HOME Statement of Faith
Statement of Faith
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT THE BIBLE
Here at CCV we believe the Bible is God’s revealed and inspired message to all people everywhere - given by God without error. As a result, we uphold the Bible as the one and only authority for the church and for our personal lives. We agree with 2 Timothy 316 and Romans
Scripture References: 2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 1:16; 1 Peter 1:10-12; 2 Peter 1:20-21
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT THE CHURCH
We believe the Bible teaches that the church is simply the people of God. As a group, they are under the authority of the founder of the church, Jesus Christ. In fact, one could say that the most basic building block of the church is the individual Christian under Christ’s control. Therefore, church isn’t something we “go to,” it is who we are.
We also learn in Scripture that the church gathered together to worship, to help each other toward spiritual maturity, and to reach out to others. The most foundational gathering of the church was in small, informal groups meeting in homes. (Romans 16:5) However, they also gathered in larger groups to enhance these small circles of fellowship and ministry. (Acts 2:42-47)
Wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to his command, there is a local expression of the church. God has authorized that responsible leadership guide to these believers as they work together in love and unity, intent on the one ultimate purpose of glorifying God.
Scripture References: Acts 12:27; Ephesians 2:19-22; Ephesians 4:11-16; Colossians 1:15-23; 1 Timothy 2-3; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Hebrews 13:17; Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:12-32
Here at CCV we affirm the historic doctrine of the trinity. We believe that there is one supreme God, one divine essence, which has three distinct personages: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. The total essence of God belongs equally to the three persons of God. In Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God (Elohim, plural) created the heavens and the earth.” In Genesis
Scripture References: Genesis 1:1; Genesis 11:7-8; Matthew 3:15-17; John 10:30; Luke 3:21-22; Hebrews 1:1-14
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT JESUS CHRIST
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He has always existed with God and is God. Approximately 2000 years ago, as predicted by scripture, He came to earth in human form. He was Immanuel, which means, “God with us.”
Scripture teaches that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that Mary, while she was still a virgin, gave birth to Him.
While living on earth, He was tempted in every manner of sin that we face everyday, yet He didn’t sin. His purpose on earth was to die for our sins - yet His death was not the end. He did not stay in the grave but instead came back to life. He is now with God preparing a place in Heaven for those who believe in Him.
Scripture References: Matthew 1:18-24; John 1:1-5; John 3:16-21; Colossians 1:15-20; 2 Corinthians 5:21
WHAT WE BELIVE ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Bible teaches that the third person of the one God is the Holy Spirit. After Jesus ascended back into heave, he poured out the Holy Spirit on the church to guide them in God’s will and also as a seal, guaranteeing that their ultimate inheritance was in heaven.
The primary ministries of the Holy Spirit, according to scripture, can be summarized in three areas. First, he has been given to convict the world of sin. Second, he has been given to form Christ within the believer. And third, he has been given to empower the believer for a life of ministry through the bestowal of spiritual gifts.
Here at CCV we believe the promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a promise from God for every Christian today. We believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the initial outpouring of the Spirit onto the life of the believer - an event that may be at or subsequent to one’s salvation experience. It is at this time that the Holy Spirit indwells the believer, sealing them for eternity and clothing them with power for ministry.
While CCV accepts the full spectrum of spiritual gifts, we reject the teaching that every believer will manifest one particular gift (such as speaking in tongues) as the evidence of having received the Holy Spirit. We believe God brings a diversity of gifts to the body and empowers each believer uniquely as He sees fit. Some may receive visible or miraculous gifts - others in the body will not.
Our job as believers is not to continually seek after some mystical or visible “experience” as proof we have the Holy Spirit. Rather, God desires us to pursue an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit so that He can form Christ in us and so that we may graciously and expectantly receive from Him whatever gifts He desires to give us. Under no circumstances is a believer to compare their spiritual gift with someone else’s as a basis for judging their relationship with God.
Scripture References: Mark 1:8; John 16:5-15; Acts 1:4-8; Acts 2:38-39; Acts 8:14-23; Acts 10:44; - 11:18; Acts 19:1-7; Romans 8:1-17; Galatians 5:13-26; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Corinthians 12-14
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT SALVATION
At CCV we believe that all people are sinful, separated from God and have fallen short of salvation by their own merit.
Salvation is the re-establishment of our relationship with God that has been ruptured as a result of our sin. As the result of God’s tremendous love and the liberating grace manifested in the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, scripture teaches that all people can receive the forgiveness of their sins and be saved.
Essentials to salvation or belief in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, repentance toward Him, and the entrusting of our lives to Him in faith.
Belief is the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and in His work on the cross. Repentance is the inner decisive changing of the self as the person acknowledges that they have turned away from God and desire to turn back to Him again. Faith is the surrender of our self to the person of Christ, trusting that He will save us through His work on the cross. This inner change precedes water baptism (immersion) and will result in a changed life and the guarantee of a home in heaven once we die.
According to scripture, baptism into the name of Jesus is seen as a normal part of the process of accepting Christ. Through this vehicle, the believer shares in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
At CCV we reject the doctrine of baptismal regeneration (that baptism in and of itself causes salvation). We also don’t believe baptism is some afterthought of our salvation. Rather, we affirm that baptism is the divinely ordained vehicle for us to express our personal faith and entrust our lives to Christ. This is why scripture can affirm salvation by grace through faith apart from works and yet portray water baptism as the standard Biblical occasion when the repentant believer would receive from God the forgiveness of sins and enter into a new relationship with Christ on the basis of faith.
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT COMMUNION
Communion (the Lord’s Supper) is one of the ways we worship God as we remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the grave. CCV follows the example of Acts 20:7 and weekly engages in Communion. We believe the bread and the juice are symbols of Jesus’ body and blood and that as a believer partakes, they proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes. At CCV we do not subscribe to the idea that during Communion Jesus is re-sacrificed - but we do believe that through this sacrament, God meets with us in a unique and special way.
We ask that all who would partake of Communion with us at CCV be people who have surrendered their lives to Christ in faith and that they examine their hearts prior to partaking.
Scripture References: Acts 20:7; Luke 22:7-30: Mark 14:22-25; 1 Corinthians 11:17-24; Hebrews 9:11 - 10:31
