REASON: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God." II Timothy 3:16.

2. We believe in examining everything in the light of the Bible, weighing everything in the balance of the Bible and if it will not stand the test, reject it. If it will stand the test, accept it. We believe that the Bile is its own commentary. Other books may be helpful but are not inspired. Tradition is not considered as valid truth.

We believe in granting liberty of thought and speech. We stand for an open forum where advanced light can be given, thus stimulating a growth in knowledge.

REASON: I Thess. 5:21, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." "Grow in grace...and knowledge." II Peter 3:18.

3. We believe in God the Father, the Creator of heaven and earth.

REASON: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1.

4. We believe that Christ is the Son of God. That after His death, burial, and resurrection, He ascended to heaven and is now at the right hand of the throne of God.

REASON: "...This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17. "He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God." Mark 16:19.

5. We believe that Christ was in the grave just three days and three nights. That He was resurrected in the end of the Sabbath, and placed in the tomb just three days and three nights previous.

REASON: He said He would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Matthew 12:40. It was in "The End of the Sabbath," when the angel came down and rolled the stone away from the sepulchre showing to all that Jesus was gone. The tomb texts in the three gospels show that it was always empty. Therefore the resurrection was on Sabbath before sunset. Luke 23:56, 24:1-3, Matthew 28:1-6. The seal on the tomb was set for three days. The seal could come off after the Sabbath was over (at sunset). That is why the women could then anoint the body of their Lord. Matthew 27:63-66.

6. We believe that the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus are the standards of righteousness by which the future destiny of man will be determined in the day of judgment.

REASON: In Revelation 14:9-11, an account of the destruction of the wicked is given. In verse 12 we are told that the saints, or the ones saved are those who keep the commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus. See also Revelation 12:17; Revelation 22:14; I John 5:3; and James 2:10-12.

7. We believe in the literal, personal, visible return of Christ to the earth at the end of this age. The Second coming of Christ is in two parts, "Parousia" and "Epiphany". The first part is "Coming for His saints." I Corinthians 15:51,52; I Thess. 4:16,17; Revelation 14:13-16; Matthew 13:37-43. These verses describe the first phase of Christ's second coming. The second phase is "Coming to rule the nations with a rod of Iron." Revelation 19:11-16. The saints return with Jesus to rule as kings and priests. Revelation 1:6; 20:5,6; Isaiah 61:6. Christ is called "King of Saints" when He comes for His saints and catches them up to be with Him. John 14:1-3; Revelation 15:3. Jesus is called "King of Kings" when he appears to set up His kingdom for one thousand years. Revelation 19:16; 17:14; I Timothy 6:14,15.

REASON: The inspired apostles Peter and Paul say He will come personally and literally. Acts 3:20,21; I Thess. 4:16,17; II Thess. 1:7,8. John and James also testify the same. The angel from heaven said in Acts 1:11, "This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Jesus Himself said He would come again, and the even would be as the lightning flashing from the sky. Matthew 24:27.

8. We believe God's people will be posted regarding this event and will therefore be looking for His return.

REASON: "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light..." I Thess. 5:4,5. "...If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief." Revelation 3:3. When the saints are "caught up to meet the Lord in the air," (I Thess. 4:13-16) they will escape the Wrath of God. Revelation 14:18-20; 15:1-3; Psalm 91:8-10. Then the "Marriage of the Lamb" takes place. Matthew 25:6, 10-12, 32-33; Revelation 19:7-9; Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 22:17; Isaiah 62:5-7; Isaiah 4:6; 26:20.

Speaking of His coming and giving a series of events which will transpire before He returns, Christ says, "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these thing, know that it is near, even at the doors." Matthew 24:33.

9. We believe that when people die they become unconscious and remain in the grave in this condition until the judgment. We believe that their thoughts perish, and all hatred, love and envy ceases.

REASON: "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything..." Eccl. 9:5. "Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished..." Verse 6. Psalm 146:6, "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish."

10. We believe the righteous dead will be resurrected at the coming of Christ.

REASON: I Thess. 4:16, "...The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first."

I Corinthians 15:52, "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

I Corinthians 15:22-23, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming."

11. We believe that the signs of the times indicate the nearness of Christ's return.

REASON: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." II Timothy 3:1. This is a time of worldliness and pleasure, covetousness and ungodlness. It is a time when knowledge is increased as never before. Dan. 12:4 says, "...Seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." The prophecies of God have nearly all been fulfilled: Dan. 2; Matthew 24; Luke 21; Dan. 7, and many others.

12. We believe that the living and the dead will be judged and receive their reward at the coming of Christ at the end of this age.

REASON: "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom." II Timothy 4:1. As this was spoken in 66 A.D., it was a future event at that time and as no occurrence of this nature has ever transpired since, it is yet future.

It would be absurd to think of the dead receiving their reward before they were judged when Christ comes, therefore, they could not receive their reward before that time. This is the exact teaching of Christ. In Revelation 22:12, He says, "...Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." This does away with the belief that people are now in heaven receiving their reward, which would place the judgment in the past. To believe that the judgment was in the past would necessitate our denying the plain statements of our Savior.

13. We believe in the inspired church name, "Church of God."

REASON: It is the only church name found in the Bible. There are over six hundred different church denominations, but not one of them is mentioned in the Bible as pertaining to the name of a church. In one place the statement, "The churches of Christ," is made, but in every other place (twelve in all) the name "Church of God" is given. It was the Chruch of God that Christ purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28); it was the Church of God which Paul persecuted before his conversion (I Corinthians 15:9; Gal. 1:13); it was the Church of God of which he afterwards became a member (I Corinthians 12:12-13).

14. We believe that among the different instruments of law given by God the Father, the Ten Commandments were far superior to any other, that they constitute the fundamental organic code of all law and the constitution of the supreme court of heaven.

REASON: They were thundered from Sinai's quaking summit, with a voice that shook the earth. See Exodus 19:16-18. They were written with the finger of God on tables of stone. See Exodus 31:18; 32:15,16. No other code of law in the Bible was written with the finger of God on tables of stone,but the other documents were written by Moses in a book. However, this was not true of the Ten Commandments. God did this work Himself, writing with His own finger on tables of stone. By this very act we see that He magnified them above all else, that they were exalted by the Almighty and considered superior to all other documents or codes.

15. We believe that the wages of sin is death, and that all sinners will be destroyed out of the earth.

REASON: "The wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23. "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Isaiah 13:9; II Thess. 2:8-12.

16. We believe that sin is the transgression of the law.

REASON: "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." I John 3:4.

17. We believe that one becomes a sinner in the sight of God just as soon as he breaks any one of the commandments of this eternal code of law. To break any one of them makes him a transgressor of the law, and therefore a sinner.

REASON: "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law." James 2:10-11; Romans 7:7-12.

NOTE: This eternal document of Ten Commandments contains the two above named percepts. Therefore, beyond any question of doubt, this was the law to which the apostles referred. This was twenty-seven years after Christ's ascension.

James informed the people of that day that if they kept all the commandments and yet violated just one, they were guilty of all. That is, as "sin is the transgression of the law," to transgress in only one point would make the guilty party a sinner, showing that this code of law which God wrote on tables of stone is still in force.

18. We believe that as the fourth precept, or article of the constitution of high heaven forbids labor on the seventh day of the week, and commands that this day be kept holy. It would be a violation of the law to desecrate it, the same as to break any one of the other ten, and thereby make the guilty party a sinner in the eyes of God.

REASON: "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." I John 5:3.

Those who are saved in the end of the world are the ones who have kept the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. See Revelation 14:12.

19. We believe that the life which Christ lived while on earth is the life that will save, and that all Christians should accept Him as their example, and follow in His footsteps. If they will do this, they will not be in darkness, but will have the light of life.

REASON: "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." John 1:4. "...He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12.

20. We believe that all professed Christians who keep Sunday for the Sabbath are not living in accordance with their name, as they do not follow Christ in this practice.

REASON: We have no record that Christ, in all His life, mentioned the first day of the week. Neither did He keep it as a sacred or holy day. But on the contrary He kept the seventh day Sabbath all His life. "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." Luke 4:16. The following verses tell of the sermon He preached. Christ's mother and the holy women kept the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Luke 23:56.

21. We believe that the commandments which were nailed to the cross included only the code of commandments contained in the sacrificial ordinance, that is, the atonement for sin by animal sacrifices, the yearly sabbath days, governed by the day of the month or moon, the feasts and holy days included in the same code of law. We believe that Christ's death on the cross did not in any way effect the Ten Commandment Law of God which is, and will forever be, the constitution for the supreme court of heaven and earth. Psalm 19:7-11.

REASON: "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances" (Not the Ten Commandments). Ephesians 2:15. In speaking of the sacrificial commandments Paul says, "Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things...by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Hebrews 9:10-15.

The Ten Commandments did not cease at the cross. For 57 years afterward John tells us that "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous" I John 5:3. Sixty three years after the cross, he told the people that the ones who are saved in the end of the world are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. See Revelation 14:12. The seventh day Sabbath was also sacred and holy 31 years after the cross. Paul mentions the seventh day, and tells the people to enter into that rest as God did, and that there remained a rest (Margin "the keeping of a Sabbath") to the people of God. See Hebrew 4:4-11.

22. We believe that the foreknowledge of God is portrayed in the scriptures of truth by divine prophecy, and that God purposed the authenticity of His word to be proven by the response of history to the call of prophecy.

REASON: Isaiah 41:22,23, "Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods..."

Deut. 18:22, "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken."

23. We believe that there is but one faith of which God is the Author, and that there is only one form of baptism acceptable to Him.

REASON: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." Ephesians 4:5.

24. We believe this one faith is the one revealed to us in His Word through the life and teachings of Christ and the gospel of the apostles, and that any other gospel foreign to such teachings, regardless of the claim of divinity, is not genuine but counterfeit.

REASON: John 1:4 says, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." Paul says, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Gal. 1:8.

25. We believe the one form of baptism acceptable to God is immersion, being buried in the watery grave, which is typical of the burial and resurrection of Christ.

REASON: "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." Romans 6:3-5.

Matthew 3:16, "And Jesus, when he was baptised, went up straightway out of the water." We read in John 8:12, "...I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

We read in Colossians 2:12, "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."

NOTE: This is the gospel of the apostles, and Paul says as follows, "But though...an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel...let him be accursed." Is there a different gospel being preached today, and can we discern the genuine from the counterfeit? We believe that all things must be done in the Name of Jesus. Colossians 3:17. Therefore Baptism must also be in the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 2:38; Acts 8:14-17; Acts 19:3-5. The phrase, "Lord Jesus Christ, is the Name of the "Father, Son and Holy Ghost." Matthew 28:19. Read also Acts 2:36. We are buried with Jesus into His death, and are raised to newness of life by His resurrection. Only Jesus died for us, not the Father or the Holy Spirit. Romans 6:3-6.

26. We believe that faith is the essential quality through which soul salvation is gained, and not through dead works.

REASON: Gal. 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law (sacrificial code), but by the faith of Jesus Christ...that we might be justified by the faith of Christ."

Galatians 3:26,27, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

NOTE: After Christ, the great sacrificial Lamb, had been slain, redemption and remission of sins could only be received through faith in Him, and not by the works of the law which commanded the killing of lambs for a sin offering. This law ceased at the cross but those who rejected Christ continued the works of the law and the killing of animal sacrifices.

Speaking of the Ten Commandment Law, written on stone by the finger of God, Paul says, "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Romans 2:13.

27. We believe that the individual having faith will be prompted to higher ideals and will conform his life to the requirements of God, and his faith will be manifested by works.

REASON: "...Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." James 2:18. "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." James 2:17.

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21.

28. We believe that in the day of judgment many will be disappointed and rejected who have believed in Christ and performed works in His name. Therefore, we admonish every one to carefully consider the following:

REASON: "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" Proverbs 14:12. "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-22. "...The devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:19. "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." I Corinthians 10:12.

29. We believe that the benefits of God's plan of salvation will be realized only by those who, through faith, accept it as divine, make use of it in accordance with God's purpose, and conform their lives to His requirement to do His will continually.

REASON: "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Revelation 14:12. "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kindgom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21.

30. We believe that man is mortal and therefore, is subject to death.

REASON: "Shall mortal man be more just than God?...". Job 4:17.

31. We believe that man will put on immortality at the resurrection rather than at death.

REASON: I Corinthians 15:51-53, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

32. We believe that God only hath immortality.

REASON: I Timothy 6:16, "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen".

33. We believe that the dead are unconscious between death and the resurrection.

REASON: Ecclesiastes 9:5, 'For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything..."

Psalm 146:4, "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish."

34. We believe that the soul of man, which is in many places translated "person" means the essentials of life; the real person dies.

REASON: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4,20.

35. We believe that the wicked will be totally destroyed, that they will be consumed as stubble fully dry.

REASON: Nahum 1:10, "...they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry."

Malachi 4:1, "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."

II Thessalonians 1:9, "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."

36. We believe that the righteous will be rewarded and recompensed in the earth, and that they will never be permanently removed.

REASON: Proverbs 10:30, "The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth."

Proverbs 11:31, "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner."

Matthew 5:5, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth..."

37. We believe that the kingdom of God will be established on the earth, and is a future event.

REASON: "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." Daniel 7:27.

Paul says in II Timothy 4:1, "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom." In verse eight he says, "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day."

Acts 14:22, "Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."

NOTE: The kingdom at this time was recognized by the apostles as future. We have no history to prove that it has ever been established, and surrounding conditions indicate plainly that it is not present with us today, so we may conclude that it is yet future. "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." Matthew 25:31.

38. We believe there have been four universal kingdoms to rule the world, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, and that the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, as interpreted by Daniel, was consequently true. The fifth universal kingdom yet to be established, represented by the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, will be the kingdom of God.

REASON: Daniel, speaking to Nebuchadnezzar, said, "Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron." Daniel 2:38-40. After stating that the kingdoms of earth would be divided in their last stages of existence, he said, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." Verse 44.

39. We believe that Christ's return to the earth will be at a time of war, bloodshed and strife - a time when nations, in their divided state, are angry, and there is a time of trouble such as was never before witnessed.

REASON: Revelation 16:14-15, "For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."

Daniel 12:1-2, "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delievered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."

Revelation 11:18, "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."

40. We believe that the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, as Christ instituted it, should be observed yearly. We believe that the fruit of the vine and bread are typical of His shed blood and broken body.

REASON: "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." Luke 22:17-20.

This was the Passover Supper, and was to be a perpetual ordinance. We read the words of the Saviour in verse 16, "For I say unto you, I will not anymore eat therof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God." He repeats the same in verse 18, making it all the more emphatic that this ordinance would reach even unto the kingdom of God.

As God is a God of order, He has a set time for this ordinance which we find to be once a year. "Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year." Exodus 13:10. "...Behold, there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh yearly..." Judges 21:19.

This feast of the Lord, commonly called the passover, was instituted by God on the 14th day of the first month and was kept by His chosen people for many centuries on that day. The sacrificial lamb, which for hundreds of years was slain on this day, pointed forward to Christ. The bread and the fruit of the vine which Christ instituted on the same day points backward to Him.

We do not believe that the use of the Hebrew calendar is valid since it was created in Babylon. It has seven years which contain 13 months during its nineteen-year cycle. The Bible speaks of only twelve months to a year. The Lord's Supper is to be kept on the "Full Moon" following the New Moon nearest the Spring Equinox. Psalm 81:3. The phrase "Time Appointed" means Full Moon. Exodus 23:15.

We believe that the "Footwashing" must take place "Before" the emblems of the Body of Christ are recieved. Jesus washed His disciples' feet and we are to follow His example. John 13:7, 13-15. Jesus washed Judas Iscariot's feet, then excused him before presenting the Emblems of His Body to the eleven disciples. John 13:26,27; Mark 14:18,19, 22-24; Matthew 26:22,23,29,30.