Our Theology
Core Beliefs
We proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything we do is shaped by the gospel, which is the good news of what God has accomplished in the person of his Son – His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection – to secure forgiveness of sins and fullness of life for all who will repent of their sin and believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Old Town Church stands in line with the core beliefs that Christians have affirmed throughout history:
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There is only one true and living God, who is the Creator of all things. He exists eternally in three Persons—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
(Deuteronomy 6:4–9; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
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The Bible is God’s written revelation of himself to humanity, divinely given through human authors inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is entirely trustworthy, sufficient, and authoritative for matters of life and faith.
(Isa 55:10–11; 2 Tim 3:14–17; 2 Pet 1:19–21)
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God created human beings in his image. They are the crowning work of his creation, made to live in communion with him. Even in their fallen state, every person deserves love, dignity, and respect regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, class, disability, or character.
(Gen 1:26–27; 9:6; Acts 17:26–28; James 3:9)
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Because of humankind’s fall into sin, all human beings are born with a corrupt nature disposed towards sin and unable to please God. Once capable of moral action, all people disobey God willfully. God’s just judgment on sin is both physical and spiritual death, thus creating the need for redemption and reconciliation with God. Because of the corruption of sin, human beings are unable and unwilling to do anything to secure their salvation.
(Jer 17:9; Rom 3:23; 5:12–21; 8:7–8; Eph 2:1–10)
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Jesus is fully God and fully human. According to the plan and promise of God, he was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross as a substitute for humanity, and rose from the dead. As the risen Lord, he ascended into heaven, where he is seated at the Father’s right hand, ruling and reigning, and will one day return.
(Acts 2:36; Phil 2:5–11; Col 1:15–20; 2:9; 2 Cor 5:21)
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Salvation comes only through Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and man. No other religion, belief, or person can reconcile God and man. He alone can provide forgiveness and eternal salvation.
(John 14:5–7; Acts 4:11–12; 1 Tim 2:5–6)
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Salvation comes only by being united to Christ through faith in him as a person hears and believes the gospel. When people repent and trust Christ alone, they receive forgiveness for their sins, reconciliation with God, and eternal life. This salvation is instantaneous and accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is wholly of God by grace based on Christ’s life, death, and resurrection—not based on human works.
(Rom 4:13–25; Eph 2:4–10)
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When a person repents and believes in Christ, they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and secured by him forever. He likewise continues the work of redemption in the life of every believer, forming them into the image of Christ as they submit every area of their lives to Christ’s lordship (e.g., character, family, vocation, ambition, gender, sexuality, habits, relationships, time, possessions, etc.).
(John 14:15–21; 16:4b–15; Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 6:18–20; Eph 1:13–14)
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The Holy Spirit immediately joins all people who put their faith in Jesus Christ in one united spiritual body, the Church, of which Christ is the head. Christians are meant to follow Christ with and among his people in local Churches, which are visible expressions of his invisible, universal body.
(Acts 2:42–47; 1 Cor 12:12–31; Eph 1:22–23; 4:1–6)
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God will bring the world to its appropriate end in His own time and in His own way. Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth at that time. Christ will judge both the saved and the unsaved. Those who belong to Christ will receive a glorified body and dwell forever with the Lord. Those who have not trusted in Christ will receive God’s full and just judgment against their sin forever.
(Acts 1:11; 1 Cor 15:12–28; 1 Thess 4:13–18; Titus 2:11–14; Rev 20:11–15)
Statement of Faith
As a church, we affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as our official statement of faith.