About Ocala Baptist Temple Church
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Welcome to the web page of Ocala Baptist Temple Church in Ocala, Florida. We believe that baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordained by the Lord Jesus himself - baptism as a symbol of entrance into the body of Christ and the Lord's Supper a regular reminder of the death, resurrection, and return of Christ. Baptism symbolizes the believer's death to sin and new life in Christ. Those baptized are done so in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Together they are simultaneously God's pledge to us, divinely ordained means of grace, our public vows of submission to the once crucified and now resurrected Christ, and anticipations of his return and of the consummation of all things.
We believe that the goal of the faith community is not to make people more religious; instead, we want to help people learn to love God more and therefore become more fully human. At Ocala Baptist Temple Church, we believe that we are called to reach out to our neighbors. We want to do this both locally and globally, serving them in ways that make a difference.
About God's Word: We believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, authoritative Word of God. We believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the original writings of Scripture and that the original writings are without error.
About Separation of Church and State: We believe that each local church is self-governing, and must be free from interference by any external ecclesiastical or political authority; that every human being is ultimately responsible to God in matters of faith and life; and that each person is free to worship God according to the dictates of his/her conscience. We further believe that governments are established by God; that Christians, as good citizens, should be subject to governing authorities insofar as possible, recognizing our greater allegiance to God and His kingdom in matters wherein human authorities conflict with clear, biblical mandates.