What We Believe
These doctrines are the Biblical foundation of this church.. These are the ‘non-negotiable’ and provide guidance for everything we do. Regardless of popularity, God’s truth remains the same for all time and for all the people.
A. The following core doctrines are held by our church and the Berean Fellowship of Churches:
Bible
We believe the Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety, is the only divinely inspired, inerrant, objectively true, and authoritative written Word of God. It is the only infallible rule of faith and practice. The divine inspiration of Scripture extends to each word of the original manuscripts, but not to the various copies or translations of Scripture. The Bible should be interpreted literally, grammatically, contextually, and historically.
Deut. 29:29; John 10:35; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 2:13
God
We believe there is only one God, the Creator, who is infinite and personal. He exists eternally in three distinct persons, revealed to us in Scripture as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is holy. God is love. God is just. God is all powerful, all knowing, and ever present. He is the source of all that is good and is the only rightful object of worship.
Gen. 1:1; Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10; Isa. 44:6; Isa. 45:22; Matt. 28:19; John 4:24; John 5:26; Col. 1:16-19; 1 Cor. 8:4
Human Race
We believe that both man (Adam) and woman (Eve) were created in the image of God to enjoy a personal relationship with Him. As a result of deliberate disobedience, they fell from their sinless state, and they and all their descendants became sinners. Consequently, no one can save himself or herself, and apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ, all are condemned to eternal torment. All humans still bear the image of God and are therefore intrinsically valuable, but all humans are now broken image-bearers in need of the restoration found in Christ. God distinguishes between the sexes, equally valuing men and women, who both reflect His image. God ordained marriage to be between one man and one woman as part of His design that some roles within the family and the church be distinctly male or female.
Gen. 1:26-27; 2:7; Matt. 5:20-48; John 3:16-18, 36; Rom. 2:6-16; 5:12-21; 6:23; 2 Thes. 1:6-9; Rev. 20:13-15
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son who has neither beginning nor ending. He was conceived in the flesh by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is fully God and fully man. Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and arose bodily on the third day. He ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father as our only mediator, high priest and advocate.
Matt. 1:23-25; John 1:1; John 14:3; Acts 4:12; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4, 20; Phil. 2:5-11; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; Heb. 4:14-16; 1 Pet. 2:22
Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Trinity. He is a person, not a force. The Holy Spirit's ministries include convicting all people of sin; calling, regenerating, indwelling, and baptizing believers into the Body of Christ at conversion; setting them apart to a holy life; and guiding, teaching, keeping, and empowering them day by day. The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to each believer according to His will for the building up of the church. We believe the primary evidence of the presence and filling of the Holy Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit rather than a miraculous sign.
John 3:5-8; Acts 1:8; 5:3-4; 16:7-14; 1 Cor. 2:9-12; 3:16; 12:3-13, 28-31; 13:8-11; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 1:13-14; 5:18; Heb. 2:3-4
Salvation
We believe we are saved solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ alone. This salvation was purchased through the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ who, by shedding His blood for sin, offers salvation as a free gift to every person without distinction. God is sovereign over salvation, and yet each person is fully accountable for his or her response to the gospel. The person who has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior is eternally secure and can enjoy the assurance of salvation as guaranteed by Christ’s victorious resurrection. We believe that, at death, those who have trusted in Jesus enter eternal glory and those that have not enter eternal torment.
Acts 16:31; 20:20-21; Rom 3:28; 10:9; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; John 1:12; 3:16; 10:28; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 1:6
Church
We believe that Christ is the Head of the Church, which is His body, established to bring God glory. All who have trusted in Christ as Savior are members of this body. Christians should commit themselves to worship, prayer, instruction, fellowship, stewardship, and service in a local church. The church is responsible to represent Jesus Christ in the world through godly living and evangelism. All believers are commanded to participate in two church ordinances: believers' baptism, by immersion if possible; and the Lord's Supper, the bread and cup symbolizing Christ’s body and blood.
Matt. 26:26-29; 28:18-20; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:6-10; 4:11-13; 5:23-27; 1 Thes. 2:14; Heb. 10:25; 1 Pet. 2:9-10; 1 John 4:17
Sanctification
We believe that every believer has been set apart with a perfect standing before God. As believers yield themselves to the Holy Spirit, they will experience spiritual growth in holiness, but not perfection in conduct in this life. Believers will battle the world, the flesh, and the devil, but living by faith in Christ results in transformation of the heart and authentic righteous living. Future rewards are determined primarily by what motivates Christian behavior. Those whose behavior is an outflow of finding their identity in Christ will be rewarded.
Satan
We believe that Satan was created as an angelic being. Rebelling against God, he became the author of sin, our adversary and accuser, and the great deceiver of the nations. He was defeated by Christ’s death and resurrection but continues to wield power in this world under God’s sovereign control. In the end, he will be completely overcome by the Lord Jesus Christ and suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
Gen. 3:1; Job 1:6-12; Matt. 4:3-11; John 8:44; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 3:8; 5:19; Rev. 12:9-10; 20:10
Future Events
We believe in the imminent, bodily, personal return of Jesus Christ. On a day known only to God, Jesus will return for his Church. God will reunite all human souls with resurrected, imperishable bodies. This will be followed by the final judgment of the wicked into the lake of fire and eternal life for God’s children in a new heaven and a new earth, restoring all creation to a joyful, God-honoring state.
John 14:3; Acts 1:7, 11; Rom. 8:1; 1 Cor. 15:20, 23; 2 Cor. 5:10; Phil. 1:23; 1 Thes. 4:16-17; Rev. 11:15; 19:11; 21:5
B. In addition to the above, Berean Bible Church of Broken Bow holds the following doctrinal distinctives which are consistent with and supplemental to the above doctrinal statement:
Statement on the Sanctity of Human Life
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its
dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition
from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Ps. 139)
Rapture & Millenium
On a day known only by God the Father, Jesus will rapture His Church to deliver it from the judgments that God will pour upon the earth. After this terrible period, the Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory to establish His Millennial Kingdom on the earth.
Matthew 24:15-31; 36-44; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57; 1 Thess. 4:13-5:3; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-20:10
Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image of God. (Gen. 1:26-27) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the way that God intended for that person to reflect God’s image.
We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen. 2:18-25) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matt. 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10)
We believe that, in order to preserve the function and integrity of the Berean Bible Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the church’s members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the Berean Bible Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-16; 1 Thess. 5:22)
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-11) We believe that God offers His grace to all people, regardless of past sins, if they respond to His offer of salvation through faith in Christ.
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the Berean Bible Church.
Berean Bible Church Marriage Policy
Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman, and Himself, the Berean Bible Church will only recognize marriages between a biological man and a biological woman. Further, the pastors and staff of Berean Bible Church shall only conduct weddings and solemnize marriages between one man and one woman. Finally, the facilities and property of Berean Bible Church shall only host weddings between one man and one woman