apart from required obedience misrepresents the gospel and constitutes false teaching (2 John 9).

We believe preaching serves to instruct, correct, rebuke, warn, and maintain conformity to the New Testament System of Faith, rather than to encourage emotional experience or personal interpretation.

We believe prayer must be offered according to scriptural example and authority and must conform to the revealed pattern of worship practiced by the early church .

We believe congregational singing must be vocal only and unaccompanied, as instrumental music in worship is unauthorized and therefore forbidden by silence of Scripture (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

We believe the Lord’s Supper must be observed every first day of the week, without exception, as a continuing ordinance of the New Testament church (Acts 20:7).

We believe the offering is authorized solely for the maintenance of the local congregation and its work, including teaching and limited benevolent functions expressly permitted by Scripture (1 Corinthians 16:1–2).

We believe the church treasury is not authorized for general charity, social welfare, or relief of the community at large, and that benevolence from the treasury is restricted by scriptural limitation.

We believe benevolence toward non-members and social aid are not primary functions of the church and must not replace or compete with the church’s central responsibility to preserve and proclaim the System of Faith.

On Why the 5 Acts of Worship Are Not Works

We believe the authorized Acts of Worship are not works of merit, because they do not earn salvation, generate righteousness, or obligate God beyond what He has freely promised.

We believe the Acts of Worship are not works of the Old Law, because the Law of Moses has been fulfilled and set aside, and these acts belong exclusively to the New Testament System of Faith.

We believe works condemned by Paul are either works of the Mosaic Law or works of human merit devised apart from divine authority, not acts commanded by Christ within the New Covenant.

We believe obedience to God’s commands within the New Testament system does not constitute earning salvation, but constitutes submission to the conditions God Himself has established.

We believe performing the authorized Acts of Worship does not place God in the worshiper’s debt, but rather places the worshiper in proper compliance with God’s revealed will.

We believe failure to perform the authorized Acts of Worship constitutes disobedience, not humility or reliance on grace.

We believe worship is an act of obedience required by God, not a human effort to merit favor, and therefore cannot be dismissed as legalism or self-righteousness.

We believe the distinction between condemned works and approved obedience is essential to preserving the integrity of the gospel and avoiding both legalism and antinomianism

On the Gospel

We believe the gospel consists of a fixed and objective set of historical facts revealed in Scripture, namely the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe these gospel facts must be correctly understood and intellectually affirmed in order to be savingly believed.

We believe the gospel is not merely a message to be trusted, but a command to be obeyed.

We believe obedience to the gospel requires a specific and divinely authorized response, including belief in the gospel facts, repentance, confession of faith, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and continued obedience thereafter.

We believe the gospel is incomplete when reduced to Christ’s work alone apart from the required human response.

We believe the benefits of the gospel are not applied unconditionally at the cross, but are accessed only through correct obedience to the gospel as revealed in the New Testament.

We believe preaching the gospel requires presenting both the gospel facts and the required response, and that omitting either constitutes preaching a false or incomplete gospel.

We believe any alteration of the gospel facts or the required response places one outside the saved condition.

We believe faith in the gospel that lacks correct understanding or correct obedience is invalid and condemning.

We believe the gospel is administered within the New Testament System of Faith and cannot be separated from the church, the Plan of Salvation, or the restored pattern.

We believe the gospel must be obeyed in the correct way, order, and understanding.

We believe the gospel is not merely a declaration of what Christ has done, but a divinely revealed system governing how salvation is obtained and maintained.

We believe Christ’s death made salvation possible, but did not itself save anyone apart from obedient faith.

We believe the gospel therefore functions as both divine testimony and divine law, demanding submission as well as belief.

On Fellowship

We believe fellowship is a spiritual relationship defined by shared obedience to the New Testament pattern, not by social association, personal affection, or informal interaction.

We believe fellowship exists only among those who are properly baptized, doctrinally sound, and faithfully obedient within the New Testament System of Faith.

We believe fellowship is not a matter of individual preference or personal conscience, but is regulated by scriptural authority and exercised under congregational oversight.

We believe social interaction among members is not synonymous with fellowship and is optional; in some congregations it is discouraged or forbidden altogether.

We believe some congregations permit limited social interaction only with prior elder approval, while others prohibit organized social interaction entirely; congregational autonomy permits variation in application, but not deviation from the underlying principle of restricted fellowship.

We believe church-sponsored social activities, including picnics, potlucks, recreational gatherings, or entertainment, are unauthorized and therefore sinful, as they lack command, approved example, or necessary inference.

We believe Vacation Bible Schools and similar programs are unauthorized innovations because they are not explicitly commanded or exemplified in the New Testament and therefore constitute additions to the divine pattern.

We believe organized social activities introduce worldly influence and distract from the spiritual mission of the church.

We believe the church is not authorized to provide food, recreation, or entertainment as part of its work, which belongs properly to the home and not to the congregation.

We believe any activity conducted under church oversight must be justified by command, approved example, or necessary inference, or else it stands condemned by silence of Scripture.

We believe failure to restrict fellowship risks doctrinal compromise and corrupts the purity of the congregation.

We believe fellowship must be withdrawn from members who deviate doctrinally or practically from the System of Faith.

We believe continued association with those under discipline constitutes participation in their error and places one’s own salvation at risk.

We believe restricting fellowship and withdrawing association are acts of love intended to preserve truth, maintain purity, and compel repentance.

We believe unity is preserved not through shared meals, social bonds, or cooperative activities, but through identical belief, identical practice, and submission to the New Testament pattern.

On the Upbringing of Children

We believe children must be trained from an early age to understand, accept, and obey the New Testament pattern as restored and taught within the church.

We believe religious instruction of children is not neutral, and that early exposure determines future faithfulness or apostasy.

We believe parents bear primary responsibility to ensure children are taught the correct gospel facts, the proper Plan of Salvation, and the necessity of obedience to the System of Faith.

We believe exposure to denominational teaching, alternative theological frameworks, or non–Churches of Christ interpretations of Scripture is spiritually dangerous and risks confusion, false assurance, and eventual departure from the truth.

We believe questioning the restored system most often arises not from sincere inquiry, but from worldly influence, pride, intellectual independence, or exposure to unsound teaching.

We believe faithfulness requires actively guarding the mind against false doctrine, including ideas presented as Christian but not aligned with the New Testament pattern.

We believe outside sources of religious instruction, including books, sermons, podcasts, academic theology, church history, and doctrinal analysis produced outside the Churches of Christ, should not be permitted or encouraged.

We believe historical materials that frame Christianity through creeds, councils, denominational development, or theological systems distort the simplicity of New Testament Christianity and undermine confidence in the restored pattern.

We believe academic or scholarly approaches to Scripture that question traditional interpretations, explore multiple viewpoints, or treat doctrine as historically conditioned threaten faith and obedience.

We believe children and young believers should be protected from exposure to competing religious narratives until they are firmly grounded in the System of Faith.

We believe allowing children to explore alternative Christian traditions, historical theology, or denominational beliefs promotes relativism and weakens conviction.

We believe spiritual safety is preserved not through broad exposure, but through narrow instruction, repetition of correct conclusions, and reinforcement of accepted interpretations.

We believe questions concerning doctrine, church history, or interpretation should be addressed exclusively within approved congregational settings under elder oversight.

We believe independent study that leads to doctrinal deviation reflects improper attitude rather than sincere pursuit of truth.

We believe faithfulness requires submission of intellect, curiosity, and inquiry to the authority of Scripture as interpreted through the restored understanding.

We believe protecting children from unsound doctrine is an act of love, and that unrestricted access to alternative religious ideas endangers souls.

On Leadership and Discipline

We believe all church authority resides exclusively in Scripture as interpreted through the restored New Testament pattern.

We believe the only authorized leadership roles within the church are elders, deacons, and evangelists (ministers), and that no other offices are permitted by Scripture.

We believe only men are permitted to hold positions of spiritual authority within the church.

We believe the office of “pastor” as a distinct clerical role is unbiblical and unauthorized, and that references to pastors in Scripture are synonymous with elders or bishops.

We believe elders must meet the qualifications outlined in Scripture, including maturity of age and being the husband of one wife.

We believe the requirement to be the husband of one wife applies strictly and permanently, such that an elder whose wife dies, or who has had more than one wife during his lifetime for any reason, including death or lawful divorce, is no longer qualified to serve.

We believe elders are charged with guarding the purity of doctrine and practice, enforcing conformity to the New Testament pattern, and determining whether teachings and practices are scripturally authorized according to commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences.

We believe elders possess authority to correct, rebuke, discipline, and withdraw fellowship from members who deviate from the System of Faith, regardless of intent or sincerity.

We believe submission to the authority of the elders is required for faithfulness to Christ, and resistance to their authority constitutes rebellion against God’s revealed order.

We believe the minister or evangelist is not an elder by virtue of preaching or teaching and does not possess governing authority over the congregation.

We believe the role of the minister is limited to preaching, teaching, and evangelism in accordance with the restored understanding of the gospel, and ministers must not introduce doctrinal novelty or alternative interpretations.

We believe ministers are required to support, uphold, and enforce doctrinal and practical conformity, including participation in correction, discipline, and withdrawal of fellowship when error persists.

We believe the offices of elder and deacon are to be unpaid positions, carried out as acts of service rather than as professional or salaried roles, and that compensation represents a departure from the original New Testament pattern.

We believe deacons must meet the qualifications outlined in Scripture, including being dignified, faithful, tested, holding the faith with a pure conscience, and being the husband of one wife, ruling their household well.

We believe deacons do not possess governing authority or independent interpretive authority, but serve in supportive and practical capacities under the direction of the elders.

We believe deacons are required to fully agree with the congregation’s doctrine and must not hold or promote private theological disagreement.

We believe deacons may participate in correction, discipline, and withdrawal of fellowship as directed by the elders and in cooperation with the congregation.

We believe church discipline is required whenever members deviate from correct doctrine or practice, and that doctrinal error places souls in danger regardless of intent.

We believe correcting error is an act of love and faithfulness, while tolerance of doctrinal error compromises the purity of the church and threatens salvation.

We believe questioning established conclusions, promoting alternative interpretations, or tolerating doctrinal diversity undermines unity and faithfulness.

We believe withdrawal of fellowship, including shunning, is necessary to preserve truth, protect the congregation, and call the erring to repentance.

We believe forgiveness and restoration are extended only after demonstrated repentance and correction of error, and public error requires public correction.

We believe congregational autonomy does not permit deviation from the universal New Testament pattern shared by all faithful churches.

We believe leadership decisions must be grounded in commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences, rather than personal judgment, experience, or inward conviction.

On Congregational Autonomy and Rejection of External Oversight

We believe that each local congregation of the church is fully autonomous, self-governing, and accountable directly to Christ alone.

We believe there is no scriptural authority for regional, national, or denominational oversight structures, including synods, conventions, councils, associations, boards, or centralized leadership bodies.

We believe each congregation is complete within itself, possessing all authority necessary to teach, discipline, worship, and govern according to the New Testament pattern.

We believe no individual, eldership, congregation, publication, school, or organization has authority over another congregation.

We believe attempts to impose doctrinal oversight, correction, or accountability from outside a local congregation constitute an unauthorized hierarchy and a violation of New Testament church order.

We believe congregational autonomy does not permit deviation from the universal New Testament pattern, but it does prohibit external enforcement or adjudication of doctrinal disputes.

We believe doctrinal correction must arise internally through the local eldership, and not through external review, investigation, or judgment by other congregations or leaders.

We believe appeals to broader Christian consensus, historical theology, or external ecclesiastical authority are invalid and irrelevant to determining truth.

We believe cooperation between congregations is permissible only when it does not compromise autonomy or introduce centralized authority, shared governance, or pooled decision-making.

We believe evangelistic cooperation, benevolent cooperation, or educational cooperation must be strictly limited, temporary, and justified by specific scriptural authority.

We believe missionary societies, sponsoring church arrangements, denominational boards, and centralized funding mechanisms are unscriptural because they violate congregational independence.

We believe accountability beyond the local congregation threatens purity by introducing human authority structures not authorized in Scripture.

We believe public criticism of a congregation by outsiders constitutes interference, judgment without authority, and disruption of unity.

We believe former members, outside teachers, historians, theologians, or critics possess no standing to evaluate, correct, or interpret the beliefs or practices of a congregation.

We believe concerns raised by outsiders regarding doctrine, discipline, abuse, or spiritual harm must be dismissed unless affirmed by the local eldership.

We believe the eldership of a local congregation functions as the highest earthly authority for that congregation under Christ.

We believe resistance to external oversight preserves biblical purity, protects congregational authority, and prevents denominational drift.

We believe autonomy safeguards the church from corruption by human institutions, even when it results in isolation, lack of transparency, or unresolved conflict.

We believe unity among congregations is achieved not through shared oversight or accountability, but through identical adherence to the New Testament pattern as independently interpreted and enforced.

We believe separation from congregations perceived to be in error is preferable to submission to any form of centralized correction or mutual accountability.

We believe the New Testament authorizes no mechanism by which congregations may be investigated, disciplined, or corrected by external bodies.

We believe faithfulness to Christ requires maintaining local autonomy even when it results in doctrinal fragmentation, relational severance, or reputational harm.

On Apostasy and Those Not Saved

We believe salvation is conditional and may be forfeited after conversion through departure from the New Testament System of Faith.

We believe apostasy occurs whenever a baptized believer deviates doctrinally or practically from the restored pattern, regardless of sincerity, intent, or moral character.

We believe apostasy may result from doctrinal error, unauthorized practice, neglect of required obedience, rejection of congregational correction, or continued association with error.

We believe apostasy does not require immoral conduct; correct belief and correct practice are essential to remaining in a saved condition.

We believe those who persist in error after instruction and correction are no longer faithful and stand condemned before God (2 Thessalonians 2:10–12).

We believe restoration from apostasy requires repentance, rejection of error, and renewed submission to the System of Faith, including public correction where public error has occurred.

We believe continued fellowship with apostates constitutes participation in error and places the faithful at spiritual risk (2 John 11).

We believe those who were never properly baptized according to the New Testament Plan of Salvation are not saved, regardless of profession of faith, moral living, religious devotion, or denominational affiliation.

We believe those who hold incorrect beliefs concerning the gospel facts, the nature of salvation, or the required response to the gospel are not saved, even if they profess belief in Christ.

We believe sincerity, emotional experience, or religious activity cannot compensate for incorrect understanding or failure to obey God’s revealed conditions.

We believe those who reject, alter, or deny any part of the New Testament System of Faith stand outside the saved condition and remain under condemnation.

We believe ignorance of the correct gospel does not excuse error once the truth has been revealed.

We believe the church bears responsibility to identify, correct, and separate from those who persist in apostasy in order to preserve doctrinal purity and faithfulness.

We reject the doctrine that salvation, once obtained, cannot be lost.

We reject the belief that Christians in denominations outside the restored church are saved apart from obedience to the New Testament Plan of Salvation.

We reject the teaching that unity or charity requires recognition of salvation where doctrinal conformity is lacking.

On Other Groups That Profess Christ

We believe that many religious bodies identifying as Christian exist outside the New Testament pattern and therefore do not constitute the one true church as revealed in Scripture.

We believe sincerity, moral conduct, use of biblical language, emotional devotion, or profession of faith in Christ does not establish faithfulness apart from correct doctrine, correct worship, and obedience to the gospel.

We believe any group that departs from the New Testament pattern in doctrine, worship, organization, or the conditions of salvation is in error, regardless of its history, size, or influence.

Concerning the Roman Catholic Church

We believe the Roman Catholic Church is unscriptural in origin, authority, doctrine, and practice.

We believe its reliance on councils, creeds, papal authority, clerical hierarchy, sacramental theology, and church tradition constitutes a rejection of New Testament authority.

We believe its doctrines concerning salvation, priesthood, sacraments, original sin, and infused righteousness are human innovations unknown to the apostolic church.

We believe its worship practices, including instrumental music, ritual liturgy, sacramental priesthood, prayers for the dead, and veneration of saints, are unauthorized and violate the silence of Scripture.

Concerning Lutheranism

We believe Lutheran theology is false because it teaches salvation by faith alone, denies baptism as the moment of remission of sins, and affirms assurance apart from continued obedience.

We believe Lutheran sacramental theology misrepresents baptism and the Lord’s Supper by treating them as means of grace apart from correct understanding and obedience.

We believe Lutheran worship practices, including instrumental music, liturgical forms, creedal recitations, and ecclesiastical calendars, are unauthorized additions to New Testament worship.

We believe Lutheran reliance on historic creeds and confessions constitutes submission to human authority rather than Scripture alone.

Concerning Methodism

We believe Methodist theology errs by teaching salvation by faith apart from obedience, reliance on inward experience, and assurance grounded in emotional conversion rather than continued faithfulness.

We believe Methodist doctrines of sanctification, prevenient grace, and inward spiritual experience are unscriptural.

We believe Methodist worship practices, such as instrumental music, emotional appeals, and revival-style services, depart from the New Testament pattern.

We believe its denominational structure and governing bodies are unauthorized by Scripture.

Concerning Presbyterianism

We believe Presbyterian theology is false due to its doctrines of original sin, imputed righteousness, unconditional election, infant baptism, and denominational governance.

We believe Presbyterian baptism is invalid because it is administered to infants and not for the remission of sins.

We believe reliance on confessions such as the Westminster Confession constitutes elevation of human theology over Scripture.

We believe Presbyterian worship practices, including instrumental music and formal liturgy, are unauthorized.

Concerning Baptists

We believe Baptist doctrine is false because it teaches salvation prior to baptism, baptism as symbolic rather than for remission of sins, and assurance based on faith alone.

We believe Baptist baptism is invalid due to incorrect understanding of its purpose and timing.

We believe Baptist worship practices, such as instrumental music, emotional appeals, and unscriptural church organization, depart from the New Testament pattern.

Concerning Non-denominational Christianity

We believe so-called non-denominational churches are denominational in practice, doctrine, and organization, despite rejecting denominational labels.

We believe their doctrinal minimalism, emphasis on personal experience, and tolerance of theological diversity constitute rejection of biblical authority.

We believe their worship practices, instrumental music, contemporary performance styles, and unregulated teaching, are unauthorized by Scripture.

Concerning Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements

We believe Pentecostal and charismatic teachings concerning direct operation of the Holy Spirit, miraculous gifts, tongues, prophecy, and experiential assurance are unscriptural and dangerous.

We believe claims of direct revelation, inward illumination, or spiritual experience apart from Scripture undermine the sufficiency of the written Word.

We believe their worship practices, emotionalism, ecstatic speech, and spontaneous expression, are unauthorized and disorderly.

Concerning Reformed Theology

We believe Reformed theology is fundamentally opposed to the gospel due to its doctrines of total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, and perseverance of the saints.

We believe these doctrines remove human responsibility, deny conditional salvation, and contradict the New Testament Plan of Salvation.

We believe Reformed worship practices, including creedal recitation and instrumental music, lack New Testament authorization.

On Doctrines of Demons

We believe teachings that depart from the New Testament pattern, especially those that deny baptism for the remission of sins, promote salvation without obedience, teach faith alone, or elevate creeds and traditions, fall under the biblical category of false doctrine.

We believe persistent promotion of such teachings places souls in danger and must be opposed through teaching, correction, and separation.

General Conclusion Regarding Other Religious Bodies

We believe religious groups that do not teach and practice the New Testament pattern in doctrine, worship, organization, and salvation are in error regardless of historical standing or claims to Christianity.

We believe fellowship cannot be extended to religious bodies that teach or practice false doctrine.

We believe unity cannot exist where doctrinal agreement does not exist.

We affirm that the responsibility of the church is not to recognize other traditions as valid expressions of Christianity, but to call all people to obedience to the gospel as restored in the New Testament.

Resources

Campbell, A. (1901). Campbell-Rice debate on the Holy Spirit: Being the fifth proposition in the great debate between Alexander Campbell, Christian, and N. L. Rice, Presbyterian. F. L. Rowe. https://archive.org/details/campbellricedeba00campiala

Campbell, A. (1858). Acts of the Apostles: Translated from the Greek on the basis of the common English version, with notes. New York : American Bible Union. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/actsofapostlestr00camp

Campbell, A. (1839). The Christian System. Pittsburg, Forrester & Campbell. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/christiansystem010camp/page/n3/mode/2up

Campbell, A. (1830). Millennial Harbinger. In Restoration Movement texts. Bethany, VA. Retrieved from Memorial University of Newfoundland. https://webfiles.acu.edu/departments/Library/HR/restmov_nov11/www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/acampbell/tmh/MH0100A.HTM

Campbell, A. (1823). The Christian Baptist.. In Restoration Movement texts. Bethany, VA. Retrieved from Memorial University of Newfoundland. https://webfiles.acu.edu/departments/Library/HR/restmov_nov11/www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/acampbell/tcb/TCB00.HTM

Jeter, J. B. (1858). Campbellism examined. New York : Sheldon, Blakeman. https://archive.org/details/campbellismexami00jeteiala/page/n5/mode/2up

Summers, J. B. (1913). Campbellism is rebellion. Dayton, Ohio. The Christian publishing association.
https://archive.org/details/campbellismisreb00summ

Ray, D. B. (1873). Text‑book on Campbellism. Cincinnati: Geo. E. Stevens & Co. https://archive.org/details/textbookoncampbe00rayd/page/2/mode/2up

Davis, D. B. (1878). Campbellism in Christian costume. The Library of Congress. https://archive.org/details/campbellisminchr00davi

Fuller, Andrew. Strictures on Sandemanianism, in Twelve Letters to a Friend. London: T. Williams and Son, 1810. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://archive.org/details/per_early-baptist_strictures-on-sandemania_andrew-fuller_1810/mode/2up

Ross, B. L. (1962). Campbellism: Its history and heresies [Historical text]. Baptist Examiner Book Shop. https://archive.org/details/campbellismitshi0000ross/page/n7/mode/2up

La Vista Church of Christ. (2025). Pattern. La Vista Church of Christ. Retrieved December 1, 2025, from https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/tag/pattern/

La Vista Church of Christ. (2025). Division in a local church. La Vista Church of Christ. Retrieved December 1, 2025, from https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/division-in-a-local-church/

La Vista Church of Christ. (2025). Jesus the divine temple. La Vista Church of Christ. Retrieved December 1, 2025, from https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/jesus-the-divine-temple/

Jackson, W. (2025). Justification: By faith or works? Christian Courier. Retrieved December 2, 2025, from https://christiancourier.com/articles/justification-by-faith-or-works

Gospel Broadcasting Network. (2021). False accusations against the church of Christ [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved December 2, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9kppTjTWMk

Gospel Broadcasting Network. (2019). Do I have to be baptized to be saved? | Ep. 1 – Answering the error [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved December 2, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er-SHFgS7ww

Churches with Kitchens. (2025). Confession sermon. Churches with Kitchens. Retrieved December 4, 2025, from https://churcheswithkitchens.com/?p=1967&preview=true&_thumbnail_id=2064

Lived Experience & Testimonial Sources from past and current members within various expressions the Campbellite Churches of Christ.