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; Tit. 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; Tit. 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 make 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 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)

Click to return to the Home Page