What We Believe

The Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (Matt 5:18; John 16:12–13; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:20–21).

The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deut 6:4; 2 Cor 13:14).

The Person and Work of Christ

• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (Luke 1:35; John 1:1–2, 14).
• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24, 25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3–5).
• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9–10; Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1–2).

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

• We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person Who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all Believers into the Body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8–11; Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 12:12–14; 2 Cor 3:6; Eph 1:13–14).
• We believe that He is the Divine Teacher Who guides Believers into all truth; and, that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (John 16:13; Eph 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27).

The Total Depravity of Man

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen 1:26–27; Rom 3:22–23; 5:12; Eph 2:1–3, 12).

Salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Eph 1:7; 1 Pet 1:18–19).

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

• We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37–40; 10:27–30; Rom 8:1, 38–39; 1 Cor 1:4–8; 1 Pet 1:5).
• We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Rom 13–14; Gal 5:13; Titus 2:11–15).

The Two Natures of the Believer

We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and, that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural (Rom 6:13; 8:12–13; Gal 5:16–25; Eph 4:22–24; 1 Pet 1:14–16; 1 John 3:5–9).

Separation

We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord, and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded by God (Rom 12:1–2; 14:13; 2 Cor 6:14–7:1; 2 Tim 3:1–5; 1 John 2:15–17; 2 John 9–11).

Missions

We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor 5:19–20).

The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts

• We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that the gifts of evangelists, pastors and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and, that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established (1 Cor 12:4–11; 2 Cor 12:12; Eph 4:7–12).
• We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14–15).

The Church

• We believe that the Church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (1 Cor 12:12–14; 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 1:22–23; 5:25–27).
• We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28–32; 1 Tim 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–11).

Baptism

We believe immersion to be the New Testament mode of baptism to be administered upon personal acceptance and public confession of Christ as Savior. We believe Christ Himself established and commanded the ordinance to symbolize the Believer’s death in Christ (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 9:18; 10:47–48; Rom 6:3–6).

Dispensationalism

We believe in the dispensational view of Bible interpretation but reject the extreme teaching known as “Hyper Dispensationalism,” such as that teaching which opposes either the Lord’s Table or water baptism as a Scriptural means of testimony for the Church in this age (Matt 28:19–20; Acts 2:41–42; 18:8; 1 Cor 11:23–26).

The Personality of Satan

We believe that 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; Isa 14:12–17; Matt 4:2–11; 25:41; Rev 20:10).

The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in that “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pretribulation and 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 (Zech 14:4–11; 1 Thess 1:10; 4:13–18; 5:9; Rev 3:10; 19:11–16).

The Eternal State

• We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgement and everlasting punishment (Matt 25:46; John 5:28–29; 11:25–26; Rev 20:6, 9, 12–13).
• We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:42; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:13; 3:21; 1 Thess 4:16–17; Rev 20:4–6).
• We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when, with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgement, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment (Matt 25:41–46; Mark 9:43–48; Luke 16:19–26; 2 Thess 1:7–9; Jude 6–7; Rev 20:11–15).

Creation

We believe that God created the heavens, earth, and all living things in six consecutive literal days (Gen. 1:1,5,8,13,19,23,31; Ex. 20:11; 31:17) and that living things were made to reproduce according to their kinds (Gen. 1:11,12,21,24,25) and did not come into existence by some process of macroevolution, and, that the Bible outlines a young earth history with an age of thousands, not millions, of years (Gen. 5,11; 1 Chron. 1; Matt. 1) which, along with the Fall, explains the origin of death as a consequence of sin (Gen 3; Rom. 5:12-14).

Marriage and Family

We believe that God created humans, male and female, in His image. Human life and unchangeable sexual identity begin at conception. At creation, marriage was established by God as a covenant relationship between a man and a woman for the benefit and continuation of mankind. God reserves sexual intimacy for couples having entered into the marriage covenant. (Genesis 1:1-27; 2:7-25; 3:1-24; Psalm 127:3-5; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 7; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Thess. 4:3-8).

Communion

Download a copy of the Westerville Bible Church Constitution and Covenant (PDF).