Articles of Faith
AUTHORITY OF ARTICLES OF FAITH.
The Articles of Faith, adopted by the members, do not exhaust the extent of our faith. The King James Bible, the official Bible version of our church, is itself the sole and final source of all that we believe.
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 and is the very Word of God.
The Godhead.
We believe there is 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, but having distinct offices in the work of redemption. God is eternal, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, sovereign, holy, righteous, loving, and just. He is the creator and preserver of all.
The Person and Work of Christ.
- 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.
- 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 resurrection from the dead.
- 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.
- We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine 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, sealing,
guiding and sanctifying them unto the day of redemption.
- We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and
that it is the privilege and duty of
all the saved to be filled with the Spirit.
- We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer and these gifts are to be used within
the local church. God
uniquely uses evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip other believers in the assembly in order
that they can do the work of the ministry.
- We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary.
Speaking in tongues was never
the common or necessary sign of the 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.
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam and Eve's sin of disobedience the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.
Salvation. We believe that salvation is the free gift of God brought to man by grace and received by a personal profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. Salvation is instantaneous and not a process; its evidence appearing in repentance, faith, and newness of life. It is offered to all people.
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers.
- We believe that all the redeemed, once truly saved, are kept by God's power and are thus eternally secure in Christ
forever.
- 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 sin.
- We believe that the local church, which is the "called-out assembly" of believers here on earth, is made up of born-again
baptized persons. The
church is the body and the espoused bride of Christ.
- We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament.
- We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. The Scriptures do identify two
specific leadership
positions in the church with specific qualifications, duties; and responsibilities; pastors (or bishops/elders)
and deacons. Overall, Jesus is the head of
the church.
- We recognize water baptism and the Lord's Supper (or communion) as the two Scriptural ordinances of obedience
for the church in this age. Water
baptism is the immersion in water for those who profess an outward faith in Jesus for their
salvation. It does not itself bring about salvation, but is a
commandment that symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection
of Jesus. The Lord's Supper is a memorial service in which the unleavened bread and unleavened cup
(or juice) symbolically
represent the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ.
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner of holiness as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate themselves from all religious apostasy as well as all sinful pleasures, practices, and associations. The church also must remain separate from those who practice false and unscriptural doctrine.
The Second Advent of Christ.
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, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom, which was promised to the nation of Israel.
The Eternal State.
- We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men; the saved to eternal life in Heaven, and the unsaved to judgment and
everlasting punishment in Hell.
- We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where they
consciously await their bodily
resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.
- We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after bodily death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second
resurrection, when with
soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment. They shall then
be cast into the Lake of Fire along with Satan, not to be
annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and
torment.
We believe that Satan is an unholy god of this world, the father of lies, the author of sin, and the deceiving cause of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man. He eventually shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire, a place prepared for him, his angels and the unsaved.
Creation.
We believe the Genesis account of creation; that God created the universe and all earthly life in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin.
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 and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God.
Human Sexuality.
- 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
homosexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful
perversions of God's gift of sex. We believe that any attempt to alter one's
gender by surgery or outward appearance
is not acceptable to God.
- We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman.
- We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God, but that God has ordained distinct and
separate spiritual functions for
men and women both in the home and in the church. The husband is to be the leader of
the home and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church.
Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure
and ordination by the church.
- We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love
his wife as Christ loves the
church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church
submits to the headship of Christ. Children are an heritage from
the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their
children spiritual and moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and
appropriate discipline,
including Scriptural corporal correction.
We believe that God intends marriage to last until a spouse dies and that He does not condone divorce. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service; they are, however, Biblically disqualified for the offices of pastor or deacon.
Abortion. 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. We reject any teaching that the abortion of a pregnancy due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental well being of the mother is acceptable.
Love.
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward both those who are not believers and those who oppose us. We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or the use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions.
Lawsuits Between Believers. We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against another Christian or against the church corporately to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between it and it's members.
Missions. We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors and witnesses of Jesus Christ, we must use each available means to go to all people throughout the entire world and not wait for them to come to us.
Giving.
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God's entrusted wealth, is obligated to support their local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for this giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, to the relief of those in need, and to the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made.
"Preaching and Teaching the Word of God"
Ocean Shores Baptist Church625 Point Brown Ave. NE
Ocean Shores, WA 98569
360-289-2540