What We Believe
Open Door Baptist Church is committed to the Word of God as its sole authority for what we believe and for all that we do.
1. The Scriptures are the inspired and infallible Word of God.
2. The Trinity of God in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
3. The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ and his substitutionary death, burial and bodily resurrection from the dead.
4. That all people are lost in sin and need the God's gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ to be saved.
5. This salvation can only be received by repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ.
6. The reality of a literal Heaven for the saved and Hell for those who reject the Gospel.
7. The return of Jesus Christ to the world at His second coming.
If you are interested in reading our full statement of faith and constitution then please let us know.
Contemporary Issues
A number of theological movements in our day have created considerable confusion; therefore, we would like to clarify our position on the following issues:
"Sovereignty of God and Human Responsibility": We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (I Jn. 2:2).
We believe the saved are the elect of God chosen in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world, and that God's sovereignty does not negate man's freedom and responsibility. All people are invited genuinely to believe and be saved (Eph. 1:4; Jn. 3:16).
"The Ecumenical Movement": This movement seeks the eventual union of all religions. We purpose to stand true to the exclusive authority of the Scriptures, the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ and the historical Christian faith as outlined in the New Testament (2 Cor. 6:11 18). Open Door seeks to fellowship and co-operate with Bible-believing churches who exalt Christ, honour His Word and have biblically sound philosophies of ministry.
"Music": We believe that our worship of God should reflect God’s holy character (both in lyrics and musical genre). Hence our dedicated practice is to use conservative hymns and choruses in our services. It is our desire to build an excellent music program at Open Door that our worship would reflect the beauty and majesty of our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ!
"Bible Translations": We affirm that God inspired the very words of the Bible in the original languages (2 Tim 3:16-17). We therefore believe that translations of the Bible that accurately reflect the originals have derived or preserved authority.
We normally use the New King James Version (or at times the KJV) for our preaching and teaching. We believe this practice is in keeping with the fact that the New Testament was originally given in 'koine' Greek- the common language of the ancient world. It is evident that God desires that people read the Bible in their everyday language.
"Church Life" : We take our life in Christ together seriously. Because we love Christ, our head, we love His Body- the local church! The New Testament repeatedly emphasises our responsibilities towards 'one another'.
For this reason we embrace and teach the importance of church membership for God's glory and for our personal growth.