WHAT WE BELIEVE

The Bible is the inspired Word of God (in Greek: theopnuestos). God superintended the human authors of Scripture so that, using their own personalities, they composed without error God’s revelation to mankind. The Bible is completely true and correct as originally written. It is the complete revelation of God’s will for the salvation of His elect, sufficient and authoritative for faith and life, and there are no other writings similarly inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16-17, 2 Pet 1:20-21).

God is one, yet exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three eternal Persons who equally share one infinite, undivided, divine nature. They are One (against Tri-theism), distinct (against Unitarianism), and simultaneous (against Modalism). God has revealed Himself in nature, in Scripture, and in man’s conscience as the Creator, Lawgiver, and Judge. He is absolutely sovereign over all aspects of His creation and in the lives of His creatures. He sustains all things and by His providence He orders the affairs of men and nations according to His perfect decree and for His eternal purposes. He is infinite in power, knowledge, and presence (omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent). He is holy, immutable, perfectly righteous, and loving in all His ways (Deut 6:4, 1 Cor 8:6, Jn 1:1-3).

Human beings were created in the image of God to have perfect fellowship with Him. Tempted by Satan, man rebelled against the command of God and fell into sin. In our natural state, we are all “in Adam” as his descendants. As a result of Adam's failure in the Garden, every human being is born corrupted and guilty before a holy God. We are in bondage to the law of sin, inclined toward self, and disobedient to God’s moral law. Until God regenerates our hearts, we are incapable of inclining ourselves toward God in repentance (Rom 1:18-32, 3:10-18, 3:23, 5:12-21, Eph 2:1-5).

As outlined at the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451, there are four essential principles that constitute a proper understanding of Christ: (1) Jesus Christ is true God, consubstantial with the Father regarding His divinity; (2) Jesus Christ is true Man, consubstantial with man regarding His humanity, yet without sin; (3) Jesus Christ is One Person who possesses a divine nature and a human nature; and (4) The two natures of Christ remain distinct, without division or separation and without change or confusion. Jesus Christ became fully human by a miraculous conception and virgin birth. He retained His attributes as deity, yet voluntarily laid aside the independent use of those attributes and took on an additional (human) nature in order to experience life as a human being and to live a life of perfect obedience to the Father. He voluntarily laid down His life on the Cross as a substitutionary atonement for mankind. He rose bodily from the grave, having satisfied God’s divine justice and accomplishing salvation for those who trust in Him. He achieved victory over death and the power of evil and ascended into heaven where, as the mediator between God and man, He continually intercedes for His people. (Jn 1:1-3, Col 1:15-23, Phil 2:5-11, Heb 1:1-4, 1 Jn 2:1-2)

The Bible uses the term "salvation" to refer to our deliverance from the ultimate calamity: the judgment of God. In a positive sense, it has to do with our ultimate redemption from sin and reconciliation with our Creator. This is the central purpose of God’s revelation - to call mankind back into fellowship with Him through the Gospel message. Salvation originates with God Himself and is based solely upon Christ’s saving work on the Cross. God’s saving grace is received by man through faith alone, not by any work or any foreseen merit in man. Before the foundation of the world, God decreed that His elect will be called, regenerated, saved, justified, adopted, sanctified, and, ultimately glorified. (Eph 1:3-4, 2:8-9, Rom 3:21-30, 6:23, 8:1-2, 9:10-16, Titus 3:3-5, 2 Tim 1:8-9)

The Holy Spirit is true God just as the Father and Son are true God. In the functional hierarchy of the Trinity, the specific role of the Holy Spirit is to bring glory to the Son and manifest the active presence of God on earth, and particularly in the church. From the beginning of time the Spirit’s work has been to complete and sustain what the Father has planned and what the Son has begun. During the present age, the Holy Spirit indwells the true believer as the agent of sanctification. He is active in conviction of sin, instruction, empowerment, and in the gifting of the saints for service in the church. (John 14:16-17, 16:7-15, 1 Cor 12:4-11, Gal 5:16-18, 22-23)

The Church is the living body of Christ, the community of all believers who are united to Christ. The Church is built upon the apostles and prophets with Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone. We, as the people of God, are called to maintain a spirit of unity so that with one heart and one mouth we may glorify Him. We are to demonstrate the gracious character of God in the world, proclaiming the saving message of the Gospel and making disciples of all nations. We are called to observe the ordinances of the Church (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) until Christ returns. (Matt 28:18-20, Jn 17:20-26, Eph 4:3-6, 11-13, 1 Pet 2:9)

According to the decree of the Father, Christ will, at the close of this age, return to earth in bodily form and consummate His Kingdom. At the end of all things, He will serve as the righteous Judge over all. Those who have rejected the Son will be separated from God and experience everlasting conscious torment in hell. Those who are truly found in Christ will be received into heaven and will experience everlasting life and fellowship with God. (Matt 24:36-44, 1 Thess 4:13-5:11, Rev 19:11-16, 20:11-15, 21:1-5)

We believe the term “marriage” has only one meaning. Marriage is a monogamous, heterosexual union instituted and ordained by God joining one man and one woman in an exclusive, covenantal relationship. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman in the context of marriage, and that any form of sexual immorality, including adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, and polygamy, is sinful and offensive to God. We believe that God offers redemption and hope to all those enslaved by sexual sin, provided they repent and seek forgiveness and mercy through Jesus Christ. Further, we believe that God calls His people to extend compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity to all people. Hateful and/or harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual or group are to be repudiated and are not in accord with the Scriptures nor the doctrine and practices of this church. 

We believe that any civil recognition of same-sex marriage is contrary to God’s law and detrimental to society. Such a re-definition of marriage devalues the sacred institution of marriage, the family, and the unique role of both a man and a woman in a child’s life. Any civil government’s sanction of a union will be recognized as a legitimate “marriage” by this church only to the extent that it is consistent with the beliefs stated above. We reserve the right to decline the request of any person to use Oak Hill Bible Church facilities, property, or pastoral staff for a ceremony when, in our judgment, there are significant concerns that one or both of the applicants may not be qualified to enter into the sacred union of marriage for theological, doctrinal, moral or legal reasons. (Gen. 1:27-28, 2:21-24, Matt 19:3-6, Rom 1:24-27, 1 Cor 7:2-5, Heb 13:4)