Dean Road church of Christ - Jacksonville, FL

The New Testament is our creed for our convictions and practices. This is simply showing what the Scriptures teach.

We are convinced that God the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit are all one God, three persons, deity, and are not created since God is eternal (Gen. 1:26, 3:22, Matt. 28:19, Luke 3:22, Acts 10:37-38, Rom. 8:9-11, 9:5). We are convinced that God spiritually created the world in six literal days (Exo. 20:11).

Jesus said that His words are spirit and life (John 6:63). Christ said that He gave those words to His Apostles and prophets through His Spirit (John 15:20, 16:12-13, 17:8, Eph. 3:3-5). Christ's Apostles and prophets are His scribes who wrote the New Testament scriptures (Matt. 23:34). We know that the Scriptures are inerrant and breathed out by God, and these are the all-sufficient authority for beliefs and practices (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 1 Tim. 5:18). The Scriptures are able to make the person of God complete and equipped for every good work. We do not believe in extra revelations or illuminations from the Spirit adding to the Gospel since the Bible does not speak of such and Christ's Spirit revealed all things to the Apostles and prophets (John 14:26, 16:12-13, Eph. 3:3-5). The revelation and illumination that we receive from the Spirit of Christ is through the Scriptures to us. We observe Christ's practice of excluding all practices that add to God's commands (1 Cor. 4:6, 2 John 9). We obey only the New Testament commands and defining examples. We do not observe the commands of the Old Testament with the 10 commandments, which are obsolete (Heb. 8:7-13, 2 Cor. 3:13ff).

We are convinced by Scripture of the necessity for one to hear, believe, repent, confess, be immersed, and live faithfully (Rom. 10:17, 9-10, Rom. 6:3-7). We know that immersion in water in the name of the Lord is the exact point of salvation for which one receives the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16). We know that baptism is only for believers and not for infants (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38). We understand that we are saved by grace and not by our works (Eph. 2:8-9), but works of God such as faith and submission to baptism are necessary to go to Heaven (Jam. 2:24, Heb. 5:9). We are convinced that everyone has free will (1 Tim. 2:4, 2 Pet. 3:9).

We are convinced that the Church of Christ by any and all Scriptural names to be the Church that Christ built, bought with His blood, and cleansed her by the washing of water (Matt. 16:18, Acts 20:28, Eph. 5:26). We are convinced to strive for God's ideal that each church be pastored not by preachers but by church elders, who are true pastors (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:1-3). We also are convinced that churches are to be self-governed by Christ's Word since there is no mention of hierarchy in the Scriptures. The Church is God's greatest institution, and God also instituted the home and the civil government (Matt. 16:18, 19:5, 1 Pet. 2:13-17). We understand that all congregations following the Scriptures in worship, government, salvation, evangelism, and service in love are churches of Christ, while each congregation is not perfect being made up of imperfect people. The Church of Christ is not a sect or denomination (division) of believers in Christ (Eph. 4:4, 1:22-23, 1 Cor. 1:10). Denominating the Church is wrong and an abomination (Gal. 5:19-21, Prov. 6:19, Rom. 16:17). Denominations err and divide among one another on the authority of Scripture, worship, government, salvation, evangelism, and benevolence.

We are convinced that we must love our neighbor as our self, and that we must do to others as we have them do to us (Luke 6:31, 10:27). The "abortion" of a human "fetus" is the killing of a human life and it is an abomination to God (Proverb 6:17). Pre-marital sexual relations and all extra-marital sexual relations including homosexuality are sexually immoral, "fornication" (Heb. 13:4). There is no such thing as "same-sex marriage" and polygamy is against God's ideal for marriage (Gen. 2:24, Matt. 19:5, Eph. 5:31). Those who practice sexual immorality will not inherit the kingdom of God and will suffer the punishment of eternal fire (1 Cor. 6:9-10, Gal. 5:19-21, Eph. 5:5, Col. 3:5-6, Jude 1:7, Rev. 21:8).

We are convinced those eligible to marry are: 1.) Those who have never been married (male and female) (1 Cor. 7:2). 2.) Those whose spouse has deceased (1 Cor. 7:39). 3.) The innocent person whose spouse was put away for fornication/adultery (Matt. 5:32, 19:6,9).  We are convinced the only scriptural reason for divorce is fornication/adultery (Matt. 5:32, 19:6,9).  We understand that a separation of spouses is sometimes necessary for reasons other than fornication/adultery, however, those separated are commanded not to marry anyone else since they can only and should return to one another (1 Cor. 7:2,5,10-15).

We are convinced that worship is to be in and outside of the Assembly, but not all of life. We are convinced that the purposes of the Assembly are to worship God and to edify one another in fellowship (Heb. 2:12, cf. Matt. 18:20). Our conviction is that the Assembly ideally established by Christ has 5 regular acts being the Lord’s Supper, prayer, singing, preaching (reading), and collection (1 Cor. 4:17, 11:17-34, 14:15, 1 Cor. 16:1-2). The Lord’s Supper is to be on every Lord's Day, first day of the week, which consisted of unleavened bread and unleavened fruit of the grapevine (Matt. 26:26-29). Though Jesus is to be directly praised and thanked, prayer requests are to be directed to God and God alone in Christ's name (Eph. 5:20). Christ's music is congregational singing (Acts 4:24, Rom. 15:6, Heb. 2:12) and excludes all other forms of proxy music like instrumental music and body percussion (1 Cor. 14:15, Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16). Preaching is to be scripturally based, understandable, and edifying (1 Pet. 4:11, 1 Cor. 14:26). The collection should be done with a cheerful heart (2 Cor. 9:7). In assembly, God has given men the birth right to teach in the Assembly with women and men in peaceful submission to the teaching. Both men and women are one in Christ (1 Cor. 14:34, 1 Tim. 2:12, Gal. 3:28), and yet women are like men being made in image of God, but even more they are made in the glory of men (Gen. 1:27, 1 Cor. 11:7).

We are convinced that the Church is a part of God’s eternal purpose and that it is the Kingdom and Nation of Christ on earth (Eph. 3:10-11, John 18:36, 1 Pet. 2:9, Col. 1:13, Heb. 12:28). Also, we understand that we are living during the millennial reign of saints with Christ [or possibly just after the millennial reign], but before the 2nd coming of Christ (Rev. 20).

We are convinced by Jesus that there are only two destinations in the afterlife, Heaven and Hell, following our death on earth (Matt. 25:46). We are convinced that those obedient to the Gospel will have eternal life in Heaven (Heb. 5:9). We are convinced that those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel will have an eternal punishment in Hell (2 Thess. 1:7-9, Jude 1:7, Rev. 14:11).