"Shepherds Way" ~ E.W. King: TSW 13 Statements of Faith

Basic Summation of our Christian Faith

The 13 Statements

“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ and ‘I of Apollos,’ and ‘I of Cephas,’ and ‘I of Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13).

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:6-9).

Return to the Truth......

Authentic Orthodox Lutheran Christianity.......

"The Ancient Antiochene Church of God"

The Scriptures: We believe the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. The Holy Spirit gave the very words of these sacred writings to holy men of old. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; Acts 1:16)

The Triune God: We believe that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is the creator of all things and upholds all things by the Word of His power. (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 17:3; Matthew 28:19; Revelation 4:11; Hebrews 1:3, 8, 10-13; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15, 16, 2:9; Acts 5:3, 4)

The Lord Jesus Christ: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life, was crucified, shedding His blood for the remission of sins. Christ was buried, rose bodily from the grave on the third day, and ascended back to heaven. He sits at the right hand of the Father where He is our High Priest and Advocate. We are looking for His imminent return. (Matthew 1:20-25; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; 1 John 2:1-2; Hebrews 4:14-16)

The Holy Spirit: We believe the Holy Spirit to be the third person of the Trinity. He indwells, guides, teaches, and empowers the believer for effective service and Holy living to the glory of Christ. He assures the believer of his eternal salvation. He also convicts the world of sin, of judgment, and of righteousness. (Romans 8:9; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:13, 14; 4:30; Romans 8:15, 16; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Acts 1:8; John 16:8-11)

The exceeding Sinfulness of Man: We believe that as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve, man is dead in trespasses and sin. This "death passed upon all men for all have sinned." Human nature is totally corrupt and estranged from God. A new life imparted by the Holy Spirit through the Word is absolutely essential to salvation. Man must be born again to receive eternal life. (Romans 5:12; Isaiah 53:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 2:1, 2; John 3:3, 18; Titus 3:5; Philippians 3:4-9)

The Means of Salvation: We believe that the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ alone has accomplished our salvation. God uses His word and the Holy Spirit to call people. The Lord Jesus Christ became sin for us, and as our substitute, paid the penalty for our guilt. Through simple childlike faith alone in this substitutionary death, the repentant soul is born again by the power of God. "The old has gone, the new has come." (John 1:12; 5:24; 14:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17, 21; Romans 5:6-9; Ephesians 1:7)

Two Sacraments: We believe water baptism [aspersion, affusion, immersion] and the Lord's Supper (Communion) are Holy Sacraments (ordinances) to be observed as the Lord commanded in this age. (Matthew 28:19, 20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30)

The True Church: We believe that the True Church is composed of all those who have been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit and, thus, united together in the Body of Christ, and that sectarianism and denominationalism is to be avoided. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 4:4-6)

The Return of our Lord: We believe in the personal and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ and that this blessed hope has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:12, 13)

The Resurrection of the Just and the Unjust: We believe in the resurrection of both the saved, to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment. Death does not end all. (John 5:29; Revelation 20:12-15)

Satan: We believe in the reality and personality of Satan (Job 1:6-12; Matthew 4:2-ll; John 8:44; Revelation 12:9,10)

The Eternal Destiny of Man: We believe in the eternal destiny of man. Heaven is a real place of eternal joy and bliss for the redeemed, and Hell is a real place of eternal condemnation for those who reject salvation in Christ. (John 11:25, 26; Mark 3:29; Hebrews 6:2;)

The Mission of the Church: We believe that the mission of the Church is to spread the gospel and make disciples of people in every nation. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8)

Note: We do not believe in evolution, we believe in Creation and that Marriage is between a biological male and biological female (the two shall become one). Also, all kindreds, tribes, races and tongues are invited into the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Shepherds Way - Original Christianity

The Shepherds Way continues to teach the Word of God in Truth. Showing the thread of Truth from the first Church of Antioch. Our first Bishop there being the Apostle Peter. We have the writings of our early teachers and the records of early Church history.

We show that there were no major denominations for the first 400 years of the church, before the Roman Catholic and Greek schism occurred. Hence, the first and most early church, the original church founded by our Savior, Yzues Christos, still exists today in the modern Antiochene Church.

If you are a Christian and want to truly understand the unpolluted and rich theology of the original church than you are welcome to begin your free studies here by watching all of Eric William King's theological lectures and studies.

We thank God for the teaching tools that we have been given throughout the centuries and we are blessed to have in our Antiochene Library much information on the most early manuscripts.

So welcome fellow brother & sister in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Understand the

Ancient Antiochene Church of God

Authentic Orthodox Lutherans

Defining “The Ancient Antiochene Church of God” as a Lutheran Church is very important. What other long time Lutheran Christians will find here, in our studies, are deeper truths than the present Lutheran Seminaries and schools are teaching. We must remember that St. Martin Luther was called to restore the proper understanding of true salvation through and in the person of Jesus Christ. He restored what we refer to as the “three solas”. We also understand that he restored proper liturgical worship and understanding of the two sacraments.

We must not stop there. As growing Christians, we must also allow that same reform into other areas of theology. For instance, understanding Bible prophecy [eschatology] is also important for Christian growth. We have also developed and restored proper dispensational theology. Now we understand the Bible in a way which is easy to understand and agrees not only with Scripture but with what the early church [Patristic period] taught regarding these issues.

We also use what we call the Seven Hermeneutic Laws of proper interpretation. This keeps us consistent in our handling of the Word of God. “The Ancient Antiochene Church of God” is what we call Authentic Orthodox Lutheranism. We uphold the “Book of Concordia” and the three ancient Christian creeds. We are fairly-conservative. We do not teach evolution [though we believe that our planet is very old] and we believe that Biblical marriage is between a biological male and biological female. We also do not support abortion.

One other thing that makes us unique and different from other conservative Lutheran Christians is the fact that we support women ordination and we believe that it is in fact Biblical. We have papers and lectures regarding this issue.

As far as the sacrament of baptism, we have added an addendum which we believe that St. Luther would have agreed upon. Now that there are thousands of different Protestant denominations since St. Luther, we accept all Christians who have been baptized by the “water and the word” who believe in the Holy Trinity and both Holy Sacraments. They do not have to be re-baptized.

“The Ancient Antiochene Church of God” does not belong to any synod nor do we directly support any synod. Having stated that, many who have become Antiochene Christians worship at different Lutheran churches throughout the world. Some go to other Protestant churches where the true Word of God is feeding them. Christians who study here and have found a home also worship in their own personal homes and with other Christians where and when they can. We welcome all Christians. There are no fines, fees, or forms to become a true Christian.

We urge you to support the church where God is leading you and to share the true Gospel of our Lord where, when, and how ever you can. Please share what you learn here with fellow Christians. As your brother in Christ, I thank you for taking time out to visit us and study with us. Welcome to God’s family.

We serve the only true Almighty God.

This is most certainly true.

Presbyter, Eric William King (April 30^th 2025)