VBC’s Statement of Faith
Section 1 The Holy Scriptures
We believe that the Bible (66 books of Old and New Testaments) is the Word of God; that it was written by men who were moved by the Holy Spirit so that their writings, in the original, were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error and contradictions. They are the complete and final revelation of the will of God to man, and so are the supreme final authority in all matters of faith and conduct. The KJV Bible is used for all teaching and preaching at Victory.
Section 2 The True God
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are co-equal and co-eternal.
A. God the Father – We believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, boundless in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, that He is the object of our worship and praise, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ, His son.
B. God the Son – We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Creator and Sustainer of all creation, pre-existent with the Father, begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary: sinless in His nature and life, infallible in His teaching, making atonement for the sins of the world by His substitutionary death on the cross. We believe in His bodily resurrection. His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for His people and His glorious second advent according to promise. We believe that the promise of His second coming includes: first, “The Blessed Hope” of the believer, namely the imminent personal, pre-millennial, and pre-tribulation return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to rapture His church; second, His return with His saints to set up His millennial reign on earth.
C. God the Holy Spirit – We believe in the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. We believe the He came from God to convince and convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: and to regenerate, sanctify, indwell, comfort, and empower those who are believers in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher who guides and directs all believers into truth.
Section 3 Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from God. We believe that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility become sinners in thought and deed by choice. We believe man is totally depraved and of himself, is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.
Section 4 Satan
We believe in the reality and personality of Satan who is the declared enemy of God and man.
Section 5 Sin
We believe that sin is the transgression of the law of God. We believe in the universality of sin; that it separates man from God; that there is no remission of sin apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
Section 6 Salvation
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace, a free gift of God in the person of Jesus Christ; that salvation is received individually by a person’s repentance and a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation. Jesus Christ through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by the shedding of His blood in death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins. All those who receive salvation are justified and born again, and thereby become the children of God and have eternal life with Him.
Section 7 The Church
A. We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born again persons of this present age.
B. We believe in the visible local church as clearly taught in the New Testament. We believe that the local church is an assembly of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible confession of faith, and associated for worship, fellowship, and service. We believe that to these local churches was committed for observance two ordinances: the baptism of believers by immersion, and the observation of the Lord’s Supper. We believe that God has laid upon these churches the task of presenting the Gospel to all men and the edification of the individual members of the Body of Christ.
Section 8 Last Things
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all the dead, the saved to eternal life and blessedness in Heaven, and the unsaved to eternal conscious suffering and woe in the Lake of Fire.
Section 9 Security of the Believer
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever.
Section 10 Church and State
We believe that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of all faith; that each church is independent and autonomous, and must be free from any interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority.
Section 11 Christian Living
We believe that every saved person should manifest a Christ-like life; fully and constantly yielding his members to the indwelling Christ, so that he may always be, by life and work, showing forth the praises of Him who has called him out of darkness into His marvelous light. We believe in a separated life for all believers as set forth in the Scriptures, including, but not limited to, separation from worldly alliances and pleasures, sinful methods of work, worldly and secret societies, and religious apostasy.
Section 12 Finances
We believe that the finances necessary to conduct the affairs of this church shall be provided by voluntary tithes and offerings of the members and friends. We believe the Scriptural teaching on giving is the tithe, as the minimum. We believe the Lord’s people should totally support the Lord’s work.
Section 13 The Family
A. We believe marriage was ordained by God as one male and one female becoming one flesh. We believe it was God’s design that a man and woman enter the marriage union for life (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:3-9; Romans 7:2, Ephesians 5:22-32). We believe the pastor has the ultimate discretion to marry or not to marry couples as he feels led of God and as it is in accordance to these articles of faith. In furtherance, our church body grants the Pastor authorization to accept or deny all requests for use of our facilities (weddings, parties, receptions, etc.) in accordance to our articles of faith.
B. We believe God has provided for intimate sexual relations between man and woman within the covenant of marriage; sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage, including adultery, fornication homosexuality, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, among others alluded to in God’s Word, are a sin. We believe acts which defile God’s human creation, such as gender modification, through medical procedures or by appearance, and participation in the sexual degradation of others through pornography, are attacks against the family unit, are against the will of God, and are sins (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:18-32; I Corinthians 6:6-10; 7:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; Ephesians 5:3-5; I Thessalonians 4:8).
C. We believe in the sanctity of human life. We believe human life begins at conception, and from conception through the elderly adult years should be respected as a creation of God. We believe abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, suicide, assisted suicide, and other similar acts are acts of murder and therefore against the will of God (Genesis 1:27; Exodus 20:13; Leviticus 19:32; Job 12:12; Psalms 139:13-14; Isaiah 44:2, 24; Jeremiah 1:5; Romans 9:20-22; I Timothy 5:1-2).
D. We believe that children are a blessing from God and are to be taught spiritual and moral values by their parents, who are to rear them with loving discipline following the example and instruction of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Psalms 78:4-7; Psalms 127:3-5; Psalms 128:3-6; Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:1-4; Hebrews 12:7-10).