Statement of Faith
Vineyard stands firmly in the center of orthodox Christian teaching.
Out of loyalty to Christ and the gospel we have come to a number of convictions
concerning the clear teaching of the Bible. At the same time, we have
not included in our statement of faith much that can be legitimately
debated by orthodox Christians. In other words, we do have boundaries,
but our boundaries are broad and inclusive.
We are orthodox. We are evangelical. We are empowered evangelicals.
Our statement of faith reads:
- We affirm the Apostle's, Nicene, and Chalcedonian Creeds, which
we believe to reflect Christian orthodoxy and the clear teaching
of Holy Scripture. In addition, make the following confession of faith:
- We believe in one living and true God, the Creator and Lord of
the heavens and the earth. In the unity of the Godhead, there are three
persons,
of one substance, equal in power and eternity: God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
- We believe that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, yet
one Messiah, the only mediator between God and man. There is no other
name
under heaven by which we must be saved.
- We believe that Jesus Christ came down from heaven, was incarnated
by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless
life in perfect obedience to the Father, and was crucified for our
sins. He suffered, died, and was buried, and he rose bodily from the
dead on
the third day. As the God-man, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven
and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for his
people.
At his first coming, Jesus inaugurated the fulfillment of the Kingdom
of God.
- We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father
and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment,and
to regenerate,
sanctify and empower for ministry every believer in Jesus Christ.
He is the abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide. We believe in the present
ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all Biblical gifts
of the Spirit.
- We believe that all men and women are sinners by nature and choice
and are under condemnation. We are counted as righteous before God
only by the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,through faith
in him
alone, and not by our own works or deserving.
- We believe that we have been born again by the regenerating power
of the Holy Spirit. This same Holy Spirit now lives in us, producing
faith, holiness, love and power.
- We believe in the divine inspiration, truthfulness, and authority
of both the Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety, without
error, in all they affirm, and as the only infallible rule for our
faith and practice.
- We believe that the church is intended by God to be a worshiping
community of believers, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed
by his law, exercising the gifts, privileges and discipline invested
in the church by his Word and his Holy Spirit, and seeking to extend
the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.
- We believe that all Christians are to be water baptized in obedience
to the Lord's command in scripture. We believe that the Lord's Supper
is open to all believers. Through the working of the Holy Spirit,
the Lord's Supper nourishes our souls. It brings to our remembrance
the sacrifice
of Christ for our sins, our communion with Christ and the church
and our obligation to persevere in faith and holiness to the end of
our lives.
- We believe in the personal, visible, return of Christ to
the earth and the consummation of his Kingdom; in the resurrection
of the
body,
the final judgment and the eternal blessing of the righteous and
the endless suffering of the wicked.
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