Our Beliefs
We believe in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and that His blood was shed and His body broken for all in vicarious atonement for our sins. Vicarious atonement means that He went to the cross and died in our place, as our substitute. There is nothing we can do to "earn" our salvation. Jesus Christ accomplished that work for us on the cross. We do not merit salvation; it is the gift of God through Jesus Christ. As the Apostle said,
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Eph 2:8)Salvation is through faith and not through works.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the
Only Begotten** (therefore NOT created) Son of God, God's Anointed, the Messiah. He was God incarnate (in the flesh) when He trod this earth and He was killed on a Roman cross and was raised on the third day and glorified and is now sitting at the right hand of God making intercession for us.Jesus Christ is God, the Second Person of the Trinity or the Triune God, Who is God the Father, God the Son (or Word), and God the Holy Spirit. This is not three gods, But God Himself manifested in three different persons. Jesus Christ is eternal, from everlasting to everlasting, having no beginning and no end.
Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a Virgin, Mary, the espoused of Joseph.
The Bible is the inerrant (or without error) and complete Word of God. It was written over a period of 1500 years and by 36 authors. Each author was inspired of God to write the EXACT words of God, and in the original languages it is accurate to the letter. We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Word of God and the divine preservation of the Scriptures throughout history. Here are a few verses supporting this statement:
Psa 12:6-7 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. {7} Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Ps 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Ps 119:152 Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.
Ps 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Isaiah 55:11 "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."
Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
2 Tim 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
2 Pet 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
We believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to individuals as He determines. Not all believers have the same gifts nor is there one specific spiritual gift that signifies that we are saved. As an example, not all believers are given the gifts of teaching, or ministering, etc. All gifts are given to edify the church and to accomplish the work of the church, which is to make disciples of all. All gifts are necessary for the church and each believer must work with others who have different gifts to accomplish the work of the church. The church is the body of Christ and all parts of the body are needed. When one believer forsakes his gift or gifts, the body suffers.
We believe in what some denominations call "the priesthood of the believer." It is based on 1 Pet 2:5:
"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." What it means is this. Believers are equal before God, each believer has direct access to the Father, and believers are responsible to minister according to their Spiritual gifts. Accordingly, all believers may study the Word of God for themselves with the leading of the Holy Spirit.We believe that Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father and that He will return again to the earth and gather His church from the four winds and they will remain with Him forever.
We believe in the resurrection of the dead in an incorruptible body, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to eternal damnation.
We believe that there is a coming Day of Judgment when God will judge all and they whose names are not found in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
We believe in fellowship, in person, and face to face, on a regular basis. Such fellowship is necessary in order that we may hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, and consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. The Bible Church is a virtual church that necessarily does not allow us to fellowship in person and face to face. Therefore it is necessary for us to find fellowship and a local body of believers. See How to Find a Church.
If you have questions about any of our beliefs, either those listed here or others not listed here, please ask that question by
email to our Pastor.OTHER BELIEFS:
Life begins at conception and the unborn is a living human being. Abortion kills that life, therefore legalized abortion is legalized murder.
Homosexuality, including lesbianism and bisexuality, is a perversion of sexuality in the way that God ordained it. Sexual intercourse outside of marriage is a perversion of God's purpose for sexuality. The only legitimate marriage is between one man and one woman. Fornication, adultery, incest, bestiality, pornography and other types of aberrant sexuality are also perversions of God's purpose for sexuality.
Satan, The Devil, Lucifer, Baal, Beelzebub, The Great Dragon, etc. is a very real person. He was created by God and is now the enemy of God and His people. He is already judged to eternal damnation in the Lake of Fire.
God has ordained all government authority and thus we are to be subject to such authority. We are to obey the laws of Government so long as they do not infringe upon God's authority. For as the Apostle Peter said, " We ought to obey God rather than men."
(Acts 5:29)We believe in the Constitution of the United States as it was understood by our founding fathers. We believe in freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and the right to bear arms. Freedom of religion is the right to practice our religion and to speak about our religion in any setting to include government institutions. The "separation of church and state" is not a constitutional term. The sentiment "separation of church and state" as used by Thomas Jefferson is that a wall of separation exists to prevent the government from interfering in religion and not vice versa. So all government attempts to regulate religion and to keep it out of government institutions are unconstitutional. Here is the First Amendment:
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"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." |
The freedom to express our religious views is just as inviolate as, and according to the constitution has the same standing as, the freedom of the press and the freedom of speech and the freedom to assemble peaceably and the freedom to petition the Government.
NOTE: Some translations of the Bible use the phrases, "one and only" and "only" instead of "only begotten", when they render the Greek word monogene (μονογενη, John 3:16, Hebrews 11:17, 1 John 4:9), monogenes (μονογενης, John 1:18, 3:18), or monogenous (μονογενους, John 1:14) into English. All three spellings, monogene (μονογενη), monogenes (μονογενης), and monogenous (μονογενους), are variations of the same word, monogenes (μονογενη). Taking the word apart, we get monos and gene (genes, genous). Monos (μονος) means solely, single, only, etc. gene (genes, genous) is from the word genos (γενος), "to become offspring" or "to be born." Literally the word monogen(e,s,ous) means sole born, or only born. Only born or begotten is the only meaning we can arrive at from this word and its etymology. How anyone could render the word monogenes as "one and only" is hard to understand (unless there is a hidden agenda involved).
What is the difference you may ask? It is simply this. Jesus is not the one and only Son of God. God has many sons. Jesus is the only one that is born of the actual seed of God. The other sons are either adopted or created. Angels were created. They are referred to as sons of God (Job 1:6 , Job 2:1 , Job 38:7) . Christians are the sons (children) of God by adoption. (Rom 8:15 , (Gal 4:4-5) . While God has many sons, he has only One Who was begotten of Him and is the Son of God by blood. So the modern translations are wrong when they call Jesus the One and Only Son of God. Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God.
èThis work is undertaken in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
èCopyright © 1998-2007, The Bible Church. All Rights Reserved. Contents may be distributed but not sold.
èThe Bible Church has the right to present its ideas and opinions in this format. We have NOT made any covenant with the Federal Government, such as a nonprofit agreement or tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3), and according to the
First Amendment
of the Constitution we have the right to free speech, including political speech, and freedom of religion.
èThe content of this study (with the exception of any scripture or quote) is the sole production of Pastor Mark Oaks and is subject to change as the pastor grows and learns.
èNumbers following Greek or Hebrew words are
Strong’s Numbers.
Hebrew numbers are in normal type style (1234) and Greek numbers are in Italic style (1234).