As those who have been brought to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by the grace of God, we are now Christians, saved from the just penalty and enslaving power of sin. Being new creations in union with Christ, we will, with God’s help, live as God’s people. Therefore, we now, by God’s grace and for God’s glory, joyfully commit as one body in Christ.
- We will walk together in Christian love with humility, gentleness, and patience, laboring for the maturity and fruitfulness of this body (John 17:20-23; Eph. 4:3-13).
- We will rejoice at each other’s happiness and endeavor to bear each other’s burdens and sorrows, always remembering to pray for one another (Rom. 12:15; James 5:16).
- We will be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:1-3).
- We will exercise affectionate care and watchfulness over each other, and if occasion requires, we will humbly plead with one another to cease in sinful behavior and encourage the confession of sin to one another (Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5:1-5; Gal. 6:1-5; 1 John 1:6-10).
- We will regularly gather together in corporate worship, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves (Acts 2:46; Heb. 10:24-25).
- We will pursue and encourage in each other a deeper understanding of God and his will through personal spiritual disciplines, relying upon God’s power to enable us to live out what we learn so that God is glorified, others are blessed, and we are transformed (Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Tim. 4:7-10).
- We will strive to properly manage the resources God has given us, including our time, bodies, spiritual gifts, talents, finances, and possessions (Prov. 3:9-10; Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 12:7-31; 2 Cor. 8:1-9:15; Gal. 5:22-26; Eph. 4:1-16; 5:15-18).
- We will aim to bring up all who are in our care and through example, word, and deed seek the salvation of our friends, family, community, and all the nations (Deut. 6:4-25; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:9; Eph. 5:22-6:4; Col. 4:5).
- We will seek, by God’s power, to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and pursuing holiness, remembering as new creations in Christ we have a special obligation to live holy lives (Rom. 13:12-14; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:16-26).
- We will work together for the continuance of a faithful gospel ministry in this church, as we sustain its corporate worship, ordinances, mission, doctrine, and, under the final authority of God’s Word, its governing documents.
- We will, if we move from this church, as soon as possible, unite with some other Christian church among whom we can carry out the spirit of this statement and the principles of God’s Word.
These commitments do not imply that we will never fall short. Nevertheless, the desire of our hearts is to fulfill each of these responsibilities in the power of the Holy Spirit. Honesty, humility, and the pursuit of holiness are ordinary for the people of God, but sinlessness will not be a daily reality until we are all in the presence of Jesus Christ. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all (2 Cor. 13:14).