Our Beliefs

We believe in one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2). The Bible does not use the word "Trinity," however, the Bible clearly reveals that God is a Trinitarian God.

God the Father
We believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, who sovereignly rules over all things according to His perfect will and for His glory. The Father is holy, just, loving, and faithful, sustaining all creation and providentially directing history toward His redemptive purposes. He sent His Son for the salvation of the world and adopts believers as His children through grace. (Gen. 1:1; Ps. 103:19; Jn. 3:16–17; Eph. 1:3–6; Jam. 1:17)

God the Son — Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true Man. We believe that He eternally existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit as the second Person of the Trinity and that He became flesh in the incarnation (Matt. 1:18-25; Lk. 1:26-38; Jn. 1:14; 10;30; 17). We believe that Jesus Christ was buried and rose again from the dead on the third day. We believe that His resurrection body was a literal, physical, though glorified, body and that He took that body to heaven with Him. At the present time, He is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us as our High Priest and Advocate (Lk. 24:39; Acts 1:8-11; Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 4:14-16; 1 Jn. 2:1).

God the Holy Spirit
We believe in the personality of the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God, proceeding from the Father and the Son, and actively at work in creation, revelation, and redemption. He convicts the world of sin, regenerates and indwells believers, unites them to Christ, and empowers them for holy living and gospel witness. The Spirit distributes spiritual gifts for the building up of the Church and seals believers for the day of redemption. (Jn. 14:16–17, 26; Jn. 16:7–14; Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:9–16; 1 Cor. 12:4–7; Eph. 1:13–14).

We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, that is to say, we believe that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired by God. We believe that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Heb. 1:1-2; 2 Pet. 1:19-21). We believe that the Word of God is living and active as the book of Hebrews says. It is one of the means that God uses to transform His people (Heb. 4).

The doctrinal statement does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. As stated, the Bible itself is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind. It is the sole and final source of all that we believe. However, with regard to its faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline on issues not referenced in the doctrinal statement or elsewhere in the Constitution, our pastor, in council with the Board of Deacons, shall be the Vernon Baptist Church's final interpretive authority on the Bible's meaning and application for our local assembly.

We believe that the church of Jesus Christ was begun at Pentecost, is composed of true believers, is the body and Bride of the our Lord, is distinct from the nation of Israel, and that its business is to complete itself through the winning of lost souls to Christ (Acts 2). We believe the primary mission of the church is clearly set forth as to make disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." The Church is to make disciples by taking the gospel to every ethnic people group in the world, baptizing those who respond in faith, thus testifying to their new life in Christ, and training its members and new converts to be followers of Christ in all things by providing for their teaching, edification, worship, and fellowship (Eph. 4:11-12).

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, and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and, in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought, word, and deed (Gen. 1-2; Jn. 1:3; Rom. 5:12, 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3, 11-12).

We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God, that they are indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and so are secured unto the day of redemption of the body. (John 1:12; Eph. 1:13-14; 1 Cor. 6:19-20).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a vicarious and substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are justified through faith on the ground of His shed blood. Justification means that we are declared positionally "not guilty" before God, who is the Just Judge of all (1 Cor. 15:3-4; 1 Pet. 2:24; Rev. 1:5; Rom. 5;1).

We believe that sanctification is the gracious work of God by which believers are set apart unto Him and progressively conformed to the image of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God’s Word. While definitive in position at conversion, sanctification continues throughout the believer’s life as they grow in holiness through obedience, repentance, and dependence upon God’s grace. This work will be brought to completion at the return of Christ, when believers are finally perfected in glory. (Jn. 17:17; Rom. 6:11–14; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 2:12–13; 1 Thess. 4:3–7; Heb. 10:14; 1 Jn. 3:2–3)

We believe that glorification is the final stage of salvation in which believers are fully and forever transformed into the likeness of Christ, freed completely from sin and its effects, and raised in imperishable, resurrection bodies. At the return of Christ, the dead in Christ will be raised and living believers will be changed, entering into eternal fellowship with God in perfect holiness, joy, and glory. This completed redemption displays the fullness of God’s saving work and the eternal hope of all who belong to Him. (Rom. 8:29–30; 1 Cor. 15:42–53; Phil. 3:20–21; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:16–17; 1 Jn. 3:2; Rev. 21:3–4)

We believe that there are two ordinances divinely enjoined upon all Christians, baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. Without merit in themselves, these ceremonies provide an expression of faith regarding the believer's identification and fellowship with Christ (Matt. 28:19-20; Rom. 6:1-4; 1 Cor. 10:16-17, 11:17-26).

We believe that the Scriptures set forth immersion as the method of baptism because it pictures the believer's death, burial, and resurrection with Christ into newness of life, and that baptism is a commandment given by the Lord to all believer's (Matt. 3:13-17; 28:19-20; Acts 8:36-39; 10:47-48; Rom. 6:3-5).

We believe that the bread and wine used at the Lord's Table are symbolic of the broken body and shed blood of the Lord Jesus, and that partaking of these elements is a commandment given by the Lord to all believers (Lk. 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, but each in his own order, the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved in Heaven and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost in Hell (1 Cor. 15:20-24; 2 Cor. 5:8; 1 Thes. 4:16; Rev. 20:11-15). The spirits of saints who have passed on go immediately into the presence of the Lord awaiting that resurrection of the body (Jn. 14:2; 2 Cor. 5:8). Spirits of unbelievers go to Hell to await their sentencing (Matt. 25:46; 2 Thes. 1:9; Rev. 21:8; Rev. 20:13-15). We believe in the imminent return of Christ for His Bride, the Church. 

We believe that Heaven is a definite place prepared for all those who have put their faith and trust in Christ as Redeemer. We believe there is a literal Hell, or Lake of Fire, for the everlasting conscious punishment of the unregenerate (Rev. 19-22).

We believe that it is required of every Christian to live a life separated from the world. In other words, Jesus has called us to be in the world, to be lights in the world, but not to be of it. We are to put off the old man, and the old way of living (Rom. 12:2; Jn. 17:15-17; 2 Cor. 6:14-17; 1 Jn. 2:15-17).

We believe that all who are united to Christ by faith are spiritually united to one another as one body, the Church, with Christ Himself as the Head. This unity is grounded in the gospel, created by the Holy Spirit, and expressed through love, humility, doctrinal faithfulness, and mutual edification across all true believers. While allowing for diversity of gifts and callings, the Church is called to diligently preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace for the glory of God and the witness of the gospel. (Jn. 17:20–23; Rom. 12:4–5; 1 Cor. 12:12–27; Eph. 2:14–22; Eph. 4:1–6; Col. 3:12–15)

Marriage matters. God created and sanctioned marriage to bring together men and women, the complementary halves of humanity, by joining them in "one-flesh unions (Gen. 2:18-25). Marriage between one man and one woman for life uniquely reflects Christ's relationship with His church (Eph. 5:21-33).

Marriage also serves as the foundational unit of a stable society (1 Cor. 7:2). Among many other negative cultural developments over the last several decades, the general acceptance of sex outside of marriage and other sexual sins, including homosexual behavior, constitute direct attacks upon this timeless and universal institution.

Gender, likewise, matters. We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female, and that these distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Some individuals reject their biological sex and often present as the opposite sex. In so doing, these individuals reject God's design and the person He created them to be.

We believe that the term "marriage" has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4)

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and the use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the Vernon Baptist Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the members of the Vernon Baptist Church and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the Vernon Baptist Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22)

Sexual sins, like others, are not unforgivable. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Therefore, we also believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the Vernon Baptist Church.

With regard to marriage policy, because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman, and Himself, the Vernon Baptist Church will recognize only marriages between a person born biologically male and a person born biologically female. Further, the staff of the Vernon Baptist Church shall participate only in weddings and solemnize marriages between one man and one woman. Finally, the facilities and property of the Vernon Baptist Church shall host only weddings between one man and one woman.

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Psalm 139)