Beliefs - Valley View Bible Church

We Believe:

That there is a God who made the universe and all that is in it
That man is unique in God’s creation, being made in God’s image
That God has given to man His revelation, and man will be held responsible for it
That man has broken God’s commands, subjecting himself to God’s judgment, and creation to God’s curse
That Jesus (“the Savior”) Christ (“the Messiah”), God’s Son, came to earth to redeem man and restore creation
That the church is God’s unique demonstration of the future glories of His kingdom
That this life matters, because God’s glory is at stake in this present world, and our destiny is at stake in the world that is to come

Statement of Faith

Section 1 — Doctrine of the Scriptures

We believe:

In the verbal (every word) and plenary (complete) inspiration of the Scriptures in the original manuscripts;
That the Old and New Testaments are equally inspired and without error or contradiction;
That the Scriptures are each believer’s final authority of faith and conduct;
That they are accurate and reliable in science, history, and every other matter they discuss;
That they are to be interpreted according to their grammatical-historical and dispensational meaning;
That we have the complete revelation to man in the sixty-six books of the Bible as it now stands;
That anyone who adds to or takes away from this completed revelation directly subjects himself to the judgment of God.

(Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Psalm 19:7-11; 119:89, 105; Proverbs 30:5-6; Mark 13:31; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:18-19)

Section 2 — Doctrine of God

A. The Godhead

We believe:

In the one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same divine attributes and perfections;
That each person of the Godhead exercises these attributes in varied offices but without division of nature, essence, or being.

(Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

B. God the Father

We believe:

That the Father is the first person of the Trinity (not in rank, but in number), possessing personality, self-consciousness, self-determination, intellect, emotion, and volition;
That he is eternal and independent of his creation, perfect in holiness, infinite in perfection, supremely sovereign, and forever unchanging;
That he relates himself paternally to creation (generically), to believers (particularly), and to Christ (uniquely);
That he is personally knowable and fully disclosed in Scripture by Christ through the Spirit;
That he is mercifully concerned with the affairs of men, reconciling them by his Spirit to himself through faith in the atonement achieved by his Son;
That he may be approached in prayer and appealed to on the basis of the atonement achieved by his Son;
That he possesses a master-plan for his creation, working all things by the counsel of his own will.

(Psalm 65:2; 139:1-24; 147:5; Malachi 2:10; 3:6; Matthew 5:45; 6:24-34; John 1:12; 14:6; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28; Romans 8:28-30; 2 Corinthians 11:31; Galatians 2:2-14; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:5; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 1:2-3; 4:14-16; 12:9; James 1:17; Revelation 4:11)

C. God the Son

We believe:

That Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God;
That he is the Creator and Sustainer of all creation;
That he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born without sin of the Virgin Mary;
That he is God manifest in the flesh, very God and very man, having two natures without confusion in one person;
That he was sent by the Father for the purpose of manifesting His love and becoming the perfect sinless sacrifice for the sins of mankind;
That he died in our stead, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, purchasing our souls with his blood, and gaining victory over death for us;
That he is the unique object of our faith and the only way to the Father;
That he ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God as our High Priest, fulfilling the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate;
That he is the believer’s risen Lord and “blessed hope,” whose personal, bodily return is pretribulational, premillennial, and imminent;
That he will reign from Jerusalem as King of Kings upon the earth for 1000 years;
That he will judge both the living and the dead at the end of time.

(Isaiah 61:1-3; Matthew 24:44; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1, 14; 3:13-17; 14:1-3, 16; Acts 1:9-10; 16:31; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 20-25, 55-57; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Colossians 1:16, 17; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 1 Timothy 2:5; Titus 2:11-13; Hebrews 4:14-16; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2; 4:9; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15)

D. God the Holy Spirit

We believe:

That the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, equal with the Father and Son, and of the same nature;
That he convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, bearing witness to the Truth and testifying of the Son;
That he is the supernatural agent of the New Birth, baptizing all true believers into the body of Christ, indwelling, sealing, and sanctifying them unto the day of redemption;
That he gifts, guides, teaches, and helps believers;
That it is the privilege and obligation of all the saved to be filled (controlled) with the Spirit, the evidences being love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance, not supernatural healings or speaking in tongues.
That, in relation to the evil world, he restrains the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled.

(Matthew 28:19; John 3:5-7; 14:16-17, 26: 16:7-15; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 5:2-23; Ephesians 2:18; 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; 1 Peter 1:22-23)

Section 3 — Doctrine of Creation

We believe:

That the Genesis account of creation is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, accurate, historical account of the direct and immediate creative acts of God, accomplished in six solar days, without any evolutionary process;
That man was created by a direct work of God to reflect the image of God and to have dominion over the earth;
That God sustains all creation but exists in no necessary relationship to it.

(Genesis 1:1-2:25; Deuteronomy 6:5; John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17)

Section 4 — Doctrine of Spirit Beings

A. Angels and Demons

We believe:

That God created an innumerable company of sinless spirit beings. These angels were created as heavenly hosts, but some, through choice, are now the hosts of Satan (demons) and will share in his ultimate doom;
That their ministries, ranks, and orders differ, and their strength, appearance, travel, etc. are not bound by natural human laws;
That they are immortal and do not marry;
That both angelic and demonic powers are presently at work in this world, the former as the ministers of God, the latter as the enemies of man.

(Matthew 18:10; 22:30; Mark 5:2; 8:38; Ephesians 6:10-18; Colossians 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Hebrews 1:14; Jude 6:9)

B. Satan

We believe:

In the personality of Satan (the Adversary), the Devil (the Accuser), the fallen angel, Lucifer;
That he, through pride, became the author and perpetrator of sin, whereby he has fallen from heaven and tempted man, by whom sin entered into the world;
That he is the open and declared enemy of God and his people, leading a host of angels (demons) in rebellion against God;
That his final doom, along with all who follow him in rebellion, shall be eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

(Job 1:6, 7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11; 25:41; Luke 10:18; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9-10; 20:1-2, 7-10)

Section 5 — Doctrine of Man

We believe:

That man (body, soul, and spirit) was created sinless and innocent in the image of God;
That he stands accountable to God both as a creature and as a steward;
That he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from God;
That all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are now sinners by birth and by choice, positively inclined to evil and, therefore, under just condemnation to eternal ruin without defense or excuse.

(Genesis 1:2-27; 2:17; Psalm 58:3; Romans 1:20; 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 2:14)

Section 6 — Doctrine of Sin

We believe:

That sin is the transgression of the law of God;
That it separates man from God;
That it is the immediate and universal condition of man;
That there is no remission of sin apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ;
That man must repent of his sin in turning to Christ for the salvation of his soul.

(Ezekiel 18:4; Luke 24:46, 47; Romans 3:10-26; 5:12; 6:23; 8:23; 1 John 3:4)

Section 7 — Doctrine of Salvation

A. Salvation

We believe:

That the salvation of sinners is the free gift of God brought to man by grace through the Person of Jesus Christ;
That through his mediatorial office as the Son of God by the appointment of the Father, Jesus Christ freely took upon him human nature, yet without sin, satisfying the divine law both by his personal obedience in life and by the shedding of his blood in death, being made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins;
That salvation is received individually by repentance from sin and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

(John 1:12; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 9:24-25; 10:19; 12:24; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 1:5)

B. Regeneration

We believe:

That in order to be saved, sinners must be born again;
That the new birth is not a process, but instantaneously makes the sinner a child of God, a partaker of his divine nature, and a recipient of his eternal life;
That its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and newness of life.

(John 3:1-8; Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13; Titus 3:5; 2 Peter 1:4)

C. Justification

We believe:

That justification is the judicial act of God whereby he declares us to be righteous through faith in Christ Jesus;
That justification includes the pardon of sin and the imputation of God’s righteousness;
That it is bestowed, not by any work which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood sacrifice.

(Acts 13:39; Romans 3:21-4:8; 5:1, 8-9; 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Ephesians 1:7)

D. Sanctification / Glorification

We believe:

That sanctification is both an act and a process whereby God sets apart all believers unto holiness;
That having begun the process at salvation, he purposes to progressively conform believers to the image of Christ, working out the holiness he himself has worked in them;
That when Christ comes for the church, all believers will be changed in the twinkling of an eye and will become like Christ at his appearing, our corruptible bodies becoming incorruptible.

(Romans 8:29-30; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; Ephesians 1:3-4; 4:11-13; Philippians 1:6; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 3:2)

E. New Nature

We believe:

That man is born (in Adam) with a sinful nature (“in the flesh”), and at his new birth (in Christ) he receives a new nature (“in the Spirit”);
That the believer’s new nature is in constant conflict with the flesh;
That believers can, and should live holy lives, by yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit rather than submitting to the flesh.

(John 3:1-12; Romans 6:11-14; 7:15-25; 8:1-29; 2 Pet 1:4; 1 John 4:4)

F. Security

We believe:

That all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power, and are thus secure in Christ forever;
That it is the believer’s privilege to rejoice in the assurance of his salvation through the testimony of God’s Word;
That the believer’s security is never to be invoked as an occasion for the flesh.

(John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 13:13-14; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Galatians 5:13, 17-18; Titus 2:11-15; Hebrews 5:9; 1 Peter 1:5; 1 John 5:11-13)

Section 8 — Doctrine of the Church

A. Organism

We believe:

That the church as an organism is the body of the bride of Christ, composed of all the redeemed, both historically and globally;
That the church belongs to Christ as that which he has purchased with his own blood;
That Christ alone is the true head of the church.

(Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:20-23; 3:3-11; 5:25-32; Colossians 1:18)

B. Organization

We believe:

That the local church is a contemporary, localized, visible company of believers in Jesus Christ;
That the local church is free of any external authority or control;
That membership within the local church consists only of those baptized upon repenting of their sin and an acceptable confession of their faith in Jesus Christ;
That membership within the local church is a voluntary association for the purposes of worship, work, fellowship, observance of the ordinances, and the spread of the Gospel to all the world;
That the local church is ruled by the congregation and organized around the two male offices of pastor and deacon.

(Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2:41-42; 10:47-48; 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:12; 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Peter 5:1-4)

C. Ordinances

We believe that there are two Christian ordinances, which are symbolic, not sacramental: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

1. Baptism– We believe:

That immersion is the only form of baptism revealed and commanded in the Scriptures;
That it is only for those who are already saved and thus, old enough to believe;
That it sets forth a picture of the essential facts of redemption – the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ;
That it gives testimony to what has taken place in the heart of the believer: death to sin and resurrection to walk in newness of life;
That, as an act of obedience, it is a prerequisite for local church membership and participation in the Lord’s Supper.
(Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38, 41; 8:12, 36-39; 10:47-48; Romans 6:3-5)

2. The Lord’s Supper– We believe:

That the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the death of Christ;
That the elements (unleavened bread and grape juice) are only symbols of his broken body and shed blood;
That the observance is a pictorial testimony of the believer’s fellowship with the crucified Savior;
That each observance ought to be preceded by solemn self-examination of one’s belief and practice.
(Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Corinthians 10:16-21; 11:17-34)

D. Order

We believe that separation is a doctrine as well as a practice mandated by the whole of Scriptures and that true spiritual fellowship is dependent upon its careful observance.

1. Personal separation– We believe:

That the separation of the believer is the post-conversion extension of repentance – a continued turning from the world and sin in order to serve God;
That the separation of the believer is motivated by his desire not to bring reproach upon his Savior and Lord;
That personal separation involves an individual departure from the acts and attitudes of sin, the world as a system, as well as heretics and false teachers;
That believers are not to enter into marriage, partnerships, or other bonds with unbelievers which create an unequal yoke.
(Joshua 24:15; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Ephesians 5:15-18; Titus 3:10; 1 John 2:15-17; 4:1; 2 John 10-11)

2. Ecclesiastical separation– We believe:

That the church is called to separate itself corporately from apostasy;
That unbelief and error in many ecclesiastical fellowships have developed to the point where recognized apostasy exists;
That we are to reprove apostates rather than recognize them, to rebuke rather than to reason with them, and to reject rather than to receive or unite with them;
We believe that loyalty to Christ also demands separation from those religious groups content to cooperate with spiritual unbelief or to tolerate it in an ecclesiastical manner.
(2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:11-15; 2 Timothy 4:2-4; 2 John 10-11)

3. Familial separation– We believe:

That believers are called to separate from an erring brother when doctrinal or ethical compromise creeps into his life or ministry;
That we must separate from those brethren who continue in disobedience to God, bringing division in his church, disrepute to his name, and disregard for his Word.
(Matthew 18:15-17; Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Timothy 2:16-18; 3:5)

Section 9 — Doctrine of Future Events

A. Individually

We believe:

That all men will be bodily resurrected – the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment;
That the souls of believers in Christ do at death immediately pass into his presence and there remain until the resurrection of the body at the rapture when soul and body reunited shall stand before Christ to be judged of their Christian works for the giving of rewards, assignment of Kingdom authority, and association with him forever in glory;
That the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final resurrection at the end of the Millennium for judgment, the result of which will be that all will be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.

(Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-26; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; I Corinthians 3:11-15; II Corinthians 5:10; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Revelation 20:5-6, 11-15)

B. Universally

We believe:

That God has disclosed the general order of future events in his Word;
That sin will wax worse until the imminent return of Christ for his saints;
That the rapture of the church will be followed by a seven-year period of tribulation on earth, with the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Marriage Feast of the Lamb of God and his church in heaven;
That at the end of the seven-year tribulation, the Lord will return to earth with his saints to put down the forces of evil and to cast Satan bound into the bottomless pit for a thousand years;
That the Lord will, at that time, set up his Millennial Kingdom of righteousness on earth;
That at the conclusion of this period, Satan will be loosed for a short while and deceive the hearts of many;
That the Lord will then bring forth Satan’s final and everlasting defeat, ushering in eternal damnation with the Great White Throne judgment for the wicked;
That after the damnation of the wicked, the righteous will enter their eternal state of bliss with the establishment of the new heavens, the new earth, and the new Jerusalem.

(Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelations1:1, 19; 19:1 – 22:6)

Section 10 — Moral Issues

A. Life

We believe that God alone is the rightful giver and taker of life, granting to all men the principle of life (which is in the blood) and breath, bestowing upon all men his own image, and sustaining all men by the word of his power.

(Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7; 9:4, 6; Leviticus 17:11; Job 1:21; Psalm 139:13-16; John 1:9; Acts 17:5; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3)

1. Abortion– We believe:

That human life begins at conception;
That the unborn child is a living human being;
That abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life and amounts to murder;
That we must reject any teaching that promotes abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother.
(Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:13-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)

2. Euthanasia– We believe:

That the direct taking of an innocent human life is a moral evil, regardless of the intention;
That life is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death;
That an act or omission, which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering, constitutes a murder contrary to the will of God;
That discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be a legitimate refusal of over-zealous treatment.
(Exodus 20:13; 23:7; Matthew 5:21; Acts 17:28)

B. Civil Government

We believe:

That God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: the home, the church, and the state;
That every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word;
That God has given each institution unique and specific Biblical responsibilities;
That each institution is equal and sovereign in its respective, Biblically assigned sphere of responsibility under God.

(Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-14)

C. 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 in the church;
That 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);
That God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society;
That the husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church;
That the wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ;
That children are an heritage from the Lord;
That 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.

(Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7)

D. Marriage and Human Sexuality

We believe:

That the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman;
That God has commanded abstinence from intimate sexual activity outside of a marriage between a man and a woman;
That any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex;
That God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance.

(Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 7:2; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)

E. Divorce and Remarriage

We believe:

That marriage is a divine institution;
That God intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies;
That divorce is a distortion of God’s intention for marriage;
That Scripture does teach that in the following situations, divorce is allowed (though not required): 1) infidelity; or 2) neglect, abandonment or abuse. Furthermore, Scripture teaches that when initiated by an unbelieving spouse on account of the gospel, divorce is not to be contested;
That biblical divorce (as defined above) releases a spouse from all covenant obligation to that marriage, and frees them to enter another marriage without violating Scripture. When an unbiblical divorce occurs (one that does not follow the above definition), Scriptures do teach reconciliation until/unless one spouse enters into another marriage, at which time the remaining spouse is biblically freed from that marriage;
That positions of teaching and service within the local church are based upon a person’s character, not condition, and that divorce and/or remarriage does not necessarily prohibit a person from being considered for any office.

(Exodus 21:1-11; Deuteronomy 21:10-14; 24:1-4; Ezra 10; Hosea 3; Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Corinthians 7; 1
Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6)

F. Love

We believe:

That we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward all those who are not believers, both those who oppose us, and those who oppose themselves by engaging in sinful actions;
That we are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly;
That God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or the use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice;
That although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions.

(Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Romans 12:9-10, 17-21; 13:8-10; Philippians 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18)

G. Lawsuits Between Believers

We believe:

That Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes;
That the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members;
That a Christian may bring a civil lawsuit against a former church member, whose membership has been terminated as a result of his refusal to heed the advice of the church and/or its leadership;
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.

(Matthew 18:17; 1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32)

Section 11 — Authority of Statement of Faith

This Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible and, therefore, is binding upon all members.

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