Code of Conduct

Introduction

• We believe that God has ordained various governments among men. The three basic governments are civil government, church government and family government. All of these governments are dependent on the grace of God, common or special, working in individuals to bring about self-government.

  We deny that the authority of these governments should be set against one another. God has ordained them all, and assigned to them differing responsibilities.

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Self-Government

• We believe that a man becomes a Christian when the Holy Spirit regenerates him and causes him to submit, in faith, to the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:13). He has become a disciple of Jesus Christ, and seeks to live in submission to His Word.

  We deny that Christ can be received as Savior, and rejected as Lord (Matthew 7:21).

• We believe that Christians were chosen before the foundation of the world to live holy and blameless lives (Ephesians 1:4).

  We deny that holiness can be defined by means of any extra-biblical rules or regulations. Legalism is not holiness, but rather another kind of sin. The Christian’s only standard of holiness is found in the Old and New Testaments (2 Timothy 3:16).

• We believe that God will complete the work He has begun in each believer. If someone is truly regenerate, then he will not fall away from salvation (Romans 8:29-31). The basis for this is God’s faithfulness, not the faithfulness of the believer.

  We deny that this understanding of God’s sustaining faithfulness is in any way a cushion for sin. A life of sin is inconsistent with assurance of salvation (Romans 6:1-4).

• We believe that each Christian has an obligation to regularly and honestly confess his sins before God (1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13). In this way, the quality of his relationship with God is maintained and protected.

  We deny that confession of sin is the foundation of the Christian’s relationship to God. Salvation does not depend on confession of sin; the joy of salvation does (Psalms 51:10-13).

• We believe that God commands all men everywhere to repent and believe the gospel, that is, that Christ died on the cross to secure the salvation of all who believe. All unregenerate men therefore have a true obligation to do so (Acts 17:30, 2 Thessalonians 1:8).

  We deny that unregenerate men are coercively excluded from grace. But because they are dead in their sins, they have no desire for God’s grace (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 8:6-8; 1 Corinthians 2:14). They are therefore responsible for remaining in sin.

• We believe that at regeneration, God creates each Christian a new man, created to grow in love and good works (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

  We deny that this new man moves in alongside the old man inherited from Adam. The old man was crucified in Christ (Romans 6:1-11; Galatians 2:20).

• We believe that God has given to each individual various gifts of varying worth (1 Corinthians 12:22-24). Each Christian has an obligation to understand accurately what his gifts are, and to put them to work in the worship of God (Ephesians 4:11-16).

  We deny that equality in Christ (Colossians 3:10,11) requires the elimination of God-assigned roles and stations (Colossians 3:12-22, Philippians 2:3)

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Family Government

• We believe that God has ordained the husband to be the head of his wife, and that he is answerable to God for the spiritual state of everyone in his household (Ephesians 5:23).

  We deny that the hierarchy established by God in the family diminishes in any way the worth of women in the sight of God, or their husbands (Galatians 3:28). Righteous men rise up and call their righteous wives blessed (Proverbs 31:28).

• We believe the Biblical design for marriage to be a holy, honorable, monogamous union between a man and a woman for life, founded on fidelity and self sacrifice. (Hebrews 13:4, Ephesians 5:31-33)

  We deny that this Biblical design for marriage can be achieved in a homosexual or lesbian relationship. These are not alternative, acceptable lifestyles to be tolerated, rather they are simply heinous sins to be confessed, repented from and brought under submission to the Bible. (1 Cor. 6:9-11, Romans 1:23-32)

• We believe that men are responsible to protect their families, and to provide for them (1 Timothy 5:8), loving their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). Wives are responsible to minister to their husbands and children (Titus 2:4), to be homemakers, keeping their homes well-managed and clean (Titus 2:5).

  We deny that reversal of God’s assigned roles to husbands and wives can occur without serious damage to the family, and consequently to the society and church (Titus 2:5).

• We believe prosperity is a gift from God (2 Corinthians 9:10-11).

  We deny that godly living is an automatic means to wealth and prosperity (Hebrews 11:35-38).

• We believe that God blesses in a material way when men honor Him through hard work over a long time, are generous with the blessings God has already given, and provide for their families and dependents (2 Thessalonians 3:7-10).

  We deny that covetousness and greed can be means to obtain the blessings God bestows (1 Timothy 6:5).

• We believe that Christian parents have an obligation before God to provide their children with a godly understanding of the world in which they are growing up. To this end, Christian education, however administered, is essential (Deuteronomy 6:1-6).

  We deny that the state or the church has the obligation to rear our children. That responsibility belongs to the parents (Ephesians 6:4).

• We believe that marriage is ordained by God, and that man has no authority to sever what God has joined together. God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). Divorce and remarriage must be regulated biblically, not culturally.

  We deny that compassion for the divorced requires any softening of the biblical teaching on the subject.

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Church Government

• We believe that each local gathering of the visible church is to be governed by a plurality of men called Elders, overseers, or bishops, each of whom must meet the requirements for church leadership (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4).

  We deny that someone can be called by God to such leadership when his life or family is not in order. Seminary training, long experience, and gifts of leadership or communication are no substitute for obedience (1 Samuel 15:22).

• We believe that each local gathering of the visible church is to be served by a plurality of Deacons, each of whom must meet the requirements for church service (1 Timothy 3:8-13).

  We deny that such service can be rendered properly when a Deacon’s life does not meet the criteria set by Scripture.

• We believe the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, to be the sole authority for faith and practice in the church. The laws of the Old Testament, including the Mosaic code, are normative for Christians today, provided they are understood and applied according to the teaching of the New Testament (Romans 13:8-10).

  We deny that the grace of God in Christ has changed in any way the definition of right and wrong. Rather, the Spirit works in us to accomplish the righteous requirements of the law (Romans 8:4).

• We believe a great commission has been given to disciple the nations to Christ. The instrument for accomplishing this is the preaching of the gospel prior to the return of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).

  We deny that the church should work as though we are living in the last generation and hence quite declaring the gospel. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

• We believe baptism in water to be a symbol of baptism into Christ, which the Holy Spirit performs at conversion. Water baptism therefore should be offered only to those so converted (Romans 6:1-4).

  We deny that water baptism imparts grace by means of water. God imparts grace to His children whenever they obey Him, and water baptism constitutes a part of that obedience.

• We believe the Lord’s Supper to be a symbol of the body and blood of Christ. Christians should regularly eat at this table, as long as they are not under the discipline of God, or God’s people (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

  We deny that the Lord’s Supper imparts grace by means of the bread and cup. It is, however, a participation in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:14-17), and God blesses faithful participation in the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 10:16-17), and disciplines faithlessness in it (1 Corinthians 11:30).

• We believe baptism in water and the Lord’s Supper to be external signs of internal, spiritual and historical realities.

  We deny that they are automatic means of blessing. Grace comes to us through faith alone. Any biblical means to build biblical faith is therefore a means of blessing and grace - including water baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

• We believe the sign gifts which were apparent in the first century church were not given as a normative pattern for subsequent generations (1 Corinthians 13:8-13).

  We deny that a church must manifest such gifts in order to please God in worship (1 Corinthians 14:20-22).

• We believe that Christians must fellowship in unity with all true Christians, and that we have no right to judge the hearts of fellow servants. If God has accepted someone, we must willingly do the same. The one exception occurs when a professing Christian is under the biblical discipline of God’s people (1 Corinthians 5:9-13).

  We deny that this fellowship requires joint ministry with those Christians who teach or practice that which is unbiblical. We may believe someone to be a Christian, and yet believe them to be unqualified for leadership. The qualifications for leadership differ from those for fellowship (Romans 14:1-8; 1 Timothy 3:1-7).

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Civil Government

• We believe that Christians are to live quiet and peaceful lives, in true submission to the civil magistrates ordained by God as His servants (Romans 13:1-7).

  We deny that this submission is absolute. When civil authorities require something forbidden by God, or forbid something required by God, the duty of Christians is to humbly, respectfully, and submissively disobey (Acts 4:19-20).

• We believe that Christians are to pray for those authorities that God has placed above them (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

  We deny that this prayer should be limited to blessings (Psalms 139:19-24).

• We believe that Christians should be involved in the political process. Christ required His followers to be salt and light in the world, and He did not exclude civil government from that Christian influence (Matthew 5:13-16).

  We deny that the power of the gospel is to be found in political involvement. We do not believe civil government to be a savior (2 Corinthians 10:3-6), and deny that the church is a political organization.

• We believe that in the prohibition of stealing, God has ordained the institution of private property. We believe that the Christian church should teach against theft in all its forms (Exodus 20:15).

  We deny that the institution of private property is a human invention. Rather, it is the result of a biblical understanding of God’s ordination of private property. But because man is fallen, the institution of private property, like all God-ordained institutions, has been much abused (Ephesians 5:5).

• We believe that the root cause of political disregard for the institution of private property is envy and covetousness (Matthew 20:1-16).

  We deny that theft can be sanctified, even if it is done in the name of civil justice (Isaiah 5:20). If the civil magistrate oversteps the boundaries established for him in Scripture one result can be various forms of theft, including oppressive taxation.

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