VANGUARD BELIEF STATEMENT
WE BELIEVE that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-3, 4:24; Acts 5:3-4; Romans 1:20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:5-6).
WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, and is fully God and fully man. (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13).
WE BELIEVE that the Bible is the completely inspired Word of God, without error in its original manuscripts. The Bible is our supreme and final authority in faith and life issues. (Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18, 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
WE BELIEVE that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned and incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death which is the separation from God, and that all human beings are born with the same sinful nature becoming guilty sinners in thought, word, and deed. (Genesis 1:26-27, 3:1-24. Romans 3:25, 5:12-18; 1 John 1:8).
WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures as the sole representative and substitutionary sacrifice as the Lamb of God; that He bodily rose from the grave on the third day; and that all who believe in Him and His completed work of the Cross are justified before God on the basis of His shed blood. (Matthew 20:28, 28:6; John 3:16; Romans 3:24-26, 5:1, 10:9; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:7; 1 John 2:2).
WE BELIEVE that our Lord Jesus Christ will personally and imminently return to the earth. (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
WE BELIEVE in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting joy and reward for the faithful, and the judgment of the second death of the wicked lost. (Matthew 25:3146; John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:12-57; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15).
WE BELIEVE that all believers are indwelled by the Holy Spirit upon salvation; and in the continuing experience through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by the Gift of Tongues and spiritual power. (John 14:16, 15:5; Romans 6:3-5, 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 5:15-21).
WE BELIEVE that the Body of Christ, His Church, is the corporate interdependent believer who is born again, filled with the Holy Spirit for the edifying of the whole body. Various gifts are given under the authority of the Holy Spirit for the glorification of God in witness and edification. (Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-12; Ephesians 2:14-20, 4:4-16).
WE BELIEVE that while without faith it is impossible to please God, acting in faith, trust, and good works does not ensure health, prosperity, and life without sufferings. (Luke 9:22-27; 2 Corinthians 11:23-31, 12:7-10; Philippians 1:29-30; 2 Timothy 3:8-12; Hebrews 11:6, 32-40
WE BELIEVE that Christ commanded His Church to baptize believers as a witness of their faith and identification with Jesus Christ. He also directed to celebrate His redemptive death in communion as His living memorial and of present fellowship with Christ and His body. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:28-47, 8:36-40, 10:47, 18:8; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29).
WE BELIEVE that each believer is subject to temptations, including sexual sin in all forms, but that God always provides a way to escape yielding to and not sinning against God (1 Corinthians 10:13). We believe that temptation is not sinful, but common to all, nor does the kind of sin(s) define the person before God (Hebrews 4:15).
WE BELIEVE that God in His sovereignty establishes a person's sexual identity as male or female at conception (Genesis 1:27). We believe that marriage is a covenant established by God exclusively between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24). We believe that sexual relations are a divine gift from God both for creating new life and intimate bonding for a lifetime (Genesis 2:24-25, 1 Corinthians 7:2-5).
WE BELIEVE that human life with full potential of God's purposes begins upon conception. (Psalm 139:13-17) We believe that willfully ending that unborn human life is premeditated murder. We believe God's Word commands rescuing the defenseless from all unjust harm. (Proverbs 24:11-12).