faith statement
Purpose
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A. The teaching and preaching of the Bible, God's Holy Word, in regular public worship services. [Hebrews 10:25]
B. To co-operate heartily, by prayer, giving, and service, in the effort of seeing the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached throughout the world. [Matthew 28:16-20]
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Beliefs
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We stand firm on the King James Version (KJV) as the inspired Word of God and have drawn our Articles of Faith from it.
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Articles of Faith
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An Open Door Bible Church believer is one who believes in a supernatural Bible which tells of a supernatural Christ, Who had a supernatural conception, Who spoke supernatural words. Who performed supernatural acts, Who lived a supernatural life, Who died a supernatural death, Who rose in a supernatural splendor, Who intercedes as a supernatural Priest, and Who will one day return in supernatural glory to establish a supernatural kingdom on the earth.
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SECTION 1 - The Scriptures
A. We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired; that it is true without any admixture of error for its matter: and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the ages, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man; the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be trusted.
B. By "the Holy Bible" we mean that collection of sixty-six books, from Genesis through Revelation, which as originally written does not only contain or convey the Word of God, but is the very Word of God.
C. By "inspiration" we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Spirit in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be inspired.
[2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Acts 1:16, 28:25; Psalms 19:7-11, 119:89', 119:105, 119:130, 119:160; Luke 24:25-27; John 17:17, 12:48, 5:39 & 45-47; Luke 24:44-45; Proverbs 30:5-6; Romans 3:4, 15:4; I Peter 1:23; Revelation 22:19; Isaiah 8:20; Ephesians 6:17]
D. The King James Bible is the Bible used at this church in all of its teaching, ministering, and other activities.
SECTION 2 - The Godhead
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We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. [Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:10, 26]
SECTION 3 - The Persons and Work of Christ and the Holy Spirit
A. The Person and Work of Christ
i. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. [Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8]
ii. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. [Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5]
iii. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. [Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2]
B. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
i. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. [John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14]
ii. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. [Ephesians 1:17-18, 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27]
iii. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. [Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:7-12]
iv. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the Consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. [1 Corinthians 1:22, 13:8, 14:21-22]
SECTION 4 - The Devil, Satan
We believe that Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors, but that he, through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and drew after him a host of angels; that he is now the malignant prince of the power of the air, the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man's great tempter, the ' enemy of God and His Christ, the accuser of the saints, the author of all false religion, the chief power in back of the present apostasy, the lord of the antichrist, and the author of all the powers of darkness — destined, however, to final defeat at the hands of God's own Son and to the judgment of an eternal justice in hell, a place prepared for him and his angels. [Isaiah 14:12-15; Revelation 12:9-10, 13:13-14, 19:11,16,20, 12:7-9, 20:1-3, 20:10; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Jude 6; Ephesians 2:2; John 14:30; Matthew 4:1-3, 13:25, 25:41; 1 Peter 5:8; Luke 22:3-4; Mark 13:21-22; 1 John 4:3, 2:22; 2 John 7; 2 Thessalonians 2:8-11]
SECTION 5 - The Creation
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We believe in the Genesis account of creation and that it is to be accepted literally and not allegorically or figuratively, that man was created directly in God's own image and after His own likeness, that man's creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of species or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms, that all animal and vegetable life was made directly and God's established law was that they should bring forth only "after their own kind." [Genesis 1:1, 1:11, 1:24, 1:26-27, 2:21-23; Exodus 20:11; Acts 4:24, 17:23-26; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 11:3; John 1:3; Revelation 10:6; Romans 1:20; Jeremiah 10:12; Nehemiah9:6].
SECTION 6 -The Fall of Man
We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless and happy state, in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners not by constraint, but of choice, and therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse. [Genesis 3:1-6 &, 24; Romans 1:18, 1:20, 1:28, 1:32, 3:10-19, 5:12, 5:19; Ephesians 2:1 & 3; Ezekiel 18:18-20; Galatians 3:22]
SECTION 7 - The Virgin Birth
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Ghost in -a miraculous manner; born of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born of woman; and that He is both the Son of God, and God the Son. [Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35; Mark 1:1; John 1:14; Psalm 2:7; Galatians 4:4; 1 John 5:20; 1 Corinthians 15:47]
SECTION 8 - The Atonement for Sin
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who, by appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin; honored the divine law by His personal obedience; and by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; we believe that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr but was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place, the just dying for the unjust, Christ the Lord bearing our sins in His own body on the tree. We believe that, having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven and uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection; He is every way qualified to be a suitable, compassionate, and all-sufficient Savior. [Ephesians 2:8; Acts 15:11, Romans 3:24-25; John 3:16, 10:18; Matthew 18:11; Philippians 2:7-8; Hebrews 2:14, 12:2, 9:12-15, 7:25; Isaiah 53:4-7, 53:11-12; 1 John 2:2, 4:10; 1 Corinthians 15:3, 15:20; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 1:4; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18]
SECTION 9 - Grace and the New Creation
We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again, that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension -- not by culture, not by character, nor by the will of man, but wholly and solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel, that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life. [John 3:3, 3:6-7, 1:12-13, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 5:19; Luke 5:27; 1 John 5:1; Acts 2:41; 2 Peter 1:4; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1, 5:9; Colossians 2:13; Galatians 5:22]
SECTION 10 - The Freeness of Salvation
We believe in God's electing grace; that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the Gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent, and an obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the Gospel, which rejection involves him in aggravated condemnation. [1 Thessalonians 1:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Peter 1:2; Titus 1:1; Romans 8:29-30, 10:13; Matthew 11:28; Isaiah 55:1, 55:6-7; Revelation 22:17: John 6:37. 3:15-17, 5:40, 3:18, 3:36; Acts 2:38; 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 Corinthians 15,: 10; Ephesians 2:4-5]
SECTION 11 - Justification
We believe that the great Gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is justification; that justification includes the pardon of sin and the gift of eternal life on principles of righteousness; and that it is bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood. His righteousness is imputed unto us, [Acts 13:39; Isaiah 53:11; Zechariah 13:1; Romans 8:1, 5:9, 5:1, 1:17,4:1-8; Titus 3:5-7; Hebrews 2:4, 10:38; Galatians 3:11]
SECTION 12 - Repentance and Faith
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We believe that Repentance and Faith are solemn obligations, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God; thereby, being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confessing Him as our only and all-sufficient Savior. [Acts 20:21, 2:37; Mark t: 15; Luke 18:13, 12:8; Romans 10:13, 10:9-11; Psalm 51:1-4. 51:7; Isaiah 55:6-7]
SECTION 13 - The Church
We believe that a Bible Believing Church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, said church being understood to be the citadel and propagator of the divine and eternal Grace; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; and that its officers are clearly defined in the scriptures. We believe the true mission of the church is found in the Great Commission: First, to make individual disciples; second, to build up the church; third, to teach and instruct as He has commanded. We do not believe in the reversal of this order; we hold that the local church has the absolute right of self government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, and that the one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural of true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that every church is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; on all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final. [Acts 2:41-42, 6:5-6, 14:23, 15:22-23; 1 Corinthians 11:2, 12:4, 12:8-11,16:1-2,6:1-3,5:11-13; Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:11; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Jude 3-4; 2 Corinthians 8:23-24; Malachi 3:10; Leviticus 27:32]
SECTION 14 - Baptism and the Lord's Supper
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, with the authority of the local church, to show forth in solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord's Supper, in which the members of the church, by the sacred use of bread and the fruit of the vine are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ, preceded always by a solemn self-examination. [Acts 8:36-39, 2:41-42; Matthew 3:6, 3:16, 28:19, 28 9-20; John 3:23; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28]
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SECTION 15 - The Perseverance of the Saints
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We believe that such only are real believers as endure unto the end; that their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors; that a special Providence watches over their welfare; and that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto eternal Salvation. [John 8:31, 10:28-29, 16:8; Colossians 1:21-23; 1 John 2:19; Matthew 13:19-21, 6:20; Romans 8:28, 8:35-39; Psalm 121:3; Hebrews 1:14; 1 Peter 1:5; Philippians 1:6]
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SECTION 16 - The Righteous and the Wicked
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We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of our God, are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked, and under the curse, and this distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the everlasting felicity (happiness) of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost. [Malachi 3:18; Genesis 18:23; Romans 6:17-18, 1:17, 6:16, 6:23, 7:6; Proverbs 11:31; 1 Peter 1:18; 1
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SECTION 17 - Civil Government
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We believe that civil government is of divine appointment, for the interests and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed, except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the coining Prince of the kings of the earth. [Romans 13:7; 2 Samuel 23:3; Exodus 18:21-22; Acts 23:5; Matthew 22:21; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-14, 2:17; Acts 4:19-20; Daniel 3:17-18; Matthew 10:28, 23:10; Philippians 2:10-11; Psalm 72:11]
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SECTION 18 - The Resurrection and the Return of Christ and Related Events
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We believe in and accept the sacred Scriptures upon these subjects at their face and full value. Of the Resurrection, we believe that Christ rose bodily "The third day according to the Scriptures"; that He alone is our "merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God"; "that this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" — bodily, personally, and visibly; that the "dead in Christ shall rise first," that the living saints "shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump"; "that the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His Father David"; and that "Christ shall reign a thousand years in righteousness until He hath put all enemies under his feet." [Matthew 28:6-7; Luke 24:39; John 20:27; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:2; Acts 1:9; Luke 24:51; Mark 16:19; Revelation 3:21; Hebrews 8:1; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 2:17; John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 24:27, 24:42; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Isaiah 11:4-5; Psalm 72:8; Revelation 20:1-4, 20:61
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SECTION 19 - Missions
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The command to give the Gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable, and this Commission was given to the churches. [Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; John 20:21; Romans 10:13-15]
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SECTION 20 - The Grace of Giving
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A. Scriptural giving is one of the doctrines of the faith.
[2 Corinthians 8:7]
B. We are commanded to bring our gifts into the storehouse (common treasury of the church) upon the first day of the week [1 Corinthians 16:2]. Under Grace we give, and do not pay, the tithe — "Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils" [Hebrews 7:2-4] — and this was four hundred years before the law, and is confirmed in the New Testament; Jesus said concerning the tithe, "These ye ought to have done" [Matthew 23:23].
C. We are commanded to bring the tithe into the common treasury of the church. [Leviticus 27:30; Malachi 3:10]
D. In the New Testament it was the common treasury of the church. [Acts 4:32, 35, 37]
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SECTION 21 - Abortion and the Sanctity of Life
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We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. We believe that life is sacred and that only God has the right to take it. Infanticide, euthanasia, and abortion are wrong according to God's Word. [Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5, 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24, 49:1,5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44]