Meet the Pastor
Pastor Robert Cotton
I think that everyone today would agree with me when I say that
we live in a troubled world. Many are looking for answers.
We have found that the Bible, God's Word, is relevant to our
world today and covers every area o f life. We have found that the
Bible `works'!
How about coming along and sharing with us in the blessings.
Pastor Robert Cotton.
About Our Church
THE OPEN DOOR BAPTIST CHURCH is a fundamental
Baptist Church following the Word of God through the King James
version of The Bible. This is Gods Word in print, not a copy which
has been profitised from doubtful sources. One such source a
rubbish bin , the other the catholic church. What more can I
say
Meeting Times
We meet at the following times
Sunday Services
9.00am
Good News Bible Club for Children
Adults Class
10.00am
Morning Service (Creche available)
6.00pm
Evening Service
Wednesday Service
7.00pm
Bible Study and Prayer
Thursday nights
7.00pm
Bible School
Counselling Service Only a phone call away!
Relevant Articles will be presented as they become available.
Please Call Again
Our Covenant
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive
the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour; and on the profession of our
faith in Him,having been baptised in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God
and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant
with one another, as one body in Christ. We realise that we are of
the household of faith, and that in God's sight we are brothers and
sisters. It is therefore, our duty to love and to pray for our
Church as our spiritual home, and to strive to honour our Lord in
all that we do, say and think.
We engage therefore, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to walk
together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this
Church, in knowledge, holiness, and encouragement. We engage to
promote its spirituality and prosperity; to sustain by regular
attendance its worship ordinances, discipline and doctrines, giving
it sacred pre-eminence over all institutions of human origin; to
contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry,
and expenses of the Church, the relief of the poor and the spread
of the Gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain secret and family devotions, to
religiously educate our children, to seek the salvation of our
kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world, to
be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary
in our conduct; to avoid all gossip, foolish or slanderous talk,
and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale and use of
intoxicating drinks as a beverage, the use of tobacco and
non-prescription drugs, illicit sexual interests, abortion,
devilish music, and such other activities that defile the
believer's body,the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit; to abstain
from everything that will cause our brother to stumble, or that
will bring reproach upon the cause of Christ.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love,
to remember each other in prayer, to aid each other in sickness and
distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy
in speech, and to strive to grow in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour; that amid evil and good report we will humbly and
earnestly seek to honour and glorify Christ, being slow to take
offence, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the
rule of our Saviour to secure it without delay.
We, moreover, engage that when we remove from this place, we
will, as soon as possible, unite with some other church of like
faith and practice, where we can carry out the spirit of this
covenant and the principles of God's word.
THE OPEN DOOR BAPTIST CHURCH
is Located in O'Halloran Terrace, Mount Gambier, South
Australia
Pastor Cotton may be contacted by email to pastor (at) todbaptist.com
or by mail at 19 Sharley Avenue, Mount Gambier, 5290, South
Australia.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
This Church holds the following statement of faith as being a
summary of Christian doctrine whose authority consists only in its
agreement with the Word of God.
THE BIBLE
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the Old and New
Testament Scriptures, was written by men divinely inspired; that it
is the inerrant, infallible, eternal Word of God. It does not
contain the Word of God, but rather it is the very Word of God. We
believe it to be the sole and final authority for all faith and
practice of a Christian, and the supreme standard by which all
human conduct, creeds and opinions shall be tried.
II Timothy 3:16 II Peter 1:21 Psalm 12:6-7 I Thessalonians 2:13
Isaiah 8:20
THE TRUE GOD
We believe that there is one, and only one living and true God,
an infinite, intelligent, personal Spirit, the creator and supreme
ruler of heaven and earth; source and sustainer of all life;
inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible
honour, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there
are three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; equal
in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious
offices in the great work of redemption.
John 4:24 John 10:30 Psalm 83:18 Genesis 1:1 I John 5:7
Ephesians 2:18 John 17:5
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Statement of Faith cont.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, took upon
Himself the full nature of man and yet retained the full nature of
God. In the incarnation, He was miraculously conceived by the Holy
Spirit and born of Mary, a virgin. He was both fully God and fully
man at the same time. He was totally holy by virtue of His
miraculous birth and sinless life. We believe that He voluntarily
laid down His life, the Just for the unjust, making it possible for
man to be saved; that He rose bodily from the dead on the third
day, and that He ascended into Heaven to the right hand of the
Father; and that presently, He is our Intercessor and Advocate, the
only true Mediator between God and Man.
John 14:6 Luke 1:27, 31, 35 Matthew 1:18-25 John 1G:30 I Timothy
2:5,6 I John 2:1 John l:l-5
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal with
God the Father and God the Son, and of the same nature, and
therefore is to be loved, worshipped and obeyed. He is the agent
who through the Word of God regenerates men. He indwells the bodies
of believers, teaching, comforting, chastening, imparting gifts and
producing the fruits of the Spirit. We believe in the enduement of
power for the purpose of winning the lost to Jesus Christ.
John 14:16,17,26 Ephesians 4:30 John 3:5,6
THE FALL OF MAN
We believe that the Genesis account of the Fall of Man is to be
accepted literally, that man was created holy with a perfect
fellowship with God and that through deliberate disobedience he
fell from that lofty position. Consequently the whole human race
fell, is totally depraved, and is under condemnation to eternal
damnation by the righteous God of the universe; without defence or
excuse.
Genesis 1:27,31 Genesis 3:6-24 John 3:18 Romans 5:12,19 Romans
1:20
THE WAY OF SALVATION
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace;
through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who by
appointment of the Father, freely took upon Himself human nature,
yet without sin; honoured the divine law by His personal obedience,
and by His death and shedding of His blood made an unlimited and
vicarious atonement for the sins of all mankind; that His atonement
consisted not in setting an example by His death as a martyr, but
was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place,
the Just dying for the unjust, Christ, the Lord, bearing the sins
of all mankind in His own body on the cross; that, having risen
from the dead, He is now enthroned in Heaven as a High Priest who
can be touched by the feeling of human infirmities. He is in every
way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate and an
all-sufficient Saviour for all who will believe.
Ephesians 2:8-9 John 3:16 Hebrews 5:9 Romans 3:24,25 Philippians
2:7,8 Hebrews 9:12-15 I Timothy 2:5,6 I John 4:10
THE FREENESS OF SALVATION
We believe that salvation is freely offered to every person
through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that all are commanded to
repent and believe the Gospel.
We believe that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest
sinner on earth but his own voluntary rejection of the gospel,
which results in an aggravated damnation.
John 7:37-38 John 5:20 John 3:16 John 3:19 II Peter 2:21
THE NEW BIRTH
We believe that in order to be saved, a sinner must be born
again; made a new creation in Christ Jesus, a partaker of the
divine nature. We believe that the new birth is instantaneous and
not a process; that the moment before the new birth, the sinner is
spiritually dead (separated from God due to sin); that the moment
after the new birth, the sinner is spiritually alive (in close and
vital communion with the living God); that God the Holy Spirit is
the one who enters and regenerates the life at the moment the
sinner receives and believes in the person and work of Christ as
his personal Saviour; that a sinner who is truly born again
inwardly will give evidence to that fact outwardly by a changed
life, bringing forth fruits of repentance and faith and newness of
life.
John 3:3,5,6; II Corinthians 5:17; II Peter 1:4; I John 5:1;
John 5:24; Ephesians 2:1,4,5; Titus 3:5; John 1:12,13; John
7:37-39; Romans 8:15-17; Matthew 3:8; Luke 3:8; Matthew 7:17;
Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 5:8-10.
THE SECURITY OF BELIEVERS
We believe that salvation is eternal in its result and that
those who are once saved can never be lost, but are kept by the
Power of God and will never stand under condemnation for their
sin.
Ephesians 4:30 John 10:27-29 john 5:24 Hebrews 7:25
THE CHURCH
We believe that the local Church is a New Testament phenomenon,
that it is a group of baptised believers who are banded together in
obedience to the instructions of God's Word for the purpose of
edifying the saints and winning the lost to Jesus Christ. Its
function includes observing the ordinances of Christ and teaching
the principles, doctrines and instructions of the Word of God. We
believe that there are only two scriptural offices of the Church;
that of Pastor (undershepherd) being synonymous with Elder (Ruler)
and Bishop (Overseer), these terms being used interchangeably in
the Scriptures; and that of Deacon whose responsibility is to
assist the Pastor in serving the spiritual and temporal needs of
people; and that the qualifications and duties of Pastors (or
Bishops, or Elders) and Deacons are clearly set forth in the
Epistles to Timothy and Titus.
I Timothy 3 Titus 1:5-9 Acts 2:41,42 Acts 20:28 I Corinthians
1:10 I Corinthians 11:2
THE GRACE OF GIVING
We believe that Scriptural giving is God's way for God's people
to supply the financial needs of God's work by the regular,
systematic, proportionate contribution of their tithes and
offerings through this Church. We believe Scriptural giving to the
Lord is a privilege and that it is a very real indicator of a
believer's spiritual condition; that not only is it an act of
obedience to God, but is also an act of worship which develops the
believer's sense of responsibility to an all powerful Creator,
Sustainer and Saviour-God.
Genesis 14:20 Malachi 3:8-10 Proverbs 11:24 Proverbs 3:9
Leviticus 27:30-33 Matthew 23:23 Acts 2:45 I Corinthians 16:1,2 II
Corinthians 8:1-15 II Corinthians 9:1-15
HEAVEN AND HELL
We believe that every man has as eternal soul, and that those
who have been born again by the grace of God will spend their
eternity in the everlasting bliss and harmony of God's prepared
Heaven. On the other hand we believe that those who have never been
saved will spend their eternity in the everlasting fire and
torments of hell.
John 14:1-3 Revelation 21-22 Revelation 20:11-15 Luke
16:19-31
THE RETURN OF CHRIST
We believe in the imminent, pre-tribulation bodily catching away
of the saints to meet Christ in the air; followed by the literal
seven year tribulation or day of the Lord as foretold in the Books
of Daniel, Matthew and Revelation; and then the literal, personal,
bodily return of Jesus Christ to the earth to set up His millennial
kingdom.
I Thess. 4:13-18 Acts l:ll Revelation 20:4-6
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We believe that the institution of civil government is appointed
by God and therefore subject to His moral laws; that the purpose of
civil government is the protection of life and property of the
citizens, by praise of those who do good works and punishment of
those who do evil. We believe that magistrates are to be prayed
for, conscientiously honoured and obeyed; except only in things
opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord
of the conscience, and the Prince of the kings of the earth.
Romans 13:1-7 Acts 5:29 Matthew 22:21 Daniel 4:25 Matthew
23:10
NEO-ORTHODOXY
We believe that neo-orthodoxy, which is the practice of
inconsistent Bible interpretation, coupled with the so-called
HIGHER SCIENTIFIC BIBLICAL criticism, is an abomination in the
sight of God; it is a deceptive attempt to undermine God's clear
promises concerning the preservation of the Word.
Psalm 12:6-7 Matthew 5:18 John 10:35 I Peter 1:24-25 Isaiah
40:8
NEO-EVANGELICALISM
We believe that neo-evangelicalism, which is the practice of
injecting new humanistic and social-oriented meanings into classic
Gospel terms, coupled with the joining of Bible-believing people in
un-scriptural and unholy unions (under the guise of so-called
evangelistic effort) with those who thus discredit the Bible and
deny historic doctrines - both wicked and futile. We wholly voice
our disapproval and avoid involvement in any and all such
efforts.
THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT
This is the prophesied movement to unite all faiths in a
worldwide church. It is inspired by the Devil and is threatening to
the true churches of God. We believe we should have no part in this
movement, but rather we should firmly oppose it throughout our
lives.
THE MODERN TONGUES MOVEMENT
We believe that the modern tongues movement is not Scriptural in
its history, content, or practice; that it is referred to as the
"new glue" that will unite neo-evangelical Catholics and
Protestants; that the "tongues" of the New Testament were human
languages foreign to the speaker but known to the hearer; that
"tongues" were a missionary-natured, authenticating, sign-gift to
unbelieving Jews; and that this gift was temporary in nature. We,
therefore, oppose involvement in personal tongue-talking for prayer
or praise, as much as we oppose the general thrust of the modern
tongues movement at large.
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