What We Believe

 

 The Bible speaks about " Doctrine" which simply means beliefs. ​

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:16

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. Titus 1:9

--A church must prioritize sound doctrine being taught and used to correct false doctrine.

 

        At Valley, we do this by ensuring we put “First Things First.

 --These are the core doctrines that we believe are abundantly clear in Scripture and a matter of utmost importance. These are doctrines you will find in every sound Bible believing and teaching church across the world.

 

First Things First

 

The Bible is God’s Revelation Given to Us

 

We believe the Bible to be the pure Word of God (Ps. 12:6), wholly true (John 17:17), from which nothing can be subtracted and to which nothing can be added. We believe in the complete, verbal inspiration of the Scriptures in their original manuscripts (2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17). No pastor or staff member may be called to the ministry of this church who does not fully subscribe to this position on the Scriptures and to the doctrinal statements contained in these bylaws. The same holds for those indicated for service as non-staff elders, deacons, or teachers.
 

There is one True God existing in three persons
We believe in one God   (Gen. 1:1; Deut.   6:4; Isa. 45:5, 6; 46:9) eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; yet being only one God (Matt. 3:16, 17; 28:18-20; John 10:30; 15:26; 2 Cor. 13:14; James 2:19).

 

Christ Is Our Savior and Will Reign in His Kingdom

We believe in Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, co-equal and co-eternal with God (John 1:1; 8:58) God’s unique Son(John 1:14; 3:16), as the God-man born of a virgin (Matt. 1:18-25), sinless in His life (Heb. 4:15); that He died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a substitutionary sacrifice for us. (1 Cor. 15:3-8; John 11:49-51; 18:14; 2 Cor. 5:14, 15; Rom. 5:6-8; 1 Thess. 5:10; 1 Peter 3:18)
That all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood and reconciled by His death (Rom. 3:21-30; 5:9-11); that He not only died on the cross for our sins, but that He resurrected bodily for our justification (Rom. 4:25); that He is now at the right hand of God the Father (1 Peter 3:22; Heb. 10:12), acting as our High Priest (Heb. 3:1; 4:14-16; 5:6, 10; 8:1, 2; 9:11-27) and our Advocate (1 John 2:1, 2) before the Father. That He is coming again in power at any time to rapture His church by raising the dead and translating the living believers (1 Thess. 4:13-18). After the Great Tribulation on this earth, He will come again to establish His millennial kingdom upon earth (Rev. 20:4-6), to judge the world (Rev. 20:11-15), and to establish His eternal kingdom (Rev. 21:1-27; 22:1-5) with commensurate rewards for the believers and punishment for the unbelievers (1 Cor. 3:12- 15; John 5:28, 29).

 

The Holy Spirit Indwells Those Who Believe In Jesus Christ.

We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead (John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; Acts 2:32-33), co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son (2 Cor. 13:14) and who exists in the world today to reveal the fullness of Christ (John 15:26), convicting the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment

(John 16:8-11), regenerating (John 3:3-8; Titus 3:5-7), sanctifying (1 Peter 1:2), and sealing forever (Eph. 1:13, 14) those who have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-26). We believe that no one can be saved from sin or be born again without a supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit in his life. We believe that no one can attach himself to the Body of Christ unless the Holy Spirit energizes that attachment (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13; 4:30). (See Section

5: Salvation).

 

Salvation Is a Free Gift To Those Who Put Their Faith In Jesus

 

We believe that each individual is born in sin, and therefore is a sinner by nature, having nothing whereby he might justify himself before God the Father (Rom. 3:9-18; 5:12); that each individual must therefore receive the death of Jesus Christ and the shedding of His blood on the cross as for himself (John 1:12; Rom. 3:21-26: 4:16-25; 5:1, 2), and in repentance must ask God’s forgiveness for his sins (Matt. 3:2; Mark 1:4; Acts 2:38; 17:30; 26:20); that having received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior by faith, he is spiritually saved or born again (John 1:12; 3:4, 5; Rom. 10:9, 10, 13); that in regeneration the Holy Spirit is sent to permanently indwell, enable, and empower the believer to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4; Eph. 2:1-10). Each believer is thereby a child of God and a member of the family of God for time and eternity (Rom. 8:1-39).

 

The Church Is The people Of God living for God

 

 (A)The Church of Jesus Christ consists of those who have personally believed on the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:13, 14), who are born again, and baptized into His Body by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). These believers constitute the Body or the Bride of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 5:25-32; Rev. 19:7-10; 21:2). This church consists of individual believers meeting and worshiping as groups of believers anywhere in the world (Heb. 10:25; Rev. 5:9, 10). In spite of minor doctrinal differences and practices existing among local churches, members of the body of Christ are to love, appreciate, and bear the burdens of other Christians (John 15:12; 1 Thess. 4:9, 10; Rom. 15:1-7).

 

(B)The Local Church. In the New Testament, there were churches made up of individual believers who lived in certain areas which constituted the church at Corinth, at Berea, at Philippi, etc. It is in this sense that the Valley Christian Fellowship exists and is known as such. The local church is composed of born-again believers who have voluntarily united together for the purposes of worshiping God, ministering to the saints (fellow believers), evangelizing the world, and discipling new believers (Acts 2:42; 1 Thess. 1:2-10). It provides an opportunity for those who are of the same mind in Christ to meet together for the study of God’s Word, common prayer, social contact, and mutual uplifting (Heb. 10:25). Valley Christian Fellowship will never seek to exclude from its more general fellowship other believers who may belong to other churches or other denominations or who may differ from us in minor matters but nevertheless belong to the Body of Christ.

 

We hereby declare that the criteria of receiving individuals into the membership of this church are only fallible and human. Every endeavor, however, shall be made in order that no one, either by profession of faith or transfer from another church, may be accepted into the membership of this church unless evidence is given that such a person honors the Lord Jesus Christ by voluntarily and circumspectly walking in the way of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 9:2). Therefore, everyone indicating a desire to join this church shall be instructed accordingly that his or her becoming a member of this church witnesses to the character of the whole body of believers known as Valley Christian Fellowship. Such a person should be thoroughly examined as to his or her profession of faith and holiness of character (See Article IV: Membership).

 

Doctrinal Distinctiveness of Valley Christian Fellowship

 

(A) The preeminence of Jesus Christ as our risen, living Lord and Savior (Col. 1:15-18: 2:6, 7).

(B)The supreme authority and profitability of the Scriptures. We believe in the verbal complete inspiration of the Old and New Testaments in their original manuscripts (Matt. 7:28; 2 Tim. 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21).

(C) The competency of the individual in direct approach to God

(Heb. 10:19-22).

(D)The priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5, 9).

(E)The necessity of a born again membership (John 3:3-8; 1 Peter 1:3, 23).

(F)The symbolic ordinances of believer’s baptism by immersion, (Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 8:36-38; 9:18) and the Lord’s Supper, (1 Cor. 11:23-28) are to be held at frequent intervals. The physical element of water in baptism does not save the sinner, but is a voluntary external testimony to the work which the Holy Spirit has already done in the heart of the believer. Following the Lord in baptism is an act of obedience and has its proper reward as such. It does not save the sinner. In Acts 10:47, 48 the Gentile believers were baptized with water after they had been spiritually baptized with the Holy Spirit. We believe a person is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ upon conversion (1 Cor, 12:13). The physical elements of bread and the fruit of the vine are not the actual body and blood of Christ but are symbolic of Christ’s body broken for us and His blood shed for our justification before God (1 Cor. 11:24-29). It is an occasion of remembrance and self-examination.

(G)The autonomy of the local church. This means that each local group of believers is itself responsible to follow the direction of the Lord Jesus as given by Him in His Holy Word by His Holy Spirit (Heb. 13:7, 17; Rev. 2, 3). No autonomous local church is to be governed by any ecclesiastical organization or body of churches outside that local church but should always in a spirit of humility be open to Scriptural counsel, encouragement, teaching, rebuke, and/or correction where needed from a sister church or churches ( Acts 15:22-35).