Our Beliefs
The Articles of Our Faith at Oxbow Lake Baptist Church
Articles of Faith
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally and plenary-inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official translation of the church. (II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:20, 21)
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THE GODHEAD
We believe in the Trinity of the Godhead; one God eternally existing in three equal persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (John 1:1, 2, 14; Matthew 3:16, 17; I John 4:13)
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JESUS CHRIST
We believe in the deity (John 1:1, 2, 14), virgin birth (Matthew 6:18-25), sinless life (II Corinthians 5:21), substitutionary death (I Peter 2:24), bodily resurrection (John20:5-9), and imminent, pre-millennial coming of Christ (I Thessalonians 4:16-18).
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THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the personality of the Holy Spirit by Whom believers are called (I Corinthians 12:3); regenerated (John 3:5); baptized into Christ (I Corinthians 12:13); indwelt at salvation (John 14:16, I Corinthians 22:9-12); sealed (Ephesians 4:30), and filled for service (Acts 1:8). We believe also that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gifts of healing, were temporary. We believe that "speaking in tongues" was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 13:8, 14:22)
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CREATION
We believe in the direct creation of the universe and man in a literal 6-day, 24-hour period of time by God apart from any process of evolution. (Genesis 1-2)
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SIN
We believe that man, in the person of the first Adam, was created in innocence, but by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful creature, thus plunging the whole race into condemnation and death. We believe all mankind is born in sin, shapen in iniquity, and become willful sinners with the expression of personal choice and without excuse before God. Furthermore, we believe man has within himself no possible means of recovery or salvation. (Genesis 3:1-6; 3:24; Romans 5:10-19; 7:18; Mark 7:21-23; Matthew 19:26)
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SALVATION
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19)
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ETERNAL SECURITY
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4, 5)
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THE CHURCH
​We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. (I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches are clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
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We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:2, 4-7: I Peter 5:1-4)
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THE ORDINANCES
BAPTISM
Those professing saving faith in Jesus Christ as personal Saviour shall, by the Pastor or other church-authorized man, be immersed in water in accordance with the Spiritual teaching. (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:3-5)
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THE LORD'S SUPPER
The Lord's Supper (Communion) shall be served at the discretion of the Pastor, to the assembled church, by the Pastor and authorized men of the church. (Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 11:23-26)
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SEPARATION
We believe in obedience to the Biblical command to separate entirely from worldliness, ecclesiastical apostasy, and ecumenical movements. (II Corinthians 6:14-17; Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 1:6-9: I John 2:15-17; II Timothy 3:15) A New Testament Church cannot "join" anything outside itself, but only fellowship with others of like faith and practice.
SATAN
We believe that the Devil or Satan is a personal evil spirit, formerly a holy angel, from which estate he by transgression fell drawing a host of angels with him (Ezekiel 28:12-18; Isaiah 14:12-17; Revelation 12:2-4; II Peter 2:4); that he now presides over these evil angels as their leader, being the prince of the power of the darkness of this world (Ephesians 2:2; II Corinthians 11:13-15): that he is the enemy of God (Matthew 13:25), tempter and accuser of the saints (I Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:10), possessor of the power of death (Hebrews 2:14), author of all evil and of all false religions (I Timothy 4:1), the chief power behind the present apostasy (I John 4:1-3; II Thessalonians 2:3-7): and that he is destined, however, to final defeat and eternal destruction in the lake of fire (Revelation 2:10).
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THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
We believe in that "blessed hope," the personal, imminent return of Christ, who will rapture His Church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthy Messianic Kingdom that was promised to the nation of Israel. (Psalm 89:3,4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:16)
THE ETERNAL STATE
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John5:28, 29; 11:25, 26; Revelation 20:5, 6, 12, 13)
We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited, to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16, 17; Revelation 20:11-15)
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: (1) the home (2) the church and (3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God.
(Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13, 14)
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