What We Believe

Vintage Faith Church - Statement of Faith

God

We believe that there is one true, holy, God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of deity and the characteristics of personality

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the eternal second Person of the Trinity who was united forever with a true human nature by a miraculous conception and virgin birth. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father and voluntarily atoned for the sins of all by dying on the cross as their substitute, thus satisfying divine justice and accomplishing salvation for all who trust Him alone. He rose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He lived and died. He ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of the Father, where He, the only Mediator between God and man, continually makes intercession for His own.

The Holy Spirit

The essential accompaniment of a genuine saving relationship with Jesus Christ is a life of holiness and obedience, attained by believers as they submit to the Holy Spirit. He enlightens the minds of sinners, awakens in them a recognition of their need of a Savior and permanently indwells every believer.

The Bible

The sole basis of our belief is the Bible, composed of sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament. We believe that Scripture in its entirety originated with God, and that it was given through the instrumentality of chosen men. Scripture thus at one and the same time speaks with the authority of God and reflects the backgrounds and vocabularies of the human authors. We hold that the Bible is an infallible guide for hearing God’s voice and learning obedience. They are unique, full and final authority on all matters of faith and practice, and there are no other writings equally inspired by God.

Salvation

The central purpose of God’s revelation in Scripture is to call all people into fellowship with Himself. Originally created to have fellowship with God, man defied God, choosing to go his independent way, and was thus alienated from and suffered the corruption of his nature, rendering him unable to please God. The fall took place at the beginning of human history, and all individuals since have suffered these consequences and are thus in need of the saving grace of God. The salvation of mankind is, then, wholly a work of God’s free grace, not the result, in whole or in part of human works of goodness, and must be personally appropriated by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Faith and Practice

Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. The church recognizes that it cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where Scripture is silent. Rather, each believer is to be led in those areas by the Lord, to Whom he or she alone is ultimately responsible.

Human Destiny

Death seals the eternal destiny of each person. For all mankind, there will be a resurrection of the body into the spiritual world, and a judgment that will determine the fate of each individual. Unbelievers will be separated from God into condemnation. God’s judgment will reveal His justice in consigning them to perpetuate in eternal retribution their own rejection of God. Believers will be received into eternal communion with God and will be rewarded for works done in this life.

The Church

The corollary of union with Jesus Christ is that all believers become members of His body, the church. There is one true church universal, comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Scripture commands believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of baptism and communion as the sacramental ordinances established by Jesus Christ, fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world.