Lean To

Articles of Faith (AoF) are an uninspired effort to briefly paraphrase what "we believe" the bible to teach on a handful of core doctrines and principles. It is important to distinguish between "we believe" and "thus saith the Lord." They are NOT the same. AoFs are of the "we believe" sort. They are an attempt at expressing one's understanding of what God has said. As the produce of fallen men, they are prone to error. In their best state, AoFs are a "lean-to" that cannot stand without external support from the word of God. In their worst state, they are a misrepresentation of the word of God. As such, AoFs and other such instruction (confessions, preaching, writing, etc.) must ALWAYS be handled with Berean skepticism. We should receive such declarations with all readiness of mind, but never to the exclusion of searching the scriptures to see if they are so (Acts 17:11). If they are not so - we should kick them to the curb and move on. Just as a "lean to" cannot stand on its own, AoFs have no inherent structural support. If the bible does not support them, they must be allowed to collapse under the weight of their own folly.

- Elder Daniel Samons