I. We believe God wrote the Bible through men without error.
The Old and New Testaments, in their entirety, constitute the written Word of God. They were written by men through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and are therefore fully authoritative in all matters for the follower of Christ (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13).
II. We believe that God exists eternally in Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
There is one God, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, love, justice, goodness, and truth, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. His desire is that we should know Him intimately and live a life of fulfillment through the pursuit of His glory (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
III. We believe that Jesus Christ is the second person of the eternal triune God who became a man, lived a sinless life, died on a cross, was buried, and physically rose from the grave to redeem sinful humanity.
He is True God of True God, begotten not made. He became human conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary and made His dwelling among us, living a full life without sin. His life and His death on the cross provide the only atonement that fully satisfies the righteous requirements of God for the sinner. The death of Jesus Christ was a full and final payment for sin – redemptive, substitutionary, and efficacious. The historic fact of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead is powerful witness to His deity and is humanity’s ultimate hope in God. Jesus Christ will make a personal and imminent return to the earth, and His return is a sanctifying “hope” having vital bearing on the life of every Christian. (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
This is the historic belief that there is one God in three persons, known as the Trinity. Jesus is both fully man and fully God, present in the Trinity from everlasting to everlasting.
IV. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the supernatural agent in salvation, baptizing all Christians into the universal Church at conversion, indwelling, and sealing them until the day of Christ’s return.
The Holy Spirit bears persuasive testimony to the realities of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is personal and divine, the third member of the Godhead. He convicts the world of sin and its consequences. He brings repentance and faith to the believer. He indwells the believer with the radical life of Jesus Christ. He gives gifts to every believer for mutual service within the body of Christ. He unites each believer in the body of Christ and seals them in that relationship. He bears the fruit of Christian character in the lives of every believer. He guides, instructs, and empowers the believer for godly living and service. He is worshipped with the Father and the Son (John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Eph. 5:18).
V. We believe all humans are sinful and in need of salvation. Salvation is the gift of God brought to humans by grace alone and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A true Christian will be kept by God’s power forever.
God has created every person in the image of God, but we have fallen into sin and are therefore lost. Only through the life-giving regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained. All humans are sinners and face the judgment of God. The shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification, and only those who place faith in Jesus Christ and initiate a relationship with God on the basis of the work of Christ are delivered from the wrath of God toward sin required by His holy character. Those who receive Jesus Christ by faith are said by Holy Scripture to be justified, regenerated, redeemed, and adopted into the divine family as heirs with Christ of all the blessings of the Godhead. There is no other means of salvation for a person save a conscious repentance and a conscious confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
We believe that salvation only comes through Jesus and a conscious confession that He is Lord. We also believe that a true Christian will persevere to the end of their life or until Jesus returns, meaning that you can’t lose your salvation if you were genuinely saved.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” – John 10:27-29
(John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5)
VI. We believe that God has created all humans in His image. He has created them uniquely male and female.
All humans are created in God’s image and, as such, all human life is sacred. In creating humans as male and female, God communicated His image in harmonious interpersonal relationships, equality of personhood and importance, and a distinction in role and authority.
VII. We believe that the Church is a spiritual organism made up of all believers everywhere for all time.
All Christians in all times and in all places have been united into a single body by an operation of God. This resultant union is called the Body of Christ, the Universal Church.
Simply put, we’re not the only true church; we recognize that all who have put their faith in Christ throughout history are part of God’s true church (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).
VIII. We believe that every follower of Christ is called to be a member of the local church and recognize believers’ baptism and the Lord’s supper.
Christ commanded that all Christians band together in assembly for instruction, worship, service, and fellowship. These assemblies are called local churches. As a local church, Vintage21 embraces the rich and vibrant traditions of the Universal Church. Only those who are members of the Universal Church shall be eligible for membership in the local church. Baptism of responsible believers by immersion and the Lord’s Supper are the only two sacraments to be observed by the local church in the present age. These sacraments are not to be regarded as means of salvation (Acts 13:1-4, Acts 15:19-31, Romans 16:14, 1 Corinthians 3:9, 1 Peter 5:1-4, Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:41, 42, Acts 18:8, 1 Corinthians 11:23-36).
IX. We believe that Jesus is returning to Earth to judge all people and to rule and reign with his saints forever.
All people will be resurrected to give account of their lives before God. The believer in Christ will be resurrected to everlasting blessedness and joy in the presence of God. The unbeliever will be resurrected to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment (1 Thes. 4:13-18; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6; 1 Thes. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 3:10).
What’s significant in this statement is that we, as a church, do not necessarily affirm any single position on Christ’s return. We do affirm what is clear biblically: that Jesus is returning, that there is a resurrection of the dead to occur, and that there will be a judgement, after which the believers will live in the presence of God, and unbelievers will be resurrected to eternal punishment and judgement. This means we believe in hell and that we believe that it is an eternal punishment.
