What We Believe
We believe the Bible is the Word of God and our teacher is the Holy Spirit.
Doctrinal Statement
WE BELIEVE …
1. The Bible was authored by God, not man; the original text is without flaw; and that it is the final authority for faith and life. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 17:17; Isaiah 40:8)
2. The Bible is illuminated by the Holy Spirit and shall be interpreted literally, grammatically, and historically. (I Cor. 2:12-13; John 16:12-15)
Note: For Biblical interpretation, Olalla Bible Church has been firmly built on these historic and foundational doctrines:
a) REFORMED THEOLOGY: Reformed theology gets its name from the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation, with its distinct theological emphases, but it is theology solidly based on the Bible itself. Believers in the reformed tradition regard highly the specific contributions of such people as Martin Luther, John Knox, and particularly John Calvin.
b) DISPENSATIONALISM: A system of literal Biblical interpretation that, generally, divides the history of mankind into seven distinct dispensations: The dispensation of innocence, the dispensation of conscience, the dispensation of human government, the dispensation of promise, the dispensation of Law, the dispensation of grace, and the millennial kingdom of Christ.
3. There is one God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (John 16:14-15; Deut. 6:4; Luke 3:22; Acts 1:4)
4. The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and that he became man without ceasing to be God; that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. His purpose was to reveal God and redeem sinful men. (John 1:1-2; John 1:14; Luke 1:35)
5. The Lord Jesus Christ provided redemption by dying on the cross in our place and physically rising from the dead. (Rom. 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5)
6. The Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and now sits at the right hand of God. He acts as our High Priest, by being our Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts. 1:9-10; Hebrews 7:25;
Hebrews 9:24; Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1-2)
7. The Holy Spirit lives in all born-again believers. It is he who Spiritually baptizes them into the body of Christ and seals them unto the day of redemption. Every believer is commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He is the divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth. (I Cor. 3:16-17; John 16:13)
8. Man was created in the image and likeness of God, but Adam sinned and the whole human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved, is unable to redeem himself. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3; Eph. 2:12)
9. Salvation is a gift from God, brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph. 2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; I Peter 1:18-19)
10. The redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; John10:27-30; Rom. 8:1; Rom. 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5)
11. It is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word. However, The Bible clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to indulge in the flesh. (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
12. Spiritual gifts are God-given abilities to born again believers for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. The distribution of these gifts is at the point of salvation by the Holy Spirit. The purpose of these gifts is to glorify God and edify the local church. (Rom. 12:3-8; I Cor. 12:4-11; I Cor. 27-31; I Cor. 14:1-40; Eph. 4:8-13; I Tim. 4:14; II Tim. 1:6; I Peter 4:10-11; I Cor. 12:11; 13:8-10; 14:21-22; Acts 19:11-12; Heb. 2:3-4)
Note: Since these gifts are bestowed by the Lord in order to fulfill specific purposes in God's program, we believe that when the purpose of any gift is fulfilled, that particular gift is terminated.
13. The church is the body and bride of Christ and is a spiritual organism made up of all born again persons in this age irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations. It is for the church that Christ now makes intercession, and for whom He will come again. (Eph. 1:22-23; Eph. 5:25-27; I Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2)
14. Establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; Acts 20:17; Acts 28:23; I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
15. Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of The Fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10)
16. In the premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to the earth with His saints to establish His millennial kingdom. (1 Thess. 4:13-18; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16; Rev. 20:1-6; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Thess. 5:9; Rev. 3:10)
17. In the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (1 Corinthians 15: 42–44; John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:5-6; Revelation 20:12-13)
