Below are the foundational biblical principles of oh be joyful church and form the content of what our pastors, staff, and leaders believe and teach.
People from all backgrounds, cultures, races, and belief systems are welcome to seek god at oh be joyful.
The scripture references below are important, but are not meant to be exhaustive.
THE SCRIPTURES
We are a church dedicated to upholding and interpreting the Scriptures accurately.
The Old and New Testaments are the verbally inspired Word of God and without error in the original writings and are essentially unchanged in any important respect in the widely accepted English translations. They are authoritative, without error, and the final authority in all matters about which they speak and to be interpreted in accordance with the context and genre in which they were written. The Scripture is understood as the believer is guided by the Spirit of God and to be personally and corporately applied in our modern culture.
Matthew 5:17-20; John 10:22-39,16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:13-16; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21
GOD
There is one living and true God who is one in essence while existing in three distinct co-eternal and co-equal persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Though each person of the God-head possesses the same nature each functions differently in respect to God’s dealings with man.
Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:16-20; John 6:27; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:7-9
GOD THE FATHER
The Father is the first person of the Trinity who orders and directs all things according to His own purpose, pleasure, grace, and glory. He graciously involves Himself in the affairs of men, hears and answers prayer and saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
Matthew 6:9; John 5:19-24; Ephesians 1:3-6
GOD THE SON
God the Son became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, who was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, and who is true God and true man. Jesus Christ died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are declared righteous on the basis of His shed blood.
Matthew 1:18-25; Mark 10:45; John 1:14,11:33, 8:40; Romans 3:24-26, 5:8-9, 2 Corinthians 5:14; Hebrews 1:8-9, 2:13-18; 1 Peter 2:6-8, 3:18
GOD THE SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is a person possessing all the distinctively divine attributes. He is God. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He regenerates, seals, and sets apart the believer to a holy life. At regeneration He baptizes the believer into the body of Christ and comes to indwell him permanently.
John 3:5-7, 14:16-17; 16:7-8; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, 12:11, 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Titus 3:5
humanity AND SIN
Man and woman were created in the image of God, sinned, and consequently experienced physical death and spiritual death (which is separation from God). The consequences of this sin affect the entire human race. All human beings are born with an inherited sinful nature and sin in thought, word, and deed.
Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:17, 3:6; Mark 7:20-23; John 2:24-25; Romans 3:23, 5:12-19, 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 4:18; Acts 1:8
SATAN
Satan is a real, volitional, and spiritual being revealed in Scripture. With limited power he attempts to defeat Christians and the work of God. Christians can overcome Satan by applying Scriptural truth and relying on the Holy Spirit.
John 8:39-47; Ephesians 6:10-20; Revelations 12:7-12
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST
Christ was bodily resurrected, revealed Himself alive, and ascended into heaven. He now serves as high priest, intercessor, and advocate on our behalf with the Father.
Acts 1:1-3; John 20:24-31; Acts 1:6-11; Romans 1:1-6; Hebrews 7:22-28, 8:1-2; 10:11-14
SALVATION
Whoever by faith receives Jesus Christ as their Savior, redeeming them from sin, becomes a child of God. This salvation is not the result of any human effort or merit.
John 1:9-13; Romans 3:21-28; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:16
A BELIEVER’S SECURITY
Believers are kept eternally secure by the power of God through the new birth, the indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit, and intercession of Christ.
John 10:22-30; 14:15-17; Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Peter 1:22-25
SIN NATURE AND SANCTIFICATION
All believers, although they are born again, still possess a sinful nature in this life, but that God has made provision for them to overcome this sinful nature and to live for God through identification with Christ, a knowledge of the Scriptures, and by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Romans 7:13-25, 6:1-14, 8:12-17; Galatians 5:16-24; 2 Timothy 3:16-17, I John 3:9
HUMAN SEXUALITY AND MARRIAGE
God created humanity as male and female and our male and female identities pertain to our biological sex. Our bodies are good and essential aspects of our identity as image bearers of God. Sexual activity is to be confined to and enjoyed by a man and a woman in a lifelong marriage covenant. The marriage covenant is a holy representation of the relationship between Christ and the church.
Genesis 1:26-27, 2:18-25, 5:1-2; Deuteronomy 5:18, 21; Matthew 5:31-32; Mark 10:6-9; Ephesians 5:22-33
CHRISTIAN MATURITY
It is the responsibility of every believer to develop qualities of Christian maturity as described in God’s word.
Ephesians 4:11-16; Colossians 2:6-7; 3:1-4; Hebrews 5:13-14; 2 Peter 1:5-11
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
God has given every believer at least one spiritual gift for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ, the Church and believers exercise these gifts for His glory. Clear scriptural instruction is given for their use in the Church age.
Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 14:22-25, 13:8-10, 14:22-25; Ephesians 4:7-16; 1 Peter 4:7-11
THE LOCAL AND UNIVERSAL CHURCH
The local church is the body of believers who have been spiritually regenerated by grace through faith in Jesus Christ who are seeking to experience God’s love together and to share that love with the world. All believers from the day of Pentecost until the rapture are members of the universal church regardless of organizational affiliation.
Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:4-6; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
The purpose of the church, in addition to building up every believer, is to make Christ known to the whole world. Believers are sent by Christ to communicate to unsaved people that God is reconciling the world to Himself in Christ.
Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; John 17:16-23; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21
BELIEVERS’ BAPTISM
Baptism is an ordinance that Christ commanded Christians to observe and is a testimony for the church in this age.
Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47-48
THE LORD’S SUPPER
The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance instituted by Jesus as a symbolic expression of faith and obedience. In it we proclaim the Lord’s substitutional and sacrificial death on our behalf and affirm His certain return. The Lord’s Supper is open to all believers.
Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
HEAVEN AND HELL
Heaven and Hell are presented in the Bible as real. Heaven is described as a place of peace, reward and the undiminished presence of God while hell is a place of punishment, misery, and separation from God.
Matt 22:29-33, 25:31-46; Luke 23:43; John 14:1-7; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 2 Peter 3:13; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Revelation 22:1-5
RESURRECTION
There will be a bodily resurrection of all people. Believers will be resurrected to enjoy eternal life with God. Unbelievers are resurrected to experience judgment and eternal suffering apart from God.
Daniel 12:1-2; John 5:25-29, 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:50-56; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Revelations 20:4-6,11-15, 21:1-8
THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH
There will be an imminent, visible return of Christ for the church. All members of the body of Christ, living or dead, will at that time be caught up or be resurrected to be with the Lord forever.
1 Corinthians 15:50-56; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14
THE RETURN AND REIGN OF JESUS
Jesus Christ will return personally and physically in the glory of the Father to establish His kingdom in which He shall reign in righteousness and peace.
Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1-5; Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 21:25-28; Acts 1:6-11; Revelations 19:11–20:6