About the Editor

I am Scott Shifferd Jr, the editor. I am now serving as a church servant and I live in Jacksonville, FL. I am married and have a daughter. This web log was started for the edification of all and the reformation of denominations back to the Bible, and even for evangelism using the Scriptures, God’s breath, as the sole authority for a variety of subjects.

Please, if the premises of these articles are wrong, then please present premises (not assertions) for correct conclusions. If there is disagreement, this article will respond and affirm the premises of the Scriptures. Please help us to eliminate any assertions for which conclusions stand. These articles are for church reform and evangelism. Errors must be retracted and correct for the sake of the teacher and readers since those that teach will be judged harsher (James 3:1). We pray grace and peace to all who enter this discussion. Thank you.

Here is a concise presentation of the beliefs and practices that I hold from God’s breath, the Scriptures:

God:

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).

The Scriptures:

We are convinced that the Scriptures are inspired by the Spirit of God (God’s breath) and 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 are convinced that by our of Christ we observe all things that Christ commanded (Matt. 28:20). We do not believe in extra revelations or illuminations from the Spirit since the Spirit revealed all things to the Apostles and prophets (John 14:26, 16:12-13, Eph. 3:3-5). All the revelation and illumination that we receive from the Spirit is by the Scriptures. We are convinced to not add or take away from God’s Word (1 Cor. 4:6, 2 John 9).

The Way of Salvation:

We are convinced of the necessity for salvation to confess faith in the Lord, His resurrection, and Godhead, to repent by turning away from sins, to be immersed in Jesus’ name to wash away sins, and to live faithfully unto death (Rom. 10:17, 9-10, Rom. 6:3-6). 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 are convinced that baptism is only for believers and not for infants (Mark 16:16). We believe that we are saved by grace and not by our works (Eph. 2:8-9), but works such as faith and baptism are essential to go to Heaven (Jam. 2:24). We affirm that everyone has free will to obey God (1 Tim. 2:4, 2 Pet. 3:9).

The Church:

We are convinced the Church of Christ by any and all Scriptural names to be the Church that Christ bought with His blood and cleansed her by the washing of water (Acts 20:28, Eph. 5:26). We believe that if possible it is God’s ideal that churches are shepherded by elders (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:1-3). We also believe that churches are to be autonomous since there is no mention of hierarchy in the Scriptures. The Church is God’s greatest institution and God instituted the home and the civil government (Matt. 16:18, 19:5, 1 Pet. 2:13-17). We believe 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 service in love.

Morality:

We are convinced that we must love our neighbor as ourselves. The “abortion” of a human “fetus” is the murder 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 immorality, “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).

Marriage after Divorce:

We are convinced that only the innocent person of a divorce may marry again when the other spouse has been sexually immoral (Matt. 5:32, 19:9). We understand that separation of spouses is sometimes necessary for reasons other than sexual immorality though these spouses cannot marry any one else while they can only return to one another (1 Cor. 7:10-15).

Worship and the Assembly:

We are convinced of Christ’s instruction for worship to be in and outside of the Assembly, but not all of life. We affirm the purposes of the Assembly are to worship God and to edify one another in fellowship. We are convinced 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 the first day of the week consisting of bread and fruit of the grapevine (Matt. 26:26-29). Prayer is to be directed to God and God alone in Christ’s name (Eph. 5:20). Singing is congregational (Acts 4:24, Rom. 15:6) and excludes all other additions to music like proxy choruses and mechanical music, which also includes 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 while both men and women are one in Christ (1 Cor. 14:34, 1 Tim. 2:12, Gal. 3:28).

The End Times:

We are convinced that we are living during the millennial reign of saints with Christ or just after the millennial reign while before the 2nd coming of Christ (Rev. 20). 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).

Afterlife:

We understand that there are only two destinations, 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 understand those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel will have an eternal punishment in Hell (2 Thes. 1:7-9, Jude 1:7).