Those who believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son, and who trust Him as their Lord and Savior, are members of the worldwide Body of Christ. We welcome them as our brothers and sisters in the Lord, and invite them to identify themselves with our fellowship at Voyagers Bible Church.
John 3:16; John 1:1-14; Acts 16:31; 1 Cor. 12:3, 12-13; Col. 1:18 |
| A. | DOCTRINES WE AFFIRM
We believe that it is essential for those who hold positions of leadership or who teach in our church to endorse the following affirmations as their personal beliefs. |
| | 1. | We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons... Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Acts 5:3-4; Heb. 1:8 |
| | 2. | We believe that God is all-knowing (omniscient), both as to all things existing presently, and as to all things to come. God is all-present (omnipresent) and all-powerful (omnipotent). God is infallible and incapable of error. His purposes and plans cannot be changed or thwarted by man. God is sovereign in and over all aspects of His creation.
Ps. 115:3; Ps. 135:5-7; Ps. 139:1-10; Ps. 147:4-5; Is. 14:24-26; Is. 40:28; Is. 44:7-8; Is. 46:10; Acts 2:23; Acts 4:28; Heb. 4:13; 1 John 3:19-20 |
| | 3. | We believe that God the Son became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, who was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and who is true God and true man. John 1:15; Matt. 1:18-25; Matt. 26:38; John 11:33; John 8:40; Heb. 1:8; Heb. 2:14 |
| | 4. | We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are declared righteous on the basis of His shed blood. 2 Cor. 5:14; Mark 10:45; Rom. 3:24-26; Rom. 5:8-9; 1 Peter 3:18 |
| | 5. | We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, in His ascension into Heaven, and in His present life for us as High Priest, Intercessor, and Advocate.
Rom. 1:4; John 20:25-27; 1 John 2:1; Heb. 7:25; Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9-11 |
| | 6. | We believe in the personal, bodily, visible return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom over which He will reign in righteousness and peace.
Acts 1:11; Matt. 24:30; Rev. 20:4-6; Is. 9:6-7; Is. 11:2-5 |
| | 7. | We believe that the Bible, consisting of all the books of the Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God, our final and infallible authority in faith and life, inerrant* in the original autographs.
Ps. 19:7-11; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21
*We use the word inerrant as defined in the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, of which copies are available. |
| | 8. | We believe that man was created in the image of God, and that he sinned and consequently experienced not only physical death, but also spiritual death (which is separation from God); as a result, all people are born with a sinful nature and, apart from Jesus Christ, are eternally lost.
Gen. 1:26-27; Gen. 2:17; Gen. 3:6; Rom. 5:12-19; Eph. 2:1-3; Eph. 4:18; Mark 7:20-23 |
| | 9. | We believe that all who by faith receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are born again by the Holy Spirit and immediately become children of God, a relationship in which they are eternally secure; this salvation is not the result of any human effort or merit.
John 1:12; Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:28; John 3:1-16; John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:31-38; Phil. 1:6 |
| | 10. | We believe that there is only one baptism of the Holy Spirit, occurring at salvation; at that time, the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the Body of Christ, and comes to indwell him permanently.
1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9; John 14:16-17; Eph. 4:5; Gal. 3:26-27 |
| | 11. | We believe that the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to every believer, to be used for building up the body of Christ; these gifts are to be exercised according to biblical guidelines and priorities.
1 Cor. 12:1-14; Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Peter 4:10-11 |
| | 12. | We believe that all Christians are "new creations" and, though we still sin because of the influence of our flesh, we are indwelt by the Spirit of Christ. Therefore, each Christian must make the moment by moment choice to walk according to the flesh and experience sin or to walk according to the Spirit of Christ and experience the abundant life in Christ.
2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 6:11,18; Rom. 8:9,13; Gal. 5:16-17,24; Eph. 4:22 |
| | 13. | We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people; believers are resurrected to enjoy eternal life with God; unbelievers are resurrected to experience judgment and then eternal suffering apart from God.
1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 20:4-6,12-15; John 5:28-29; Dan. 12:2; Rev. 21:1-8 |
| | 14. | We believe in the reality and personality of Satan, and that, when given the opportunity, he attempts to defeat Christians; however, Christians can overcome Satan’s schemes by applying biblical truth in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Eph. 6:10-19; Luke 10:18; Job 1:6-12; John 8:44 |
| | 15. | We believe that the Church consists of all those who have truly put their faith in Jesus Christ; the purpose of the Church is basically three-fold: to give God the worship and praise He deserves, to build up every believer to spiritual maturity, and to make disciples of every nation, through word and deed acting as ambassadors for Christ.
Col. 1:18; Eph. 4:4-6; Matt. 16:16-18; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Matt. 28:18-20; Matt. 5:13-16; 2 Cor. 5:18-20; Acts 1:8; Eph. 4:11-16 |
| | 16. | We believe that Christ commissioned His Church to observe believer baptism and the Lord’s Supper until He returns.
Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:37-38; Acts 8:26-39; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 16:31-34; Rom. 6;1-4; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26 |
| | 17. | We believe that Christ is the head of the Church, and that the local fellowship is to be governed by elders, men chosen on the basis of biblical qualifications. We believe the Bible teaches that men be both the primary authorities in the church and primary teachers of Biblical doctrine.
Col. 1:18; Eph. 4:15-16; Acts 14:21-23; Acts 20:17,28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Tim. 2:11-15 |
| | 18. | We believe that all Christians should order their lives according to biblical priorities, including: a) cultivation of their personal fellowship with God through Bible study and prayer b) fulfillment of their biblical responsibilities toward members of their families c) active expression of love to fellow believers through commitment of time, effort, abilities, and resources d) sharing of Jesus Christ with nonbelievers through word and deed e) engagement in useful work and/or service; although each believer should use the energy and abilities God has given for the upbuilding of the church, the extension of the Gospel, and the general welfare of society, these efforts should be consistent with personal spiritual growth and proper development of Christian marriage, family life, and nurture of children.
John 15:1-27; John 17:15-23; 2 Thess. 3:6-12; Eph. 4:28; Titus 2:14; Gal. 6:10; 1 Tim. 5:3-16; Eph. 5:22-6:9; Col. 3:18- 4:1; 1 Peter 3:1-7; Titus 2:10; Proverbs 31:10-31 |
| B. | DOCTRINES ON WHICH WE AGREE TO DISAGREE There are some doctrines on which two Christians may agree to disagree, even though they are in the same local church and part of the same leadership group. Some examples might be: modes of baptism, dating of the events in Genesis, order of events associated with the Lord's return, degree of separation from worldly practices. When teaching is done in any such area, it should be made clear that these doctrines are not essential for salvation or leadership. We may state the case for our position, but we should point out that, in many cases, sincere and intelligent Christians hold different positions.
Rom. 14:1-15:7; 2 Tim. 2:23-24; Titus 3:9 |
| Most recent revision: August 2, 2006 |
