What We Believe

In todays world of blurred morality, it’s vitally important that you know what the Bible says and know what you believe. Here is what Open Door Baptist Church believes and knows to be true from the Bible.

We believe the Holy Scriptures to be the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament; that they are the plenarily and verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith, life, and church establishment, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God breathed. The Word of God as preserved in the King James Version of the Bible shall be the official translation of this church. (Psalm 12:6-7; Isaiah 59:21; Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour days. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory and Theistic Evolution and all other unscriptural theories of origin. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, perfect and holy. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)

We believe in the Triune God eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 14:10; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2-3)

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 Ghost 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)

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; 1Corinthians 15:3-8; Ephesians 1:17; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2:24)

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, Hefulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25, 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2) 

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead, that He is indeed God, who convicts the world of sin, 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)

We believe that He is the divine teacher who guides believers into all truth, that He is the One who helps every believer interpret Scripture. (1 Corinthians 2:10-16; Ephesians 1:17-18; 1 John 2:20, 27)

We believe that God bestows spiritual gifts to every believer according to His sovereign will, that God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the church to do the work of the ministry. (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12)

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, suchas speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were for the early church until the completion of the Holy Scriptures. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the HolySpirit. We believe 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. (Mark 16:17-20; 1 Corinthians 1:22, 13:8-12, 14:1-35)

We believe it is the privilege and responsibility of all believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit which is evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 5:18)

We believe that Satan is an angel who once held a lofty high position in the presence of God Himself, but due to pride, Satan was judged of God, cast out of Heaven, is currently deceiving people today, but will in the end be cast into The Lake of Fire for all eternity. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:13-17; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Revelation 20:10)

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, dead in trespasses and sins, and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12, 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 4:17-19)

We believe 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 the cross for the forgiveness of sins. We believe that men in their natural sinful condition are unable to merit righteousness before God and therefore, must be “born again” by their creator Himself. We believe that salvation as the gift of God is made available to everyone, in all ages, by grace through faith in Christ. We believe salvation is received at the moment an individual believes in the substitutionary death and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ for remission of sins. (Luke 13:3, 5; John 1:12, 3:16; Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-10, 13; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 Peter 1:18-19)

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, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30; 1 Peter 1:4-5)

We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).

We believe that the church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)

We believe that the local church is a called out assembly of biblically-baptized believers in Jesus Christ who share the common doctrines of the Bible as outlined in this Statement of Faith, for the purpose of pleasing God, converting the lost to Jesus Christ and discipling the saved. (Matthew 16:18, 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:8, 2:41-42, 46-47; Revelation 4:11)

We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the 27 books of the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

We believe that it is our duty as Christians to pray for the lost and for each other, to be an active witness for the Lord Jesus, and to spend time in prayer and the study of God’s Word. We believe we should bring our children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord and do our best to win them to Christ and instruct them in the Word of God. (Psalm 127; Matthew 9:36-38; Luke 18:1; John 5:39; Acts 1:8, 17:11-12; Ephesians 6:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)

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; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4)

We believe that there are two Scriptural ordinances that the Lord Jesus instituted for the church: (a) water baptism by immersion after salvation in obedience to Christ’s command. We believe this is a picture of our trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 8:26-39, 10:34-48; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4) (b) The Lord’s Supper as a symbolic remembrance of the crucified body and shed blood of Jesus Christ with unleavened bread and non-alcoholic grape juice after a solemn time of personal soul searching and personal confession of sin to the Lord Jesus. (Matthew 26:26-30; Acts 2:42, 46, 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; 1 John 1:9)

We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, should support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving. And we believe, New Testament doctrines of grace call every Christian to give other offerings as God prospers in a cheerful and sacrificial manner to support the ministry of church. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)

We believe that God has given the church a Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to teach them to observe God’s Commandments. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to those of our own country and to the foreign nations. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20)

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. (Genesis 2:24, 19:5, 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)

We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. We believe divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery unless the divorce took place because of fornication of a spouse, or desertion of an unbelieving spouse. Although divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7:10-16; 1 Timothy 3:2, 4-5, 12; Titus 1:6)

Abortion:  We believe that each individual human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. We believe abortion is the taking of innocent human life created in the image of God. (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5, 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24, 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)

Euthanism:  We believe that God is both the giver of our life and the taker of our life. God has numbered our days, and He is sovereignly in control over our whole life. When illness, injury, or accident brings pain and hardship in our life it is our Christian duty to: 1.) Pray; 2.) Seek the aid of physicians and medicine; 3.) Maintain that God’s grace is always sufficient. It is murder to assist someone in suicide or to take one’s own life. (Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:13; Job 1:18-22; Psalm 90:9-10, 103:1-4; Matthew 9:12; Colossians 1:12-17; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; 1 Timothy 5:23)

Capital Punishment:  While abortion and euthanism are the sinful taking of innocent life and thus a sin before God, capital punishment is the government’s duty under God to punish those who are guilty of capital crimes, after due process of law, and for the protection and sanctity of all other innocent human life from such a guilty person. (Genesis 9:5-6; Romans 13:1-6; 1 Peter 2:13-17)

We believe the Bible teaches that women share in the privilege of personal evangelism, women’s outreach, teaching children, and assisting in the ministry. The Bible does not teach the ordaining of women for the office of pastor or deacon. Women are not to usurp authority over the men in the church. (Genesis 3:16; Acts 18:24-28; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35; Ephesians 5:22; 1 Timothy 2:11-12, 3:2, 11; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-5)

We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation of injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32)

We believe that all saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Saviour and Lord. We believe that separation from all religious apostasy, all sinful, worldly pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God. (Romans 12:1-2, 14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)

We believe in that “blessed hope,” the personal, imminent return of Jesus Christ, who will rapture His Church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 2; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6)

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved eternal life in a literal place called Heaven, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment in a literal place called Hell. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28, 29, 11:25-26, 14:1-6; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-15, 21:8)

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; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)

We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious damnation, punishment, and torment. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)

We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: (a) the home; (b) the church; and (c) 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 in sovereignty in their respective biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. The believer in Jesus Christ submits himself to the authority of each institution unless it requires him to sin against God and His Word, in which case, he must obey God rather than man. (Acts 5:26-29; Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-14)

The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing statement of faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members. All literature used in this church shall be in agreement with the statement of faith.