The Holy Bible (Old Testament and New Testament) is the inspired, inerrant Word of God.  “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (II Timothy 3:16-17) We know that God, the Holy Spirit is the author: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (II Peter 1:21)

Because we know that the Bible is the Word of God, we base Willow Oak Missionary Baptist Church’s Articles of Faith upon it.

We believe:

Section 1.    “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”  (Genesis 1:1) “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”(John 1:3)

Section 2.    Man was created in God’s image and in the beginning was perfectly innocent.  However, by willful disobedience to God, man fell from that innocence and now all men are sinners by nature.  Man is void of holiness and under the just condemnation of God. (Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 3:10-12, 23)

Section 3.    God, by His grace, provided salvation to man through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Scriptures foretold of Christ, the Messiah, who would be

born of a virgin and who would die for our sin. (Isaiah 7:14; 53:1-12) The angel Gabriel was sent by God to the Virgin Mary, with the message that she was going to conceive in her womb and bring forth a son and His name would be Jesus.  The Holy Ghost would come upon her and the power of the Highest would overshadow her and she would give birth to the Son of God. (Luke 1:26-35)

Section 4.    The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division. (John 14:26)

Section 5.    “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16) Salvation is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.  (Matthew 26:28; Acts 20:28)  To be saved, one ‘must’ believe:  “That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”  (Romans 10:9)

Section 6.    Once a person is saved, that salvation is ‘never’ lost.  Jesus said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”  (John 10:28-29)

 Section 7.  Christ gave to the church two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a symbol and a public testimony of one’s faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior.  The Lord’s Supper is symbolic of the Lord’s death and commemorates His pending return.  Neither ordinance has any saving significance.  (Romans 6:3-5; I Corinthians 11:23-32)

Section 8.  Tithing is God’s plan for the support of His Church and it works.  He has promised blessings to the faithful tither and a curse for those who do not tithe. (Malachi 3:8-12)

Section 9.    Jesus also commanded believers to pray and witness, giving testimony to His name:  “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”  (Matthew 28:19-20) Prayer is a pivotal practice of believers, for it is a sacred link between God and the believer.  (Matthew 6:5-15; 7:7-11)

 Section 10.  Jesus will come again for His Bride, the Church.  (I Thessalonians 4:13-18)  After a seven-year tribulation period, Jesus will gloriously return and set up his Millennial Kingdom on earth. After a thousand years, the Great White Throne Judgment will take place and Christ shall reign eternally.  (Revelations 20 and 21)