Our Position

ARTICLES OF FAITH

Bicester Baptist Church holds the following articles of faith as being a summary of Christian doctrine whose authority consists solely in its agreement with the Word of God.

1. The Bible – We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament in their entirety to be the Word of God1 given by inspiration of God2, in the sense that the Holy Ghost gave the very words of the sacred writings to holy men of old3 (verbal inspiration), and that His divine inspiration extends fully and equally to all parts of these writings – historical, poetical, doctrinal, and prophetic (plenary inspiration4). We further believe that every portion of both the Old and New Testaments were ordained of God for our instruction5, that they were totally without error as originally given, that they have been singularly preserved by God throughout all ages6, and that they are altogether sufficient in themselves as our only infallible rule of faith and practice7.

1. I Thessalonians 2:13
2. II Timothy 3:16
3. II Peter 1:19-21
4. I Corinthians 2:13
5. II Timothy 3:16-17
6. Psalm 12:6-7
7. Psalm 119:105

2. God – We believe in the only one1 true God2, eternally existing in three persons as the incomprehensible Trinity3–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit4–each possessing divine perfection and worthy of precisely the same homage and obedience5, He, as Creator6 and sovereign ruler7 of the universe, is righteous in all His ways8 and holy in all His works.

1. Mark 12:29
2. Isaiah 45:22
3. John 15:26
4. Matthew 28:19
5. Revelation 4:11
6. John 1:3
7. Hebrews 1:1-3
8. Deuteronomy 32:4

 3. Jesus Christ – We believe in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God1, who became man2 without ceasing to be God3, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit4 and born of the Virgin Mary, and that He lived a sinless life5 that He might reveal God. We believe He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitution sacrifice and full propitiation for our sins6, and that our redemption is made sure to us by His literal, bodily resurrection from the dead7. We further believe that He is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God, where as high priest for His people, He fulfils the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate on the behalf of all believers8.

1. John 1:1-2
2. John 1:14
3. Philippians 2:6-8
4. Luke 1:35
5. Hebrews 4:15
6. Romans 3:24-25
7. I Peter 1:3-5
8. Hebrews 4:14-16

 4. Holy Spirit – We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts mankind of sin1 and who alone enables sinners to place genuine trust in Jesus Christ2, baptising them into the Body of Christ at the moment of saving faith3, indwelling them for godly living4, and forever sealing them to glory5. We further believe that it is the duty of every believer to be continually filled (controlled) by the Holy Spirit6, as is commanded in the scriptures, thereby bearing fruit of the Spirit7 and exercising such gifts as the Spirit may grant in His sovereign will8. 

1. John 16:7-11
2. John 3:5-6
3. I Corinthians 12:12-14
4. Romans 8:9, 11; I Corinthians 3:16
5. Ephesians 1:13-14
6. Ephesians 5:18
7. Galatians 5:22-23
8. I Corinthians 12:4-12

5. Satan – We believe in the literal existence of Satan, who was originally created a holy and perfect being, but through pride and wicked ambition1 rebelled against God2, thus becoming utterly depraved in character, the great adversary of God and His people3, leader of all other evil angels and spirits4, the deceiver5 and god of this present world6. We further believe that his powers are vast, but strictly limited by the permissive will of God who overrules all his wicked devices for good7; that he was defeated at the cross8, and therefore his final doom is certain9; and that we are able to resist10 and overcome him only in the armour of God11. 

1. Ezekiel 28:14-16
2. Isaiah 14:12-15
3. I Peter 5:8
4. Ephesians 2:2; 6:12
5. Revelation 12:9
6. II Corinthians 4:4
7. Job 1:9-12; 2:4-6
8. I John 3:8
9. Revelation 20:10
10. James 4:7
11. Ephesians 6:10-20

 6. Angels And Demons – We believe in the personal existence of unseen spirits in the world1 who contend for the souls of men2, some furthering the purposes of God3 (angels), and others, under Satan4, opposing the purposes of God5 (demons).

1. Colossians 1:16
2. I Peter 5:8
3. Hebrews 1:7
4. II Corinthians 11:14
5. Revelation 12:9-12

 7. Man And Sin – We believe that man was directly created1 by God in His own image2 on the sixth day of creation3. Man was created holy and upright; but through the historic fall into sin, man came under God’s condemnation4, and that in consequence, the whole human race is dead in trespasses and sins5 and is subject to God’s just wrath and judgment6 –death and hell. We believe that this total depravity7 extends to every child of Adam because he is born into this world with a sinful nature, which possesses no spark of divine life. We further believe that without God’s provision for salvation in His Son8, Jesus Christ, no one can enter the Kingdom of God9, and that no degree of reformation, no educational attainment, no cultural or philanthropic achievement, and no religious ordinance can help a sinner toward the Kingdom of God10.

1. Genesis 2:7
2. Genesis 1:26
3. Genesis 1:1-2:3
4. Romans 5:12
5. Ephesians 2:1
6. Hebrews 9:27
7. Romans 3:10-12
8. John 3:18
9. John 3:5
10. Isaiah 64:6

 8. Salvation – We believe that salvation from sin is a free gift offered by God through His grace1 and received by personal penitent faith in the Lord Jesus Christ2, whose precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins, and that no penance, no resolution nor sincere effort, no membership in nor submission to any church or its rules or regulations, can in the very least add to the value of that precious blood or to the merit of the redemptive work wrought on Calvary3. We further believe that it is the privilege of all who are born again by the Spirit through faith in Christ4 to be assured of their salvation from the time of their conversion5, and that this confidence is based upon the testimony of God in His written Word6.   

1. Ephesians 2:8-9
2. John 1:12
3. I Peter 1:18-23
4. I John 5:10-13
5. Romans 8:1
6. Romans 8:38-39

9. Freeness Of Salvation – We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all1 by the gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent and obedient faith2 and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel3, which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation4.

1. I Timothy 2:5-6; Revelation 22:17
2. Romans 16:25-26
3. John 5:40
4. John 3:19

10. Eternal Security – We believe that all true believers in Jesus Christ are sealed by the Holy Spirit for all eternity1, that they are preserved in a state of permanent saving grace forever2, that God will finish the work of salvation begun in them3 without exception4, that Jesus will for no reason cast a true child of God out of His Kingdom5, and that believers are kept in such a state of preservation into eternal salvation, not by any works, effort, service or sacrifice on the part of the believer, but solely and wholly by the power of God6.

1. Ephesians 4:30
2. Psalm 37:28; Jude 1
3. Philippians 1:6
4. John 6:39
5. John 6:37
6. I Peter 1:4-5

 11. Last Things – We believe that the next great event in the fulfilment of prophecy is the rapture of the church by the Lord Jesus Christ to receive to Himself His own1 who are alive and also those who have died saved2, this being our blessed hope3; that this event will be followed by the Great Tribulation4, after which Christ will return to earth with His saints5 to begin His millennial reign6. We further believe that the prophecies concerning Israel being restored to her own land7 and apostasy in the professing church8 are being fulfilled, thereby indicating the imminence of our Lord’s second coming9.  

1. John 14:3; Acts 1:11
2. I Corinthians 15:23-24; I Thessalonians 4:13-17
3. Titus 2:13
4. Matthew 24:21-28
5. Matthew 24:29-31
6. Revelation 20:4
7. Jeremiah 23:7-8; Amos 9:14-15; Romans 11:25
8. II Thessalonians 2:3-8; Matthew 24:12
9. Mark 13:32-33

 12. Heaven And Hell – We believe in the bodily resurrection1 and everlasting conscious blessedness of believers2, and in the bodily resurrection of unbelievers to final judgment and everlasting conscious punishment3. By this we mean that the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do at death immediately pass into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His second coming4 and that the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery5 until the final judgment6, when soul and body shall be united and cast into the lake of fire to be separated from God and punished forever7.

1. I Corinthians 15:12-21
2. II Corinthians 5:1
3. John 5:29
4. II Corinthians 5:8
5. Luke 16:19-31
6. Revelation 20:11-15
7. II Thessalonians 1:6-9

 13. The Universal Body Of Christ And The Local Church – We believe that the Holy Spirit incorporates all true believers into the body of Christ1. The visible manifestation on earth of the universal body is the local New Testament church2 which is a congregation of baptised believers associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel3, observing the ordinances of Christ4, governed by His laws, and exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in it by God’s Word, that its only scriptural officers are bishops (elders or pastors) and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are defined in the Epistles of Timothy5, Titus6 and Hebrews7 and that it is free to govern itself without any ecclesiastical interference, as Christ alone is its head and Shepherd8. We further believe that members of a local church ought to represent the Lord and spread His gospel throughout the world9, keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace10, and love one another with a true heart fervently11.

1. I Corinthians 10:16-17; 12:27
2. I Timothy 3:15
3. Acts 2:41-42
4. I Corinthians 11:2
5. I Timothy 3
6. Titus 1
7. Hebrews 13:7, 17, 24
8. Ephesians 5:23
9. Mark 16:15
10. Ephesians 4:3
11. I Peter 1:22

 14. Local Church Ordinances – We believe that there are only two scriptural church ordinances – Christian Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; that scriptural Christian Baptism is the total immersion in water1 of a born-again believer2, in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost3 to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem of faith4 in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour5; and that the Lord’s Supper is to commemorate the death of Christ for our sins by use of bread to symbolise the body of our Lord which was given for us6 and grape juice to symbolise the blood of Christ shed for the remission of our sins7. We categorically reject false, unscriptural notions concerning church ordinances, including infant baptism, baptism by sprinkling or pouring, the Romanist doctrine of transubstantiation, or the belief that there is any saving merit in either ordinance. We further believe that the partakers of the Lord’s Supper should be only those who are scripturally baptised believers in close fellowship with God, and who have solemnly examined themselves and diligently sought to make sure to have a clear conscience with both God and man, lest they partake of the Lord’s Table unworthily and thereby bring judgment upon themselves8.

1. Acts 8:36-38
2. Acts 2:41
3. Matthew 28:19
4. I Corinthians 11:26
5. Romans 6:3-5
6. I Corinthians 11:24
7. I Corinthians 11:25
8. I Corinthians 11:27-32

 15. Christian Life – We believe that Christians are called with a holy calling to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit1. Because believers have become new creatures in Christ Jesus2 and are in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit3, we believe we should recognise that we are pilgrims in this world4 and should not love the world5, neither should we be of the world6. Rather we have a mission to proclaim Christ7 and live a life consistent with a Christian testimony8.         

1. Romans 8:5-9
2. II Corinthians 5:17
3. John 14:16-17
4. Colossians 3:1-3
5. I John 2:15-17
6. John 15:19
7. Matthew 28:19-20
8. I Peter 1:14-16

 16. Responsibilities Of Believers – We believe that God has appointed prayer1, Bible reading2, worship3, fellowship4, giving5 and witnessing6 as means of grace (not saving but sustaining grace) and growth for his children7. The ultimate responsibility for every believer that transcends all others is to bring glory to God8. We further believe that, as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, we will give account to God for our service on this earth9.

1. James 5:16
2. Colossians 3:16
3. John 4:24
4. Hebrews 10:24-25
5. Malachi 3:10
6. Acts 1:8
7. II Peter 3:18
8. I Corinthians 10:31
9. II Corinthians 5:10

 17. Spiritual Gifts – We believe that there are three categories of spiritual gifts, namely gifts given by Christ to the Body of Christ for its edification and growth1, gifts given to believers for ministry and service2, and sign gifts3 given in the early church to testify and verify to unbelieving Jews, who required a sign4, that Christianity was truly of God. We further believe that the sign gifts were for the infancy of the church and thus ceased with the completion of the Bible5, as the need for them ended when the Bible was finished6. We reject the doctrines that teach that there is a second work of grace subsequent to salvation, erroneously called the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but we believe that such baptism actually took place once in history on the Day of Pentecost6 and becomes operable in every believer’s life at the moment of salvation7, that tongues in the Bible were known human languages8 and that speaking in tongues is not necessary for spiritual growth today.

1. Ephesians 4:11-14
2. Romans 12:6-8
3. I Corinthians 12:7-10
4. John 4:48; I Corinthians 1:22; 14:22
5. I Corinthians 13:8-10
6. Acts 1:5; 2:1-13
7. I Corinthians 12:13
8. Acts 2:7-11

18. Regarding Current Theological Trends – It is, and will continue to be, our practice to stand against current theological trends that tend to discredit the Bible and undermine those truths that we consider to be the fundamentals of the faith. Bicester Baptist Church stands opposed to Neo-Orthodoxy, Neo-Evangelicalism, the Ecumenical movement and the modern Signs and Wonders (tongues) movement.

19. Regarding Evolution – We believe that evolutionary theories are contradictory to Biblical doctrine. For this reason we do not condone evolutionary ideas, and do not attempt to harmonize them with Biblical teaching. Regarding the age of the earth, we hold to a Biblical view of world history, that is to say, a view derived from a literal interpretation of Bible histories. By accepting the six-day creation account1, and the accuracy and completeness of Biblical genealogies2,3,4,5 we see the earth to be thousands, rather than millions of years old. The Biblical account of world history therefore cannot accommodate the millions of years of  time required by evolutionary theory for supposed evolutionary processes to take place. Regarding death, we hold to the position that death came about as a result of Adam’s sin6, and that there was no death in the world before that time7. This position stands in contradiction to the evolutionary idea of extinction of species over long periods of time before the arrival of mankind upon the earth.   

1. Genesis 1:1-31
2. Genesis 5:1-32
3. Genesis 10:1-32
4. Matthew 1:1-17
5. Luke 3:23-38
6. Genesis 2:16-17
7. Genesis 1:31