{"id":28742,"date":"2018-07-21T02:27:09","date_gmt":"2018-07-21T02:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bykota.church\/?page_id=28742"},"modified":"2019-02-23T23:37:36","modified_gmt":"2019-02-23T23:37:36","slug":"what-we-believe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bykota.church\/what-we-believe\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Believe"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.47&#8243;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.48&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.47&#8243; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/bykota.church\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Untitled-Design-2.jpg&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.19.3&#8243;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.10&#8243;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;3.10&#8243;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.47&#8243; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.10&#8243; text_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; text_font_size_phone=&#8221;12px&#8221; text_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; header_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; header_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\"><strong>Word of God (Bible)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We believe the Scriptures, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, are the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings. They\u00a02 address God&#8217;s purpose pertaining to His glory and to man&#8217;s salvation, faith, and life. \u00a0Nothing is to be added to or taken away from the Bible, either by new revelation or\u00a0traditions.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">Trinity<\/h3>\n<p>We believe in one God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, eternally\u00a0existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; that these are equal in every\u00a0divine perfection and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of\u00a0creation, providence and redemption.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">God the Father<\/h3>\n<p>We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect\u00a0in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe He concerns Himself mercifully in the\u00a0affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death\u00a0all who come to him through Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">Jesus Christ<\/h3>\n<p>We believe that Jesus Christ is God&#8217;s eternal Son, and has\u00a0precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections as God the Father and God the\u00a0Holy Spirit. \u00a0We further believe that He is not only true God, but true man, conceived by\u00a0the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We, also, believe in His sinless life, His\u00a0substitutionary death and atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His\u00a0ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His\u00a0personal, visible, premillennial return from heaven.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">Holy Spirit<\/h3>\n<p>We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person and has precisely the\u00a0same nature, attributes and perfections as God the Father and God the Son. His\u00a0ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and implement His work of redeeming the lost\u00a0and empowering the believer for godly living and service. The Holy Spirit is the\u00a0sovereign agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ. This\u00a0baptism occurs at the moment of conversion and is not a subsequent work of grace.\u00a0We, further, believe that the Holy Spirit indwells all believers, sanctifies them, and seals\u00a0them unto the day of redemption.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">Man<\/h3>\n<p>We believe God created mankind for His glory, male and female, in His\u00a0image and free from sin. We believe that marriage was instituted by God Himself when\u00a0He brought Adam and Eve together in the garden. Following this pattern we define\u00a0marriage as the joining of one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman for life.\u00a0We, further, believe that since Adam&#8217;s sin, every person is a sinner by nature and\u00a0choice and is, therefore, spiritually dead. We, also, believe that those who repent of\u00a0their sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"moto-cell col-sm-6 moto-widget moto-widget-row__column\" data-container=\"container\" data-widget=\"row.column\" data-bgcolor-class=\"\">\n<div class=\"moto-widget moto-widget-text moto-preset-default moto-spacing-top-auto moto-spacing-right-auto moto-spacing-bottom-auto moto-spacing-left-auto\" data-widget=\"text\" data-preset=\"default\" data-spacing=\"aaaa\" data-animation=\"\">\n<div class=\"moto-widget-text-content moto-widget-text-editable\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"moto-widget moto-widget-row__column moto-cell col-sm-6\" data-widget=\"row.column\" data-bgcolor-class=\"\" data-container=\"container\">\n<div class=\"moto-widget moto-widget-text moto-preset-default moto-spacing-top-auto moto-spacing-right-auto moto-spacing-bottom-auto moto-spacing-left-auto\" data-widget=\"text\" data-preset=\"default\" data-spacing=\"aaaa\" data-animation=\"\">\n<div class=\"moto-widget-text-content moto-widget-text-editable\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.47&#8243; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.10&#8243; text_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; text_font_size_phone=&#8221;12px&#8221; text_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; header_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; header_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; header_2_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">Salvation<\/h3>\n<p>We believe that salvation is the work of God by which we are rescued\u00a0from the guilt and grip of sin. We, further, believe that salvation is based upon the\u00a0sovereign grace of God, and was purchased by Christ on the cross apart from any\u00a0human merit, works or rituals. It is received by man through faith, and is permanently\u00a0possessed. \u00a0The one who is saved is given a new identity \u201cin Christ\u201d, and subsequently\u00a0lives \u00a0in vital union with Christ as expressed in righteous living, good works and proper\u00a0concern for all of God\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">The Church<\/h3>\n<p>We believe that the Church is the spiritual body of which Christ is\u00a0the head. We believe the true Church is composed of all persons worldwide that are\u00a0united with Jesus Christ through faith and are indwelt by His Spirit, thereby possessing\u00a0His life. We, also, believe that this body most appropriately express itself in local\u00a0assemblies whose partners have been baptized upon a credible confession of faith and\u00a0have committed to come together for worship, instruction, evangelism and service.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">Baptism<\/h3>\n<p>We believe that baptism is a public declaration of one&#8217;s personal faith in\u00a0Jesus Christ. We further believe that immersion is the best expression of believer&#8217;s\u00a0baptism because it symbolizes the believer&#8217;s identification with the death and\u00a0resurrection of Christ.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">Lord&#8217;s Supper<\/h3>\n<p>We believe Communion or the Lord&#8217;s Supper is to be observed in\u00a0remembrance of Jesus Christ, His body and blood given for us. It may be received by all\u00a0who profess true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and are in good standing in the true\u00a0Church may participate. \u00a0It affords us the opportunity to examine our lives in the light of\u00a0God&#8217;s gracious gift of His Son. In partaking of the elements together we proclaim the\u00a0Lord\u2019s death until He comes.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">Church Authority<\/h3>\n<p>We believe that each local church is self-governing in function,\u00a0and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority. The Bible\u00a0is our authority.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">Christian Conduct<\/h3>\n<p>We believe that anyone may worship God according to the\u00a0dictates of one&#8217;s own conscience, and that God alone is the Lord and Judge of the\u00a0conscience. We further believe that the Christian conscience should be held captive by\u00a0the Word of God which is the only rule of faith and practice. We believe that the\u00a0supreme task of every believer is to glorify God in their life; that their conduct should be\u00a0blameless before the world; that they should be faithful stewards of His possessions\u00a0and that they should seek to realize for themselves the full stature of maturity in Christ.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"moto-text_system_7\">Last Things<\/h3>\n<p>We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, in the\u00a0eternal existence of all men either in heaven or hell, and in divine judgment, rewards\u00a0and punishments.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.47&#8243;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.48&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.47&#8243; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.10&#8243; text_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; header_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; header_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; header_font_size=&#8221;29px&#8221; header_font_size_tablet=&#8221;20px&#8221; header_font_size_phone=&#8221;15px&#8221; header_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Have Questions?\u00a0<\/strong>Email adam@bykota.church<\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Word of God (Bible) We believe the Scriptures, the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bykota.church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28742"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bykota.church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bykota.church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bykota.church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bykota.church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28742"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/bykota.church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29033,"href":"https:\/\/bykota.church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28742\/revisions\/29033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bykota.church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}