What We Believe

Open Door Community Church is made up of people from various church/denominational backgrounds. To fully define “what we believe” would be difficult. And “Doctrinal Statements” tend to be exclusive and divisive. However, it is possible to extract some common beliefs, particularly from those traditionally accepted as the “basics” for hundreds of years of church history. (Examples: The Apostles’ and the Nicene Creed) Using those foundational truths, we present the following statements as a “framework” around which we can unite, a covenant with which we can agree. In detailing this information, the following disclaimer should be noted:

The phrasing of these statements are not inspired and can be interpreted various ways. That is NOT to say that anyone desiring to unite with this church must believe all these truths. We are very diverse and the actual incorporation of these truths can vary greatly, but at least it gives those who are making the decision some idea of what we believe.

It is not our desire to limit what we believe to just these statements. In this platform, we are only attempting to present the basics.

GOD

Though there are many concepts of God found in the Old Testament, we believe in the one true God revealed as the eternally self-existent “I AM”, the creator of heaven and earth and the redeemer of humankind. We believe in a personal loving God as revealed in Jesus Christ, “God with us”. Through him we can best know the nature and will of God. (Matthew 1:23) Jesus taught that God is an ever present, ever near, loving parent.

JESUS CHRIST

We believe in Jesus Christ and what is taught about Him in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John): he was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed many miracles and proclaimed the message of love, hope and reconciliation to all who would listen and respond. His message was “whosoever will may come”. Jesus died to pay the ultimate penalty of our sin. He rose from the dead after three days, thus providing the gift of eternal life to all who will receive Him as Savior. We believe Jesus is God in the form of humankind. As a human, he lived among us and delivered to us the message of God’s love and forgiveness. He is the reality of an invisible God made visible to us in human form. If we want to know who God is, we can look at Jesus. He conquered death and ascended to the “right hand of God the Father”. Jesus is Lord of all things. As such, He deserves a place of honor, submission and respect in the life of every believer. One day, Jesus will physically return to earth in power and glory. No one knows the time or date. Until that time, the Christian is instructed to be active in our ministries. John 1:1-3, 14; II Corinthians 5:21; Acts 2:22-24; I Corinthians 15:1-8; I Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 7:25; I John 2:1; Ephesians 1:20-22; Matthew 24:36, 42, 44-46

THE BIBLE

We believe that God inspired certain people in the covenant community to write the Scriptures found in the Old and New Testament. We further believe that the Bible contains the infallible message of the Gospel and bears witness to the living Word of God which is Jesus Christ. God’s Word spoken in and through the Scriptures should be understood in the light of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. In order to understand God’s Word spoken in and through the scriptures, persons should study the writings of the Bible in their historical settings, compare scripture with scripture, listen to the witness of the church through out, history, and share insights with others in the covenant community. The Bible has importance both literary and historical as a record of God’s dealing with humankind and as a revelation of God’s will. The Bible should not be used to support personal prejudices and self-righteous judgments.

 
We believe that this song written by Chip Davis exemplifies this:
That’s Not What I Meant

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This