We of the Morningside Friends Church, in harmony with our historic position, believing the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible to be our infallible rule of faith and of practice, and feeling our responsibility to make known the divine message of the Bible, present the following articles as a statement of those basic truths taught in the Bible which are common to our Christian faith and practice:

1. THE BIBLE: The Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, verbally inspired in all parts, and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God (II Tim. 3:16; II Peter 1:21).

2. THE ONE TRUE GOD: Existing eternally as three persons – The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22; Matt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14).

3. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: His preexistence and deity (John 1:1-3), incarnation by virgin birth (John 1:14; Matt. 1:18-23), sinless life (Heb. 4:15), substitutionary death (II Cor. 5:21), bodily resurrection (Luke 24:36-43), ascension into heaven and present ministry (Heb. 4:14-16), and coming again (Acts 1:11).

4. THE HOLY SPIRIT: His personality (John 16:7-15); and deity (Acts 5:3-14); and His work in each believer: He is given as an indwelling presence to every believer at the moment of regeneration (I Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9); and filling (Eph. 5:18) to empower for Christian life and service (Eph. 3:16; Acts 1:8; Gal. 5:22-23).

5. MAN: His direct creation in the image of God (gen. 1:26-28), his subsequent fall into sin resulting in spiritual death (Gen. 3:1-24; Rom. 5:12), and the necessity of the new birth for his salvation (John 3:3-5).

6. SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE: We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage of condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life (Ps. 139).

7. SALVATION: A complete and eternal salvation by God’s grace alone, received as the gift of God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; Peter 1:18-19).

8. THE CHURCH: One true Church, the body and bride of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:2-32), composed of all true believers of the present age (I Cor. 12:12-13); and the organization of its members for worship, for edification of believers, and for worldwide gospel witness, each local church being autonomous but cooperating in fellowship and work (Eph. 4:11-16).

9. CHRISTIAN LIFE: A life of righteousness, good works, and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world (Rom. 12:1-2), manifested by speaking the truth (James 5:12), maintaining the sanctity of the home (Eph. 5:22-6:4), setting differences between Christians in accordance with the Word of God (I Cor. 6:1-8), not engaging in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all men (Rom. 12:17-21), exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), and maintaining a life of prayer (Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6), including the privilege, when sick, of calling for the Elders of the church to pray and to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:13-18).

10. MARRIAGE, GENDER, SEXUALITY: We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one natural-born man and one natural-born woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Gen. 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (I Cor. 6:18, 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a natural-born man and a natural-born woman.

We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matt. 15:18-20; I Cor. 6:9-10).

We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Morningside Church/Morningside Ministries as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the Morningside Church/Morningside Ministries members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Morningside Church/Morningside Ministries in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement of Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality (Mat. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-16; I Thess. 5:22).

We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; I Cor. 6:9-11).

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Morningside Church/Morningside Ministries.

11. SATAN: His existence and personality as the great adversary of God and His people (Rev. 12:1-10), his judgment (John 12:31), and final doom (Rev. 20:10).

12. SECOND COMING: The personal, visible, and imminent return of Christ to remove His church from the earth (I Thess. 1:10, 4:16-17; Rev. 20:6).

13. THE FUTURE: The conscious existence of the dead (Phil. 1:21-23; Luke 16:19-31), the resurrection of the body (John 5:28-29), the judgment and condemnation of unbelievers (Rev. 20:11-15), the eternal life of the saved (John 3:16), and the punishment of the lost (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:15).

14. FINAL AUTHORITY FOR MATTERS OF BELIEF AND CONDUCT: The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of Morningside Church/Morningside Ministries’ faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our Board of Elders is Morningside Church/Morningside Ministries’ final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.