Our Faith

Christ Open Bible  is a Ministry of the Churches of Christ in Christian Union, as such we enjoy fellowship with hundreds of other Churches in our denomination as well as shared resourses and ministries.
 

 
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WHAT WE TEACH

The Bible

God speaks to us through the Bible. The Spirit of God guided the Bible writers so that they wrote without error. The Bible contains all we need to know about God, about ourselves, and about life here and hereafter. It contains the good news and the bad news.
 

The Bad News

Sin is two-fold:

1. Willful disobedience to God’s known law.

2. The evil twist and corruption in human nature. So all men, Christ excepted, are sinful by nature and sinners by practice, and therefore are in need of redemption since “the wages of sin is death.”

The Good News

Salvation has been made possible by Christ’s atoning death on the cross of Calvary. By His death and resurrection Christ has won a four-fold salvation for us:

1. Regeneration in which we are forgiven of all sins and baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ.

2. Entire sanctification in which we are baptized with the Holy Spirit and cleansed from the carnal mind.

3. Growth in grace after sanctification in which we walk in new light as it is given and are made more and more like Jesus.

4. Immortality of body and soul.

Jesus Christ

He is one with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, but for our redemption He became Man. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. He was without sin. He died to save us, but arose from the dead and is now ascended to heaven where He is at the right hand of God, interceding for us. We look for His return in power and majesty to set up a millennial kingdom on earth. At the last He will judge the world in righteousness.
 

The Holy Spirit

He is one with the Father and the Son. He is a Person and is God’s Agent in convicting and convincing sinners of sin. He regenerates believing sinners, and sancti- fies consecrated Christians. He magnifies Christ in the lives of believers and energizes them to live victoriously.
 

The Ordinances

We believe that Christ and His apostles ordained two ordinances to be practiced by His Church: water baptism and the Lord’s supper. We insist on no exclusive method or mode of baptism or of partaking the Lord’s supper. “Let each be fully persuaded in his own mind.” These ordinances are outward symbols, teaching of the inner life, the faith, and the hope of believers.
 

The Church

The Church is more than a denomination and more than all the denominations. It is composed of true believers in Jesus Christ. Christ is the Head and the Husband of the Church. Believers should meet together in local assemblies for the worship of God and for Christian fellowship. The Church has been commissioned by Christ to take the gospel to every creature: it is therefore missionary.
 

The Lord’s Day

We keep the first day of the week as the Lord’s Day, or Sabbath, because Christ arose from the dead on the first day of the week The early church kept this day in commemoration of God’s finished plan of redemption. We should keep it as a day of rest and worship.
 

The Hereafter

The Bible teaches that believers shall spend eternity with Christ in a holy heaven with holy and happy surroundings. It also teaches that the wicked shall be judged and sentenced to an eternity in perdition.
 

hat We Teach...

The Mission and Purpose Statement of the Churches of Christ in Christian Union

The mission of the Churches of Christ in Christian Union is to preach and teach the gospel of Christ for the purpose of:
 
  • World Evangelization
  • Discipling Believers
  • Promoting Scriptural Holiness
  • Establishing Churches and Ministries which reflect the spirit and practice of the New Testament Church
 

 
Editorials ... by Dr. Tom Hermiz
The Power of Prayer

 

I learned the value of prayer at a very early age.  My parents would gather the family together every day for our family worship.  My father would read scripture to us and then we would pray.  It was not uncommon to hear my father in his study or my mother in their bedroom interceding for others.  Being raised in this kind of environment I witnessed many miraculous answers to prayer that had a profound impact on my life.

One of those profound moments happened when I was in junior high school.  It took place on one of those beautiful New York Sunday mornings.  Rev. Carl Waggoner was home on furlough from Kenya, Africa where he served as field director of the WGM work.  Although I don not remember his sermon I was deeply impacted by an event that took place after the service.

In the providence of God I was standing near the door of the church as people were shaking Carl’s hand and filing out of the church.  It was at this moment that Mrs. Coyle stepped up to greet him.  The Coyle’s were probably the wealthiest family in the church.  Mr. Coyle was an executive with IBM and Mrs. Coyle owned and operated the finest children’s clothing store in the area.  She had a great passion for missions and she kept Carl David Waggoner well dressed when he was a young man.  They also gave generously to the church and to a number of other missionaries.

When Mr. Coyle greeted Carl I heard her tell him that on a certain date she had such a burden for him that she closed her store in the middle of the day and sent everyone home.  She then went into her office and spent several hours interceding for him and the ministry in Kenya.  After several hours of prayer she felt the burden lift and was confident that whatever the crises was God had heard and answered prayer.  I watched closely as Rev. Waggoner flipped through the pages of his date book and came to the date when Mrs. Coyle had been so burdened for him.  It was a few moments before Carl could speak.  It was obvious he was deeply moved.  As the tears rolled down across his cheeks he said, “Oh, thank you for praying.”  He said on that day he was presiding over the Africa Gospel Church annual conference and a small group of influential pastors were trying to pass legislation that would approve the church going back to it’s tribal custom of allowing more that one wife.  Rev. Waggoner said the debate went on for hours and he felt they were about to lose the entire denomination.  It was at this point that old Johanna, one of the most respected leaders in the church stood and spoke to the issue with a great anointing.  The tide turned and the Church was saved with only a few pastors leaving.  It was at this time that Mrs. Coyle was interceding for him not knowing anything about the crises.  This was on e of those profound moments in my life that taught me the value and power of prayer.

It is interesting to me that some in our church didn’t think Mrs. Coyle was very spiritual because she was rather fashionable in her dress and appearance.  But when the Lord needed an intercessor He moved on her heart.  She was close enough to God to hear His voice and committed enough to close her store in the middle of the day so she could pray.

There is much I do not understand about prayer but I believe in it and practice it.  I trust that you are close enough to the Lord to hear His voice and committed enough to be an intercessor.  We serve a God who hears and answers prayer.  There is a desperate need for faithful intercessors.