American Council of Christian Churches
84th Annual Convention, October 21-23, 2025
Bible Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC
Resolution on the Convention Theme: “Christ’s Church: The Pillar and Ground of the Truth, on the 1700th Anniversary of the Nicene Creed”
Paul wrote 1 Timothy to his son in the faith, who served as the Apostle’s representative in Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3). He instructed Timothy to deal with teaching that was heterodox and contradictory to the Christian faith (1:3-4, 10; 6:3). Such teaching is heresy, the willful distortion or denial of revealed truth in Scripture by those in the professing church. Heresy leads people away from the truth of God, destroying rather than strengthening churches (1:4-7; 6:3-5).
In addition to dealing with false teaching in the church, Timothy must also ensure that the public worship of the church has biblical order and character (Ch. 2). Only those with godly lives should serve as church leaders (Ch. 3). The church must care for qualified widows (5:3-16) and demonstrate an impartial yet loving view of its leadership (5:17-25).
These aspects of church life are essential because the church belongs to the one true and living God; it is the house in which He dwells (3:15). As such, the church is the pillar and ground of the truth, authoritatively declaring and defending Scripture. Declaring truth glorifies God, saves souls, and edifies the saints. Defending truth glorifies God, ensures its preservation, and protects believers.
In the centuries following the apostles, many church leaders sought to defend monotheism by teaching that, though Christ is the Son, He is subordinate to rather than fully equal with the Father. One such teacher was Lucian (c. A.D. 240–312), who founded a significant theological school in Antioch.
A Libyan student of Lucian’s named Arius (c. A.D. 250–336) further developed his teacher’s subordination doctrine. Arius taught that since the Son was begotten, He therefore was a created being and not eternal. Accordingly, the Son is merely a creature and thus is entirely unlike the Father, not sharing the same nature or essence. Arius’s teaching generated significant division and disunity in the church.
This turmoil upset the Roman emperor Constantine, who legalized Christianity. Seeking uniformity, he convened a council of church leaders in Nicaea in the summer of A.D. 325 to address this and other issues. The primary result of their months-long deliberations was a creed, a brief statement clearly declaring and defending the Scriptural truth that the Son is eternal God, of the same essence as the Father. The Creed concludes with a resounding denunciation of all who deny the full and eternal deity of the Son, Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is merely a created being and thus unequal with the Father, then the Son cannot reveal the Father or save sinners.
Despite Nicaea’s clear declaration and defense of the truth, many continue to teach the heresy that Christ is not fully God, such as Christadelphians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Oneness Pentecostals, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), Unitarians, and modernist Protestant denominational leaders. Prominent purveyors include Marcus Borg, Kenneth Copeland, Eric Chang, John Dominic Crossan, Creflo Dollar, Bart Ehrman, Kenneth Hagin, Joyce Meyer, Michael A. Walrond Jr., Richard Rohr, and John Shelby Spong. Despite denying the truth of Christ’s deity, these false teachers insist they are Christians.
Therefore, the American Council of Christian Churches at its 84th annual convention, October 21-23, 2025, at Bible Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC, resolves to declare and defend God’s truth in and through our respective churches. We affirm that the church belongs to God and must therefore reflect His character and obey His commands. We commit ourselves to declaring clearly and unequivocally God’s truth, rather than adjusting or distorting it, as Lucian and Arius did. We will defend God’s truth against heterodoxy, marking and avoiding heretics, such as those listed above. We recognize that when false teaching arises and when a church refuses to declare and defend the truth, it becomes a crumbling pillar, wobbly and unstable, with a cracking foundation destined to collapse into ruin. We therefore ask our great God and Savior Jesus Christ for grace, wisdom, and strength to be faithful to Him. Lastly, we believe the Nicene Creed accurately explains the Scriptural truth of the deity of Christ and thus gladly confess it.
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