Saturday • December 21

Doctrinal Statement

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About God
We believe there is one God. God has no beginning and no end. He has always existed. The Godhead is revealed in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (this is often referred to as the Trinity). God is the Creator of all things. He is completely perfect and worthy of our love, worship, respect, confidence, and obedience.

Bible references that tell us these things include:
Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 8:6; John 14:6-17; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 1:13-19; Hebrews 1:1-3; Genesis 1:1; Psalm 90:2; 1 Peter 1:2; Matthew 3:16-17; John 4:24; John 17:5,21; and Ephesians 2:17-18.

About Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the visible manifestation of the invisible God. Born of the virgin Mary, he is fully God and fully human. Christ led a sinless life, yet He took on Himself all our sins at His death on the Cross. He was buried and came to life again, and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven where He prays for us, and serves as our mediator and advocate.

Bible references that tell us these things include: Colossians 1:15; Philippians 2:5-8; Matthew 1:18-25; 1 Peter 2:24-25, Luke 24; Hebrews 4:14-16; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; and Matthew 28:5-6.

About the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit convinces people of their need for a Savior and draws people to God. After a person trusts Christ to save them from the penalty for their sins, the Holy Spirit comes to live within that believer. The Holy Spirit then teaches, comforts, and guides that believer. It is the Holy Spirit that develops Christ-like qualities in the believer and who gives to each believer one or more "gifts" or special abilities that are to be used to benefit the community of believers and to serve God.

Bible references that tell us these things include: John 16:7-15; Romans 8:1-14; John 14:16-17; Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:22-25; Luke 11:13; John 15:26; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 13:8-11; Ephesians 4:8, 11-13; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; and Romans 8:26.

About the Bible
We believe the Bible is God's Word—His personal message to us. Though He used many people to compose it, God Himself controlled the process so that the original documents said exactly what He wanted them to say and they were completely without error. The Bible is the Christian's supreme and final authority for faith and for how to live.

Bible references that tell us these things include: 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; and 1 Peter 1:25.

About human beings
We believe that human beings were created in the image of God; that it took two genders to fully express this image. Originally human beings were sinless, but when faced with temptation they gave in and chose to disobey the directions God had given them. Since that time, all human beings are sinners. That means that no person naturally makes God the Lord of his or her life and no individual has constantly obeyed "love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5) Every human has failed at that at some, or many, point(s) in his or her life. Hence, all human beings live in need of a Savior. The consequences of that original choice to disobey God also brought spiritual and physical death, illness, sorrow, pain and difficulties of all kinds into this world.

Bible references that tell us these things include: Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:15-17; Genesis 3:1-7; Psalm 8:3-8; Romans 3:10-11, 23; Romans 6:23; John 3:18; Romans 5:12; Isaiah 59:1-2; and Galatians 3:22.

About people's equality before God
We believe that people have equality before God. All people, whether male or female, of whatever race or color are equally creations of God. They are equally sinners who need to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Once an individual has done this and becomes a believer, that person is equally responsible to exercise the spiritual gift(s) that she or he has received from God. In God's church, which is also known as the Body of Christ, there is no distinction as to gender, race, or class.

Bible references that tell us these things include: 1 Corinthians 11:11-12; Galatians 3:27-28; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; John 17:22; and 1 Peter 4:10.

About how a person gets to Heaven
We believe that all people have a sinful nature and face the judgment of God unless they accept God's provision and come into a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. This process is often referred to as salvation. Salvation is the free gift of God available to any and all who will admit that they are sinners and are willing to repent and express sorrow for those sins, and are willing to accept the atoning death of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross in their place, and believe that Christ came back to life through the power of God and lives in heaven today. Salvation is then manifested by the individual making Christ Lord of his or her life. Faith in Christ is the key element; good works have nothing to do with gaining admission to heaven, although followers of Christ do engage in good works because they have the love of God in them. Once a person has trusted in Jesus and become a true Christian in his/her heart that individual is assured that he/she can never lose their salvation.

Bible references that tell us these things include: Isaiah 53:4-6; Isaiah 43:11; John 3:16-18; Romans 3:23; 6:23; Romans 10:9-10, 13; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5-7; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 14:6; Romans 8:15-17, 31-39; 1 John 5:1-13; John 10:27-30; and Ephesians 1:12-14.

About the Christian life
We believe that we are called to live a holy life in submission to the leading of Christ and the teachings of the Bible. This life will produce what is called the "fruit of the Spirit." That is, by letting Christ be Lord in one's life the Holy Spirit is able to work inside that person to help him or her become faithful, loving, patient, kind, good, and gentle, a person who exercises self-control and experiences God's joy and peace in the heart. In addition, all people who accept Christ as Savior and follow Him are to love all of God's creatures even when they are not obedient to the will of God. In such cases they are to call the person or persons to accountability while holding out a hand of assistance.

Christians live in this world, which is a spiritual battlefield on which we find the enemy, Satan and his demons. These demonic forces are in constant conflict with the purposes of God and Jesus Christ and are engaged in battle with the followers of Christ and angels of God. Their activities must be taken seriously by everyone. To deny this biblical truth is to invite Satan to manipulate or even have control of your life.

Bible references that tell us these things include: 1 Peter 1:14-16; Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:22-23; John 14:15; John 13:34-35; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:6-9; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15; 2 Corinthians 5:17; and 1 John 5:18.

About the church
We believe that the Church is made up of all who truly believe that Jesus Christ died for their sins and came back to life and who have made Him their Savior and Lord. The ministry of the believers in the church has many aspects, some of which include: preaching the Gospel, teaching the Word, ministering to the poor and needy, and meeting together regularly for the purposes of fellowship, worship, and prayer. Each Christian is to discover and then use her or his unique spiritual gift to further the work of the church. The church must at all times maintain an atmosphere of reverence toward God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. That reverence should be expressed in our appearance, language, and behavior. We are basing Village Church on the model found in the book of Acts in the New Testament.

Bible references that tell us these things include: Acts 2:41-47; and 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 13.

About the end times
We believe that at death believers go to be with the Lord and unbelievers await their final judgment. The Lord Jesus Christ will one day return to reign in righteousness. All people will then come back to life (be resurrected). Those who have trusted the Lord Jesus will enter into the glory of being eternally in the presence of God. Those who have rejected the Lord in this life will enter into judgment and separation from God that will never end. While there are many ideas about how the end times will transpire before the creation of the new heaven and the new earth, we affirm that Scripture only tells us enough to be assured that Christ will return, sin will be judged, and the righteous will live in heaven forever. The specific details and timing are known only to the Godhead.

Bible references that tell us these things include: Matthew 24:36-37; 1 Corinthians 15:19-58; John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians :13-18; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation chapters 20 through 22.

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