What We Believe
What We Believe...
 

At Living Oaks, we believe true happiness begins when we realize how much the Creator of the universe loves us and desires an intimate relationship with us.

We believe in the Bible. In it contains the words from God, written by man through God's inspiration.

We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died for our sins, rose from the dead, and will return again, as predicted, to claim each of us who have a personal relationship with Him.

We believe the Bible contains all the guidelines needed for a life of fulfillment and integrity. It gives us direction for dating, marriage and raising children. It gives hope to those who have suffered through divorce and other traumatic experiences, helping them put their lives back together again. It tells us how to get along at work, school and home. And it shows us how to live a life of joy and purpose.

We believe…in one God, creator of all things, infinitely perfect, all knowing, and eternally existing in three persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit

1. Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins by dying on the cross. He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of God to be our High Priest and Advocate. His death and resurrection is the basis for salvation. Whoever confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the dead, are born of the Holy Spirit and become children of God.

2. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to indwell, guide, convict, regenerate, instruct, and empower the believer for Godly living service.

3. The Bible, as originally written, was verbally inspired and the product of Spirit controlled men, and therefore is Truth without error in the original writings. We believe the Bible is the complete revelation of God's will for salvation of humankind, and the standard by which all humans should live.

4. Humankind was created in the image of God but fell, through sin, and is therefore spiritually dead and separated from God.

5. Salvation is a free Gift, by God's grace, received by placing faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that in salvation there is complete forgiveness of sin and the unmerited gift of eternal life.

6. All true believers who are born again by the Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ are assured of their salvation.

7. In the personality and reality of Satan, that he is the originator of sin, and that he is ceaseless and ruthless in his efforts to destroy God's plan of salvation for all humankind. We believe he counterfeits the work of God by fostering false teachings that deny the blood of Jesus Christ and salvation by grace alone. Furthermore, we believe the unbeliever will spend an everlasting and conscious eternity in Hell.

8. The local church exists to help people know and glorify God, to equip and build up the believers' faith, and to empower and unleash people to the work of the ministry.

9. All true believers, in obedience to Christ, give testimony of the atoning work of Christ through baptism. We believe baptism is an outward expression of a believer's relationship with Jesus Christ. We believe that Communion is the commemoration of His death.

10. Jesus Christ will return in bodily form and take His people in bodily form to spend eternity in heaven. We believe His return is imminent and gives hope in the personal lives and service of all believers.
 
11. We believe that a homosexual lifestyle is contrary to God’s will and purpose for humanity, and that the Bible instructs that it is a sin.   We also hold that the church is instructed to love those living such lifestyles while abhorring their sin. Because of this, the church will not perform homosexual marriages, nor will we condone or recognize such marriages, even if the state passes laws that provide for recognition of such unions.
 
12. Sanctity of Life…

A biblical worldview does not allow for a woman’s “right” to choose to take the life of her unborn child. Living Oaks Community Church supports the sanctity (sacredness) of all human life. We believe that life begins at the point of conception. Therefore, we abhor the practices of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. Since life begins at conception, the pre-born child is a human being endowed by his or her Creator with divine dignity and inviolable rights. Thus, pre-born children should be accorded the same protection of life granted to every other human being. The Bible teaches that every human life is of great value to God. While we sympathize with those who have experienced the tragedy and heartbreak of rape and incest, abortion—even in those cases—amounts to the execution of an innocent child for the sin of the perpetrator. Abortion not only ends the life of an innocent human person, in the long run, it only causes the mother greater pain and remorse. We support organizations that seek to reduce the taking of innocent life through abortion. We support the overturning and limiting of laws that allow a woman to legally choose to abort the child in her womb. We discourage the support of laws or political candidates that would uphold abortion as a viable choice. We seek to support, counsel and encourage any woman faced with an unplanned pregnancy to not opt for abortion. We also seek to provide resources, adoption options and spiritual support for the mother. We seek to offer the same for those (father or mother) suffering post-abortive guilt and to help them come to a place of forgiveness and cleansing. Regardless of choices made, all people should be treated with kindness and compassion.  

 

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Footnoted passages found in the Bible:
 
1. Exodus 20:2-3; Mathew 28:19; John 10:30; I Corinthians 8:6; II Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 4:11

2. Isaiah 7:14, 53:4-7; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:14, 3:16; Romans 3:24, 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8; I John 4:10

3. John 14:16, 17:17; Acts 5:3-4; Ephesians 5:18

4. II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21

5. Genesis 1:6, 5:1-5; John 1:3; Romans 3:10, 5:12, 19; Colossians 1:16-17

6. Isaiah 53:11; Zechariah 13:1; Habakkuk 2:4; John 1:13, 3:3; Acts 13:19; Romans 1:17, 4:1-8; Galatians 3:11; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7

7. John 3:16, 20:28-29; Romans 8:35-39; Philippians 1:6; Jude 1; I John 5:1

8. Genesis 3:1-19; Romans 5:12; II Corinthians 4:3-4, 11:13-15; Ephesians 2:2, 6:10-12; II Thessalonians 2:3-4; I Timothy 4:1-3; Revelation 20:10

9. Acts 2:41-42, 20:17-28; I Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23-24; Colossians 1:18; I Timothy 3:1-7

10. Matthew 3:16, 28:19; John 3:23, Acts 2:41, 8:36-39, 18:8; Colossians 2:12; I Corinthians 11:23-28; Luke 24:36-47; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; Philippians 3:20;
I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 1:5-7, 19:11-16, 20:1-7
 
11.  I Corinthians 6:9 
 
12. Exodus 20:13; Psalm 139:13; Psalm 94:21; Prov. 6:16, 17; Jer. 1:4-5; Job 31:14-15; Luke 1:15; 41; 44
 
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