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VISION BAPTIST CHURCH STATEMENT OF FAITH --- WE BELIEVE: A. The Holy Scriptures. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and, therefore, are the final authority for faith and life. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 B. The Godhead. We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. John 14:10, 26 C. The Person and Work of Christ. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. Luke 1:35 2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross. Romans 3:24-25 3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. Acts 1:9-10, Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2 D. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. John 16:8-11, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, Ephesians 1:13-14 2. We believe that He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit Ephesians 1:17-18, 1 John 2:20, 27 3. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. Rom. 12:3-8 4. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit, and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. 1 Corinthians 1:22, 14:21-22 E. The Total Depravity of Man We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God; but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a human nature, and became alienated from God. Romans 5:12 F. Salvation. We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. John 3:16 G. The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. John 10:27-30 2. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. Romans 13:13-14 H. The Church We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. 2 Corinthians 11:2, Acts 2:41 2. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. Acts 14:27 3. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. Acts 15:19-31 4. We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age. Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:41-42 I. Separation. We believe that all saved people should live to bring honor and glory to God. Our Lord commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all sinful pleasures, practices, associations, and to refrain from all immodest appearances. Rom. 12:1-2, I John 2:15-17, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 J. The Second Advent of Christ. We believe in the personal, imminent return of Christ who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 19:11-16, 20:1-6 K. The Eternal State. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. I Thessalonians 4:16-17 2. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. Revelation 20:11-15 L. Satan. We believe that Satan is a real being who is void of truth. We believe also that he is the god of this world who has blinded the eyes of them which believe not and that he is in constant war with Christians. Ephesians 6:11, 12; John 8:44, II Corinthians 4:4, Acts 26:18 M. Creation. We believe that God created the universe in six literal 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, its teachings and theories. Genesis 1-2, Exodus 20:11 N. Civil Government. We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-14 O. Human Sexuality. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender. Romans 1: 26-29; I Corinthians 7:2 2. We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:10, Ephesians 5:22-23 P. Family Relationships. We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:18; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12 2. We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are a heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction. Proverbs 22:15, Mark 10:6-12; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4 Q. Abortion. We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies for any reason is acceptable. Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24, Luke 1:44 R. Lawsuits Between Believers. We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32, Matthew 18:15-22 S. Missions. We believe that God has given the church a great commission to spread the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-48, Acts 1:8 T. Giving. We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, should support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made. Genesis 14:20, Proverbs 3:9-10, Acts 4:34-37, 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 |
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VISION BAPTIST CHURCH
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