Valley Church Statement of Beliefs
- We believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired and infallible, authoritative Word of God and that God gave the words of Scripture by inspiration without error. God promises that He will preserve His Word; Jesus said, "but my words shall not pass away"—Matt. 24:35. We believe God has kept that promise by preserving His infallible Word.
- We believe there is one triune God, eternally existent in the persons of Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit; these three are one in essence, but distinct in person and function.
- We believe that God the Father, the First Person of the Trinity, is perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from Hell all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
- We believe that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, became the physical manifestation of the Godhead to mankind. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection and His ascension.
- We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, the Agent of conviction, comfort, regeneration, indwelling, baptism, sanctification, and illumination of all who are born into God's family through Jesus Christ.
- We believe that God created the universe in six literal days and that man was created in the image of God but chose to sin. Hence, all persons inherit a depraved nature and are lost sinners in need of salvation.
- We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that salvation is a free gift of God for “whosoever will” and is based upon the sovereign grace of God, through faith, plus nothing, and believers are eternally secure. Salvation is received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, and is received through faith apart from any human merit, works, or ritual. See Romans Road to Salvation.
- We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and lost: those that are saved unto the resurrection of eternal life in Heaven and those that are lost unto the resurrection of eternal damnation in a literal lake of fire.
- We believe in and urgently anticipate the imminent return of Jesus Christ for all believers.
- We believe in the spiritual unity of the body of Christ and that God has ordained the local church for the perpetuation of His truth and work in the world, and that two ordinances of the local church are baptism by immersion and a regular observance of the Lord’s Supper by believers.
- We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward both those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. 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. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions.
- We believe that the only marriage is the joining of one man and one woman for a lifetime. We believe that God has commanded that no sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage. We believe that any form of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.
- We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. All human-initiated abortion constitutes the unjustified taking of unborn human life. Abortion can cause physical, emotional and spiritual harm. Only through the grace of Jesus Christ can there be forgiveness and healing.
- We believe that God has given His Church the Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to them and not wait for them to come to us.
The Statement of Beliefs 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 Beliefs accurately represents the teaching of the Bible and, therefore, is binding upon all members. All literature used in this church shall be in complete agreement with the Statement of Beliefs. We also affirm the Baptist Faith and Message as adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention on June 14th, 2000.