So that things may be done decently and in order, and that we may more readily help each other in our Christian service, we declare and establish this Statement of Faith to which we voluntarily submit ourselves. This Statement of Faith is intended to further the work, worship and message of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Its chief purposes are:
• That we may have unity of purpose and action as Christians (Mk. 3:25; Amos 3:3).
• That our mission may be run in an orderly manner and for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31; 14:33, 40).
• That we may worship and glorify God through the public worship of God and the preaching of the Gospel; by the edification of the saints through the teaching of God’s Word; by consistent Christian living of those in covenant fellowship; to aid in the spreading of the Gospel in our own and in foreign lands; to have spiritual fellowship with the brethren; to bear one another’s burdens; to uplift the weak; and to pray for one another (Eph. 4:11-13).
• That we may have commonly agreed standards for what we teach in all of our ministries conducted by and through Village Church Planters – Liberia (Matt. 28:19, 20; Eph. 1:12).
I. THE SCRIPTURES – We believe the Holy Bible (all sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation) both Old and New Testaments, as originally written by Holy Spirit-controlled men, was verbally and supernaturally inspired; that it is truth without error; and is the only complete and final revelation of God Himself and His divine will to man; the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried. It is the sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter, and that no other writings have ever been or will ever be inspired by God Almighty.
Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
“Inspiration” means the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old, as they were moved (born along) by the Holy Spirit’s power, not acting according to their own wills, or simply expressing their own thoughts, but expressing the mind of God in words provided and ministered by Him.
We believe God has miraculously and supernaturally preserved the content of the original writings through the work of faithful Bible translators into languages found throughout the known world. We believe the texts which are closest to the original autographs of the Bible are the Masoretic Hebrew Text for the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus (Received Text – Koine Greek) for the New Testament. We reject all translations and versions being promoted and endorsed by the ecumenical and new age movements, and recognize the intent of the evil one is to undermine the integrity of God’s Word in every language including the English tongue.
(Ps. 12:6-7; 119:89, 105; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
II. OF THE TRUE GOD
We believe God is supreme in His person, eternal in His being, absolute in His attributes, glorious in His perfection, and sovereign in His will. God is clearly distinguished from things which have no life, He is a person. God is the Creator of man and the entire universe and upholds all things by the Word of His power.
We also believe in the Trinity. The Father is the fullness of the Godhead invisible; the Son is the fullness of the Godhead manifested; and the Holy Spirit is the fullness of the Godhead in His executive agency. They are co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory. God in His person possesses Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Immutability.
(Gen. 1:1, 26; Ps. 90:2; Prov. 15:3; Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 John 5:7)
A. Person and Work of God the Father
We believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, boundless in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; He hears and answers prayers and He saves by faith those who come to Him through Jesus Christ His Son.
(Ps. 99:9; 147:5; Isa. 44:24; John 3:16; 14:13-14; Heb. 7:25)
B. Person and Work of God the Son
We believe Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God; that He pre-existed with the Father and became man, without ceasing to be God. He was begotten of the Holy Spirit, in a miraculous manner; born of the virgin Mary as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of woman, and that He is both the Son of God, and God the Son.
(Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2; Col. 1:16)
We believe He was sinless in His nature and life (meaning He neither did sin NOR could have sinned); that He was infallible in His teaching; that He accomplished our redemption, making atonement for our sins through His substitutionary death on the cross according to the Scriptures; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
(Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 John 2:2)
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfils the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.
(Acts 1:9, 10; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24; 1 John 2:1)
We believe in the “Blessed Hope,” the personal and visible coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed people. After this, the wrath of God will be poured out upon the world in the Great Tribulation which will ultimately culminate with the visible, revelation of Jesus Christ in power and great glory to establish His pre-millennial reign.
(Zech. 14:4-11; 1 Cor. 15:42-44, 51-54; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 1:10, 4:13-18; 5:9; ***. 2:13; Rev. 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6)
C. Person and Work of God the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine Person; equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains Satan until God’s purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of judgment and of righteousness; that He bears witness of the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; that He indwells believers at the moment of salvation and is their constant source of strength and power; that He seals, guides, teaches, comforts, convicts, challenges, sanctifies, and helps the believer; and that He witnesses of and glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Gen. 1:2; John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-15; Acts 5:3, 4; Rom. 8:9, 16, 26-27; Eph. 1:13; 1 Pet. 1:2)
III. Of Satan
We believe in the personal existence of Satan, the evil one, who was created a perfect angelic being; who willfully led a host of other angels in rebellion against God; who is the author of sin and false religion; who is the accuser of saints and tempter of all men; and who shall be destroyed in the lake of fire with his followers at the end of the millennium. We also believe he is the deceiver and the god of this present world, that his powers are vast, but strictly limited by the permissive will of God who overrules all his wicked devices for good; that he was defeated and judged at the cross, and therefore his final doom is certain; that we are able to resist and overcome him in the armor of God, by the blood of the Lamb and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Job 1:6-12; Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; 1 Thess. 3:5; Jam. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8, 9; Rev. 12:9-12; 20:10)
IV. Of Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of creation as neither allegory nor figuratively, but as a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate, creative acts of God. We firmly believe this was accomplished in six 24 hour days without any (organic or theistic) evolutionary process. We would also disallow the teaching of the Gap Theory which was a compromise of the 19th century church to the introduction of the evolutionary teachings of Charles Darwin and leans toward a theistic evolutionary line of thinking. We believe man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness and not from previously existing forms of life; that all animal and vegetable life was made directly and God’s established law was that they should bring forth only “after their kind.”
(Gen. 1:1, 11, 24-27; Gen. 2:21-23; Ex. 20:11; John 1:3; Rom. 1:20; Heb. 1:2; 11:3)
V. Of the Fall of Man
We believe man was originally created in innocence under the law of his Maker; that by his own free choice and willful decision fell into sin and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also that spiritual death which is eternal separation from God. We believe all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are totally depraved; that man does not possess any qualities whereby he might reconcile himself to God or save himself from the eternal consequence of sin. Man in his sinful condition is under just condemnation without defense or excuse before a holy and righteous God.
(Gen. 3:1-6; Rom. 3:10-23; 5:12; Gal. 3:22)
VI. Of Salvation
We believe the clear message of salvation is “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21); that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ must accompany repentance; that man must personally repent of his sin of unbelief and believe (place his faith and trust) in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him as his personal Lord and Saviour.
We believe salvation is the gift of God; given wholly by His “grace alone” and not of works; that man cannot be saved apart from God’s Holy Spirit drawing him and convicting him of his sin. We believe men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only through the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
We believe in the eternal security of the believer and that the redeemed, once saved are kept eternally by God’s power and are secure in Christ forever. We believe eternal life is the present possession of every child of God.
(John 1:12; 3:15-18, 36; 5:24; 10:27-30; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Rom. 10:9-13; Eph. 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:4, 5, 18, 19; 1 John 2:24, 25; 5:11-13; Jude 1, 24)
VII. Of Repentance
We believe repentance is a change of mind and purpose toward God prompted by the Holy Spirit; that it is characterized by Godly sorrow for sin as offensive to God and ruinous to the soul; and that true repentance is inseparably related to true faith in Jesus Christ.
(Mk. 1:15; Lk. 13:1-3; Acts 17:30; 20:21; Rom. 2:4; 2 Cor. 7:10)
VIII. Of Justification
We believe justification is the judicial act of God whereby He declares us to be righteous through faith in Jesus Christ; that justification included the pardon of sin; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood, His righteousness is imputed unto us.
(Isa. 53:11; Acts 13:39; Rom. 5:1, 9; 8:1; 2 Cor. 5:19, 21; ***. 3:5-7)
IX. Of Sanctification
We believe sanctification is the Divine setting apart of the believer unto God accomplished in a threefold manner: First, an act of God, based upon the redemption in Christ, establishing the believer in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts the Saviour; Second, a continuing process in the saint as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the life; Third, the final accomplishment of this process at the Lord’s return.
(John 17:17; 1 Thess. 4:3, 4; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2)
X. Of Separation
We believe it is an explicit command to all believers to separate themselves from all forms of godlessness, apostasy, compromise, and worldliness; and to live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Saviour and Lord; and that separation from all worldly and sinful pleasures and practices is commanded by God. We recognize the Scriptures plainly teach the use of alcohol as a beverage is unwholesome and dangerous.
We believe the Scriptures teach certain issues of the day to be in direct contradiction to the laws of God. The following are some of the world’s issues which we take a firm stand against. No believer may remain in fellowship who unrepentantly holds to or practices these wicked and perverse standards. We stand firmly and unashamedly against abortion for any reason, homosexuality, lesbianism, mercy killing, pornography, the occult, and other vices of which the world would seek to entangle believers.
We define the family as being one man and one woman being united together in holy matrimony for the due purpose of being one flesh and of raising children as the Lord provides. The previous statement does not exclude single parent families where the spouse is widowed or divorced.
We further believe the Scriptures teach Christians should not marry or have other entangling alliances with unbelievers; that Christians should not fellowship with those who deny the faith. We do not embrace liberal theology, the Charismatic tongues movement, Ecumenicalism, Hyper-Calvinism, and Arminianism. We further believe this local church is required by Scripture to refrain from any alliances with those who would promote “ecumenical” unity in regards to gospel work and other related Christian ministries at the expense of doctrine.
(2 Chron. 19:2; Prov. 20:1; Amos 3:3; Rom. 12:1, 2; 16:17; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; Eph. 5:18; 2 Thess. 3:6; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 7-11)
XI. Of The Priesthood of all Believers
We believe Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest and through Him every born again person has direct access into God’s presence without the need of a human priest; that the believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scriptures guided by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 5:5-10; 7:25; 10:19-22; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
XII. Of Spiritual Gifts
We believe God is Sovereign in the bestowal of all His gifts; and that the sign gifts gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established. We believe these gifts were temporary sign gifts for the lost people of Israel and were given to spread the Gospel message in all languages; and those gifts have ceased since the completion of the Word of God.
We further believe the Bible is the complete revelation of God to man; and, that man does not need, nor does he receive extra-biblical revelations apart from the Word of God.
(Isa. 28:11; Acts 2:1-11; 5:12; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 14:22; Eph. 4:11, 12; Heb. 2:3-4; Rev. 22:18,19)
XIII. Of the Church
We believe the local church is a visible congregation of saved and scripturally baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; meeting together for worship, prayer, fellowship and teaching; having a united testimony; and actively engaged in carrying out the Great Commission.
We hold the local church has absolute right of self-government, free from the interference, control, or dictates of any religious hierarchy of individuals or organization. Jesus Christ is the one and only Head of the Church having given His life for her, and that on all matters of fellowship, of policy and government, of discipline, of benevolence, with the discretionary guidance of the church leadership, as led by the Holy Spirit, the decisions of this local assembly will be final.
(Acts 2:41-42, 47; 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18)
XIV. OF THE FAMILY’S ROLE IN THE CHURCH
We believe God foreordained a divine order of submission for the human race. At the head of this divine order is God Himself. Second, the family then follows in a divinely prescribed manner: the husband/father, the wife/ mother, and the children. We believe each individual is to remain in their God-given role and that to do otherwise would be disobedience and sin. We believe the following roles of each family member in this local body of believers bring the most honor and glory to God who divinely created us in His own image.
A. The Husband or Father
We believe the husband/father is to obey God in every aspect of his life, to love, respect and give honor to his wife as Christ loved the Church, to raise his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and to be an example to the other believers in godly love and submission.
(Rom. 6:16; Eph. 5:25, 28, 29, 33; 6:4; ***. 2:12)
B. The Wife or Mother
We believe the wife/mother is to obey God in every aspect of her life, to obey, respect, and be in submission to her own husband as to the Lord. She is to teach her children the truth’s of God’s Word. We believe the liberal, feminist movement of today’s society is a blatant attack against the divine order which God has established for the Christian woman and only undermines the extraordinarily high value which God and His Holy Word places upon a godly woman.
(Prov. 31; Rom. 6:16; Eph. 5:22-24, 33; ***. 2:3-5)
C. The Children
We believe children are an heritage from the Lord and are a gift of life from the very moment of conception. It is the responsibility of the parents to raise their children and not the responsibility of the state or any government. We believe children are required to obey and honor their parents as to the Lord.
(Eph. 6:1-3; Col. 3:20)
XV. OF OUR FAITH
We believe the doctrine we adhere to is closer to the Word of God than any other religious group, cult or sect calling themselves by the name of Christ, and that the groups of Christians who down through the history of Christianity have held to the Word of God closer than others have been Baptist by doctrine and/or name. While affiliated with and planting other Baptist churches, we reject as unscriptural any implication that Baptists are the only saved Christians and also reject as unscriptural the teaching (known as Bride-ism or Landmarkism) that Baptists are the only ones who will make up the Bride of Christ at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb while all others will be merely guests at the Supper.
We believe a person is saved solely by a relationship to God established through what Christ did on the cross, and, that relationship qualifies every born again Christian to a relationship in Heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe Heaven and its benefits are not gained by belonging to a particular group but by belonging to Jesus Christ through the new birth.
(John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24; Eph. 2:8-9; Rev. 5:9; 19:7-9)
XVI. Of Church and State
We recognize government as being ordained of God, for the interests and good order of human society; that magistrates and those who are in authority are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed as long as they are not in opposition to the will and Word of God. However, we firmly believe the church and government can best work to achieve their purposes if each is separate from the other.
(Matt. 22:21; Acts 4:19-29; 5:29; Rom. 13:1-7)
XVII. Of the Ordinances
We believe there are only two ordinances given to the local church by Christ; Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, that there is no saving merit in either ordinance; and that Christ gave these ordinances to be administered within the context of the local church alone.
A. We believe baptism is for believers only and the only scriptural mode of baptism is by full immersion to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, through whom we died to sin, and rose to a new life; and that baptism is a prerequisite to the privileges of church fellowship and the Lord’s Supper.
(Matt. 3:16, 28:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41; 10:47,48; 16:33; 18:8; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12)
B. We believe the Lord’s Supper is a memorial service in remembrance of the death, resurrection and sin-cleansing work of our Lord Jesus on Calvary. The Scriptures call this the breaking of bread, communion (fellowship) and the Lord’s Supper. We do this at His request and for His glory and pleasure. We believe the use of unleavened bread and fruit of the vine are symbols of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. This ordinance is not a sacrament and does not convey grace or forgiveness.
C. The Scriptures are clear that the remembrance is for those who have entered into a personal relationship with Christ, have been born again by the Holy Spirit of God, have followed the Lord in obedience to His commands through the waters of baptism, and seeking to walk in daily fellowship with Him. We must be able to say with Thomas, “My Lord and my God.” (Jn. 20:28)
D. If some partake in a careless way (inattentive, unperceptive, continuing in some sin) they are in danger of Divine displeasure and discipline. There should be strict self-judgment before partaking. If you are involved in strife with others, every possible effort should be made towards reconciliation before partaking. We should never come to worship God with hatred, bitterness or resentment in our heart toward others (1 Cor. 11:27-34).
E. As this ordinance was given to His local church and is inextricably linked to discipline and covenant fellowship with other fellow believers, we hold to what is termed the closed position believing only members of this local assembly are to partake of the Lord’s Supper.
We do not believe nor mean to imply that nobody else is qualified by means of their salvation. However, we firmly believe the Scriptures teach that part of covenant fellowship is the ability and privilege of knowing each other’s lives within the local church. It is not possible to do this with those who would visit on an infrequent basis or would refrain from covenanting together with us to worship and serve the Lord on a weekly basis until He return. Neither of these two patterns has a Biblical basis and is the root cause for much of the church-hopping found within evangelical circles today. Further, we do not believe there is any Scriptural precedent for those who would partake on an irregular or occasional basis, and believe this to be the responsibility and privilege of the believer “To do this in remembrance of Me.”
(Matt. 26:26-30; Acts 2:42, 46; 1 Cor. 11:18-34)
XVIII. Of Missions
Because all men everywhere without Christ are lost and bound for eternal punishment, and because men cannot believe in Him of whom they have not heard, we believe that we are debtors to all men and have the responsibility of giving them the Gospel.
We believe the Great Commission was given to the churches, and that every believer must be a witness by life and word to tell all lost men about Christ; and we must support by prayer and financial aid those who go out that are sound in doctrine and of like faith and practice to represent us in other parts of the world.
(Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; Rom. 10:14-15)
XIX. Of Heaven and Hell
We believe Heaven and Hell are literal, eternal places, prepared by God; that every person has a soul of eternal duration; that heaven is a place of eternal joy and happiness for those who are saved by the grace of God; and that it is a place of God’s preparation for His people. We also believe those who refuse God’s grace and remain in their lost condition shall abide in hell forever, eternally separated from God; and Hell is a place of physical torment and literal fire. We reject as completely unscriptural annihilationism (denial of eternal judgment against sin), purgatory, and universalism (the teaching that even those in hell will be given the opportunity to accept Christ once again).
(Lk. 16:19-31; John 14:1-3; 2 Cor. 5:8; 1 Pet. 1:4; Rev. 20:10-15)
XX. OF HUMAN SEXUALITY
We believe God ordained marriage; that the only legitimate marriage God recognizes is between one man and one woman; and that He has commanded no sexual activity should be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman. We believe any form of sexual immorality (fornication) including, but not limited to, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, premarital sex, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe those willfully indulging in such sinful acts are not and will not be considered to be candidates for any place in ministry and is also Biblical grounds for church discipline.
(Gen. 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4; Jude 7)
XXI. OF THE DISCIPLINE OF BELIEVERS
We believe the basic purpose of the local church is to emphasize to all those in covenant fellowship that every reasonable measure will be taken to assist any troubled brother or sister. We believe pastor/s are to be available for counsel and guidance. Restitution in any matter rather than punishment is always the Biblical pattern and should be the guideline for any true biblical body of believers.
We believe if some serious condition exists which causes a brother or sister to become a hindrance to the public testimony of a church or ministry of VCP and the glory of God, every reasonable measure should be taken by the leadership to resolve the problem. All such proceedings should be pervaded by a spirit of Christian love, kindness and forbearance. However, we also believe if the offending believer refuses to manifest a spirit of repentance, then the Scriptures teach the local church must respond to that person to be as an unbeliever and every attempt must be taken to witness and see the salvation or repentance of that erring individual. (Rom. 16:17, 18; 1 Cor. 5:9-13; Matt. 18:15-22).
We believe any person whose fellowship has been terminated for any condition which has made it necessary for the local church to exclude them should be, upon evidence of their repentance and reformation, be reconciled and brought back into the protection of covenant fellowship (Gal. 6:1).
XXII. OF THE GRACE OF GIVING
We believe Scriptural giving is one of the fundamentals of the Faith. The early church gathered together on the first day of the week and cheerfully set aside as God prospered each one in order to further the work of the ministry. We believe under grace, each believer should give from a heart of love, not out of duty, through the local church for the propagation of the gospel throughout the world.
(1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:7)