BELIEFS

Woodland Hills Baptist Church is a family of believers who holds dear the following beliefs:

God—We believe that there is one God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1; Psalms 19:1; Psalm 139:7; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14).

Jesus—We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, was born of a virgin, was wholly God and wholly man, lived a sinless life, died in our place as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind, was buried, arose bodily from the grave, and ascended into Heaven (John 1:1-3, 14; Luke 1:35; Matthew 26:63-65; Romans 3:24-26, 4:25; Hebrew 1:3, 3:1, 7:23-25; I John 2:1-2).

Christ’s Return—We believe that Jesus Christ will literally return to earth (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Philippians 3:20; Matthew 24:15-31; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 20:1-6).

Holy Spirit—We believe that God the Holy Spirit is active in convincing unbelievers of their need for salvation, and is the Comforter and Guide Who lives in every believer (John 16:7-11; John 3:8; I Corinthians 12:4-11,13; John 14:16-17; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18).

Bible—We believe that the Bible is the Word of God without any error, the sole authority for life and faith (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:21; John 17:17).

Man—We believe that man is a special creation of God, made in His image, but that through the sin of the first man, Adam, mankind fell so that all men are sinners and need salvation (Genesis 1:27, 2:17, 3:19; Psalms 8:3-9; I Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 2:1-3).

Salvation—We believe that salvation is a gift received through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Chronicles 7:14; Isaiah 45:22; Isaiah 55:1, 6-7; Joel 2:12-13; Acts 13:38-39; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-10 1 John 1:9).

Assurance—We believe that every person who is truly saved is eternally secure in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1, 38-39; John 10:27-30).

Eternity—We believe that those persons who die in their sins without Christ spend eternity in Hell and those persons who die with their sins forgiven through Christ spend eternity in Heaven (Luke 16:19-31; II Corinthians 5:8; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15).

Baptism—We believe that water baptism is an act of obedience to the command of Christ and is by immersion after salvation (Matthew 20:19-20; I Corinthians 11:23-26; Acts 2:38).

Lord's Supper—We believe that the Lord's Supper is a memorial of Christ's death, the elements being symbols of His body and blood. We believe that every Christian has a right to partake of the elements of the Lord's Supper but that participation must always be preceded by solemn self-examination (Exodus 12:24-27; Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:42-47; I Corinthians 11:24-25).

Church—We believe that the church is a local body of baptized believers with the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head (Acts 1:7-8; Acts 2:1-13; Romans 9:25-26; Romans 12:4-5; I Corinthians 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:14-16; Ephesians 5:23).

Prayer—We believe that each believer has direct access to God through the Lord Jesus Christ (Psalm 50: 14-15; Matthew 6:9-13; Ephesians 3:12; Ephesians 6:8; I Thessalonians 5:17; James 1:6).

Government—We believe in the separation of church and state, but not in separation of God and government. Christians are salt and light in society (Matthew 5:13-16; Romans 13:1-7).