"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." Isaiah 7:9b
Doctrinal Statment
Doctrinal Statement of Oneida Baptist Church
- We believe in the absolute authority and accuracy of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments; its verbal, plenary inspiration in the original manuscripts and its all-sufficiency as the Christian’s rule of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
- We believe that there is but one God, the Creator, Preserver, and Ruler of all things, Who is perfect in holiness and in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power, and Who reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4; Nehemiah 9:6, I Chronicles 29:1-12; Exodus 15:11; 1 John 4:8b; Isaiah 6:3; Luke 3:21-22).
- We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal and only begotten Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, and that He is true God and true man, the only and sufficient mediator between God and man (Luke 1:26-35; John1:14; John 14:9-11; John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:5; Matthew 23:18; Colossians 1:15-19).
- We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity, Whose ministry is to convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgement, to regenerate the unbelieving, and to seal, sanctify, teach, and comfort those who believe in Jesus Christ (John 16:8-11; John 3:3,7; John 14:26; Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit is also the source of all true ministries within the body of Christ as His gifts work through the body.
- We believe that man was created in the image of God, and that he sinned and thereby incurred both physical and spiritual death; thus, we believe that all men are sinners and, apart from Christ, shall be forever separated from God (Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23).
- We believe that marriage is ordained by God as the union of one Christian man and one Christian woman, creating the foundational unit for an orderly home (Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-9).
- We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood (I Corinthians 15:3-4; Revelation 1:5; Romans 3:21-25).
- We believe that salvation is by grace through faith, not of works, and that all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are born again of the Holy Spirit, thereby becoming children of God for eternity (Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; John 3:3,7; John 10:28-29).
- We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heaven, and in His present ministry there for us as a High Priest and Advocate. We believe in the personal, visible, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom upon the earth (Acts 1:8-11; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Hebrews 4:14-16; I John 2:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 21:1-2).
- We believe in the Church, a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the Head, and of which all regenerated people are members; and that the local, visible church is an independent, autonomous company of believers in Jesus Christ, associated together for worship, work, and fellowship (1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 2:19-22).
- We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessed consciousness of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost (1 Corinthians 15:20-24; Revelation 20:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Matthew 10:41-46).
- We believe in the observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper in obedience to the commands of Christ. We believe that baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of his or her fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins, and of giving himself or herself up to God to live and walk in the newness of life. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ, to be administered with the elements of bread and the cup in commemoration of His death “till He comes” (Acts 2:42, 46-47; Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-4; Luke 22:19-20).
- We believe in the universal, spiritual priesthood of believers; that is, all true believers are priests and have the privilege of approaching God through Christ, and of interpreting the scriptures through the Holy Spirit (I Peter 2:5; 1 John 2:27; Revelation 1:6).