Oates Drive Baptist Church is a group of  “Followers of Christ” that come together in a corporate worship for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Oates Drive Baptist Church Core Values:

The members of Oates Drive Baptist Church endeavor by GOD’s grace to be a body of believers who glorify GOD in both beliefs and conduct. We strive to live and serve according to the unchangeable, Holy Word of God.

The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired (Proverbs 30:5-6, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:19-21) and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. God’s Word is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. The Word teaches us the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. 

God

There is One and only One living true God. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as The  Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. 

God the Father

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ (I Peter 1:3, John 10:30, I John 3:1-). 

God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. The Bible teaches that Jesus and God are One (John 1:1-14, John 14:7-11, John 17:1-8, I Corinthians 8:6, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 1:8). 

God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service (John 6:44, John 16:5-15).

Man

Man is the special creation of God, in His own image. He created them male and female (Genesis 5:2) as the crowning work of His creation. By his free choice man sinned against God (Romans 3:10-18, 23) and brought sin into the human race. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every person of every race possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
 
The purpose of man is to ‘Glorify God.’

Salvation

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Jesus made it perfectly clear He is ‘The Way, The Truth and The Life and no once comes to the Father except through Him’ (John 14:6). Jesus said, ‘No one can come to the Father unless the Spirit who sent Me draws Him’ (John 6:44). 
 
The Bible commands there is only ‘Nor is there Salvation in any other. There is only One name given under Heaven by which men must be saved’ (Acts 4:12). Only through the Atonement of the Cross, death, burial and Resurrection can a person be Redeemed. Ephesians 1:7 says in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.’ (Colossians 1:15-16).
 
Repentance is the ‘turning away from sin to God’ (I Thessalonians 1:9, 2 Corinthians 7:9-11). Repentance is an inward change of mind and heart that produces outward and is brought about by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.
 
Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon those He Redeems. Justification brings us into a right standing relationship with God and through Christ, we are declared acceptable (Romans 5:1-2, 15-17, Galatians 2:16). 

God’s Purpose of Grace

God’s Grace is His unmerited favor. We cannot earn Grace (Ephesians 2:8-10) nor can we abuse grace (Romans 6:1-2). The Bible reveals that the grace of God has appeared to all men to teach us deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly and righteously in this present age.’ Tragically, not all love or receive the Grace of God. 

The Church

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. In such a congregation, each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. The Church is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, recognizing Him as both the foundation and head of the Church (Matthew 16:18 and Colossians 1:18). The Church represents the Living God (I Timothy 3:14-15). 

Baptism & the Lord’s Supper

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior.  We do not baptize to extend Salvation, but we baptize because of Salvation in the life of the believer (Romans 6:1-11).  The Lord’s Supper is a time of Spiritual celebration and examination our own spiritual condition (I Corinthians 11:23-33). By partaking in the eating of bread and juice, we commemorate the death, burial and Resurrection of Christ and do so often until He comes again. 

Evangelism & Missions

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations… to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

The Lord’s Day

The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion.

Eschatology Or Last Things

The Word of God refers to the Second Coming of Christ. 17 books in the Old Testament tell us Jesus will return. 23 of 27 New Testament books or Seven out of 10 Chapters tell us Jesus will return to the judge this world, the living and the dead. The next great event on God’s prophetic calendar is the Rapture (I Corinthians 15:50-55, I Thessalonians 4:13-18). The Rapture is the blessed event when Jesus calls His church off this earth in less than a ‘split second.’ Immediately after the Rapture, the worst days the earth has ever known, the Seven year tribulation period begins (Revelation 6-19). The Day or return of the Lord will end all conflict and following the final Great White Throne Judgment,  Kingdom of Christ will be established for all eternity (Revelation 20:11-15). 
 

Stewardship

God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are,  we owe to Him. The Church exists by the grace and power of our Lord, but one of the many tests of our faith is tithing and giving. It is through regular giving that we express worship and trust to our Lord. 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 says the Church at Macedonia, who were impoverished, gave to the Church of out pf ‘great trial and affliction.’ That is because they gave of themselves first to the Lord.  

Heaven & Hell

The Bible clearly speaks about Heaven and Hell both being eternal and unchangeable. Jesus spoke about Heaven (Joh 14:1-6). Revelation 21 & 22 tells is there is a literal place called Heaven. Jesus spoke about heaven and hell (Matthew 7:13-15). Hell is a literal, real place (Revelation 20:10-15, Mark 9:43-48). Hell is painful and inescapable. The Bible does not teach second chances, reincarnation, purgatory or annihilationism (perish out existence). 
 

The Christian & the Social Order

All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society in the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.

 

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