WHAT WE BELIEVE

Open Bible Christian Center is a proud Open Bible Church

Statement of Faith

We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the only infallible guide and rule of our faith and practice.

(Psalm 119:89; Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 2:15, 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21.)

We believe there is one God. In the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection and attribute, fulfilling distinct but complementary roles in the great work of redemption.

(Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 John 5:7.)

(1) God the Father

We believe in God the Father, the co-Creator with the Son and the Holy Spirit, who is the eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present, and unchangeable Creator of all.

(Deuteronomy 32:6; Psalms 103:13; Isaiah 63:16; Matthew 6:9; John 1:3, 5:19-23, 17:1-11; Acts 17:28; Romans 8:14-16; Ephesians 4:6.)

(2) God the Son

We believe in God the Son, co-Creator with the Father and Holy Spirit, who took upon Himself human form, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and given the name Jesus. His death by crucifixion and His bodily resurrection provided the means for people to be reconciled to God. He ascended to heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

(Isaiah 53:1-5; Matthew 1:21-23; John 1:1-3, 11:25-26; Ephesians 1:20-23; Philippians 2:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:5.)

(3) God the Holy Spirit

We believe in God the Holy Spirit, co-Creator with the Father and Son, who is now sent by the Father through the Son to convict the world of sin, lead us into all truth, and empower and equip the Church to carry on Christ's work on earth.

(Genesis 1:2; John 14:26, 15:26, 16:8; Acts 1:8.)

We believe the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in every believer at the moment of salvation. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is distinct from salvation, releasing the power of the Holy Spirit through faith. Consistent with biblical accounts, believers should anticipate Spirit-baptism to be accompanied by speaking in tongues and other biblical manifestations. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is given to endue the believer with power from God, to offer an inspired witness for Christ, to lead the believer in a life of holiness, and to equip for a Spirit-filled life of service.

(John 7:37-39, 14:16; Acts 1:8, 2:4, 2:38-39, 8:14-17, 10:44-46, 19:6; 1 Corinthians 3:16.)

We believe every Christian should walk and abide in daily fellowship with the Holy Spirit and experience continual renewing of God's power to live a Spirit-filled life in attitudes, thoughts, speech, and conduct. In order to build up and equip both individual believers and the Church of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts that are to be earnestly desired and exercised in the spirit of love. The fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in the life of every believer is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

(John 15:4, 15:8; Acts 4:31; Romans 8:1, 8:5, 12:1-2, 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 12:7-11, 12:31; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:11, 4:30-32, 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Peter 1:15, 4:10-11; 1 John 2:6.)

We believe Christians should assemble regularly for edification, worship, fellowship, and proclamation of the gospel. All believers should do the work of the ministry according to their spiritual gifts and should tithe and otherwise contribute financially to their church.

(Psalms 111:1; Malachi 3:8-10; Acts 2:42-47, 16:5; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Hebrews 10:24-25.)

We believe the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ commands us to carry the gospel message to the entire world - to every nation, ethnicity, culture, and language. The growth and strength of the Church depend on its wholehearted sacrifice and support for world evangelization.

(Psalms 2:8; Proverbs 11:30; Matthew 9:38; Mark 16:15; John 4:35-37; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 5:16; 2 Timothy 4:1-2; James 5:20; Revelation 5:9.)

Core Values

Intimacy with God

The doorway to our most important relationship.

"You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind" (Matthew 22:37, NLT).

Baptism

Baby Dedication

At Open Bible Christian Center we believe that children are a gift from God Child dedication is a public commitment you make before God, your church, and your family. The dedication service provides you, the parent(s), an opportunity to express publicly your desire to lead and spiritually nurture your child in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, so your child will develop a desire to love God and love others. One key step in marking your desire to nurture your child in the ways of God is to dedicate him or her to God publicly, through a child dedication ceremony. 1 Samuel 1:26-28 - 26 And she said, “O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.

We understand baptism as a symbol or mark of spiritual obedience within the life of the believer. We see a number of symbolisms in baptism.The symbol of cleansing from sin. Water is a universal solvent. Anytime water is mentioned we consider the cleansing effect. We know that cleansing from sin involves a repentant act. In that action we have Godly sorrow over wrong-doing (sin). We turn from our sin to God for forgiveness and cleansing. 1 John 1:9 The symbol of freedom from the consequences of sin. Romans 6:4 speaks of death, burial, and resurrection. The symbolism here represents death to sin by burial in the water through baptism. In the visible act of water baptism we acknowledge that Christ has forgiven us and we are free from our sin. We have the symbol of new life in Christ. Romans 6:5 teaches us that we have resurrected life; and water baptism by immersion most clearly demonstrates that coming up out of the water is a resurrection to the newness promised in Christ. If you would like to be baptized, please talk to Pastor Ron to be added to the schedule. Each candidate for baptism will write out their personal testimony. They may be asked to share their testimony publicly. Each candidate will be baptized in this manner: they will crisscross their arms across their chest with their hand able to pinch their nose if needed and the officiate will then place his hand on top of those crossed arms in order to avoid inappropriate touch and submerse them under the water and bring them back up by placing their left arm under the small of their back. Each candidate will be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit according to Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19.