DOCTRINE & BELIEFS

Jesus is the head of our church, and His Word is the standard for how we live — as individuals and as God’s family — for the glory of God. Below are brief statements for each of the essential Christian doctrines that we hold as a church and that are foundational to following Jesus in loving, faith-filled obedience.  All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in scripture and flows from these basic foundational doctrines. Additionally, there are some brief answers below to some of the most commonly asked questions about trending social issues.

ESSENTIAL DOCTRINES & BELIEFS

The Bible

We believe the Bible is God-inspired – written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is our source for truth, salvation, and guides our convictions.
2 Timothy 3:16-17

Sin

We believe humanity was created in the image of God, and as a result of disobedience, sinned and fell from perfection, permeating all of God’s creation with sin.
Romans 5:12

Salvation

We believe that while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us and payed the debt our for sin. It’s only because of Jesus’ life, death, burial and resurrection, that we have salvation.

John 3:16, Romans 5:8

Grace

We believe that it’s neither works, nor righteousness of our own that leads to salvation.  We have no righteousness in ourselves and our salvation only comes by grace through faith in Christ alone.
Ephesians 2:8

New Life

We believe that a genuine life-change takes place in the heart and life of people who accept Jesus as savior.
2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 2:20

Sanctification

We believe that it is the will of God that we strive daily to become more like Jesus, growing constantly in the faith.
Hebrews 6:1

Water Baptism

We believe that baptism by immersion is the first step for any person who accepts Jesus as savior.
Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38

Communion

We believe in the commemoration of the Lord’s Supper by the symbolic use of the bread and wine.
1 Corinthians 11:24, 25

Baptism Of Spirit & Spirit Filled Life

We believe in a biblical experience that follows salvation where a believer “overflows” with the Holy Spirit and is empowered to live a Spirit-Filled life.
Acts 2:1-4; 8:14-17; 10:44-46; Gal 3:14-15

Repentance & Acceptance

We believe the right response to God’s generous gift of grace is sincere repentance and a wholehearted acceptance of Jesus, surrendering our life to Him.

1 John 1:9

The Fruit Of The Spirit & Spiritual Gifts

We believe that an authentic spirit filled life is evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit and by Spiritual Gifts.
Galatians 5:22, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Tithes & Freewill Offerings

We believe that the method ordained by God for the support
and spread of His cause is by giving of tithes and freewill offerings to the local church.
Malachi 3:10, 2 Corinthians 9:7

The Trinity

We believe in one God who exists in three distinct persons, the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 13:14

Moderation

We believe that the daily walk of a believer should never lead into extremes of fanaticism.
Philippians 4:5

Divine Healing

We believe that divine healing is the power of Christ to heal the sick in answer to prayer offered in faith.
James 5:14-16

The Second Coming Of Christ

We believe that the second coming of Christ is imminent.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Titus 2:11-13

Evangelism

We believe that bringing people to Jesus is the most important responsibility of the Church.
James 5:20

Church Relationship

We believe it is our sacred privilege to identify ourselves with a local church, and to prayerfully contribute and participate in the mission.
Acts 16:5, Hebrews 10:25

Civil Government

We believe that governing officials should be upheld at all times except in things opposed to the will of God.
Romans 13:1-5

Final Judgement

We believe that every person will stand one day before the judgment seat of God, and will receive eternal life or death.
2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 20:11-15, Hebrews 9:27

Heaven

We believe that heaven is the glorious eternal home of born-again believers.
John 14:1-3, Revelation 7:15-17

Hell

We believe that hell is a place of eternal separation from God for all who reject Christ as the Savior.
Revelation 20:10, 15

WHAT ABOUT TRENDING SOCIAL ISSUES?

Often, people are wanting short answers regarding our beliefs about common social issues. Here are the most frequently asked questions. We recognize these issues are nuanced and often demand dialogue. The following statements are intended to give an actual answer to the question instead of dodging the hard issues. If you would like to talk more about our positions on these matters, please feel free to set up a meeting with one of our pastors.

MARRIAGE

We believe God has ordained marriage and defined it as a covenant relationship between one man, one woman, and himself. Hence, we only recognize marriage between a biological man and a biological woman. As a result, the staff of Oasis Church will only officiate weddings between one man and one woman (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4; Eph. 5:25; 1 Pet. 3:7)

GENDER

We believe that from the beginning God created two separate and distinct biological sexes: male and female. Moreover, we believe that Scripture does not permit any difference between biological sex and gender identity or expression. Humankind has been created by God and any attempt to misconstrue the difference between male/female and/or biological sex/gender identity is an attempt to self-create and is a result of sin and the fall.  (Gen. 1:26-27; Matt. 19:4; Mark 10:6-7; Psalm 139:14).

RACE

We believe that God loves all races of human beings equally and without preference or favoritism. Racism, which is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, is evil and is the result of sin. We believe that the authority for approaching racism is Scripture and, therefore, our approach to racism centers around such. (Mk 12:31; Acts 17:26; Rom. 2:11;: Rev. 7:9-10; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).

SANCTITY OF LIFE

We believe that all human life is valuable and sacred, and that human life and full personhood begins at conception and continues until death. As stewards of life, we are endowed by God with the responsibility to protect the worth and dignity of human beings from the moment of conception until the moment of death. Therefore, we oppose taking innocent life in all forms, including abortion and euthanasia. (Gen. 1:26-27; Job 31:15; Ps. 22:10; Ps. 127:3-5; Ps. 139:13-16; Jer. 1:5; Acts 17:25).

ECUMENICISM

We believe in unity among the essentials and liberty among non-essentials. We embrace ecumenicalism, finding it more edifying and Christ-like to build bridges when it comes to secondary and tertiary doctrinal matters (i.e., eschatological interpretations, Calvinism/Arminianism, etc.) versus drawing lines of division. Because of this, we build friendships with churches from various denominations and theological perspectives. Our pastors, teams and church as a whole are comprised of diverse theological backgrounds and are encouraged to be respectful and inquiring toward one another in the spirit of Christian unity. (Ps. 133:1; Acts 15:1-21; Eph. 4:3; Phi. 2:2; 2 Cor. 13:11).