The Authority Of Christ
One of the first things that you will learn will worshipping with us is our desire to glorify Christ. To do this requires that we not only accept Christ as our Savior, but also acknowledge and respect His authority as our Lord (Acts 2:36). Christ said, “And why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). Respecting Christ as our Lord means respecting the authority of His word, the New Testament (I Cor. 14:37). Although we believe the Old Testament to be the word of God and a valuable tool for our learning (Rom. 15:4), Christ is said to be the “Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death” (Heb. 9:14). Therefore, all doctrines and practices of the church here can and must be found within the New Testament scriptures. When men or churches change the word of God by adding to or taking away from it, they are refusing to glorify Christ as Lord and place their souls in jeopardy (Rev. 22:18-19). Again, Jesus said, “And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9).
The Gospel Is For All Men
We believe in the power of the Gospel message to save men’s souls (Rom. 1:16). Because men sin, they are in need of the salvation of Christ (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). Therefore, our goal must be to teach all men everywhere the message of Christ. In doing this, we seek to bring all men to repentance and to an obedient faith in Christ Jesus (Rom. 10:14-17; Acts 2:36-38; Heb. 5:9).
Our Origin
Although many churches trace their origin (and even their names) back to some man or group of men, the church meeting at 3665 Michigan Ave. Rd. has no such desire. We trace our origin back to no man, except Jesus Christ, nor any organization, except His New Testament church as revealed in the Scriptures. In the Scriptures we learn that the apostles and early teachers established churches belonging to Christ throughout the world by teaching men to follow the doctrine of Christ (Matt. 28:20; Rom. 6:17-18). Therefore, we too seek to establish ourselves as a faithful church of Christ’s by following that same doctrine which is revealed for us within the New Testament (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Only in doing this can a church’s origin truly be found in God.