Statement of Faith
FAMILIES FOR CHRIST HOME EDUCATORS CO-OP STATEMENT OF FAITH
It is required that all member families affirm and agree with this Statement of Faith. This statement represents the core, non-negotiable beliefs that unite us in our mission to educate our children in the truth of the Christian faith.
1. The Holy Scriptures – We believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. It is God-breathed, true in all it affirms, and stands as the complete and sufficient authority for all matters of faith and life. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; John 17:17; Hebrews 4:12)
2. The Triune God – We believe in one true and living God, eternally existing in three coequal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are the same in substance, equal in power and glory. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
3. Jesus Christ – We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He is fully God and fully man, yet without sin. (John 1:1, 14; Isaiah 7:14; Hebrews 4:15)
4. Creation and the Fall of Humanity – We believe that God created humanity, male and female, in His own image. Through the sin of the first man, Adam, all of mankind fell, inheriting a sinful nature and becoming alienated from God. As a result, all people are sinners by nature and by choice, are under just condemnation, and are unable to save themselves. (Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12)
5. Salvation – We believe that salvation is wholly a gift of God's grace, accomplished by the finished work of Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect, sinless life, died a substitutionary death on the cross to atone for our sins, and was bodily resurrected on the third day. This salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It is not earned by good works but is offered to all who repent of their sin and trust in Christ as Savior and Lord. This genuine faith is necessarily evidenced by a life of obedience and good works. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Titus 3:5)
6. The Eternal State – We believe there is eternal life in Heaven for those who have received salvation through Jesus Christ and eternal punishment in Hell for those who have not. (Matthew 25:46; Romans 6:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9)
7. God's Design for Sex and Marriage – We believe that God creates every person in His image, wonderfully and immutably as male or female. These two distinct, complementary sexes together reflect the nature of God. We believe that God instituted marriage as the lifelong, exclusive union of one man and one woman, which serves as the sole Godhonoring context for sexual intimacy. (Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:4-6)
8. The Christian Life and the Holy Spirit – We believe that all believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who empowers them to live in submission to God's Word, pursue holiness, use their gifts for the good of the church, and share the gospel with the world. (Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:16-18; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Matthew 28:19-20)
9. The Local Church – We believe that the local church is the visible expression of Christ’s body on earth, established by Him for worship, fellowship, and discipleship. We encourage all member families to be actively and faithfully involved in a Bible-believing local church. (Hebrews 10:24-25; Acts 2:42-47)
10. Statement of Doctrinal Clarification and Denials
To preserve the unity of the co-op and protect its members from teachings that undermine the gospel, we believe it is necessary to affirm the following biblical truths by explicitly denying teachings that stand in opposition to them.
• Concerning God and the Person of Christ: We affirm the historic doctrine of the Trinity. Therefore, we deny any teaching that rejects the full deity and eternal personhood of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as three distinct, co-equal, and co-eternal persons in one Godhead.
• Concerning the Gospel of Salvation: We affirm that justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Therefore, we deny that justification is an ongoing process or is received through a combination of faith and works, church sacraments, or organizational affiliation. We deny that a person’s own righteousness, either achieved or infused, contributes in any way to their standing before God. The perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed to the believer, not earned or maintained by them.
• Concerning the Source of Authority: We affirm that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the sole, inerrant, and sufficient source of divine revelation. Therefore, we deny that any source of authority—be it church tradition, councils, papal decrees, or claims of extra-biblical prophecy or revelation—is equal to or supersedes the authority of the Holy Scriptures.