Covenant of Faith
Preamble: Due to the times that we now are in, where the Word of God is many times disregarded and misconstrued, the Mountain View Bible Church sets forth the following articles of faith in order to qualify its members and keep a strong hold on the Faith once for all delivered to the saints. The following articles cover the broad scope of our beliefs but are not exhaustive. These beliefs which are most needed to be clarified are mentioned here, and are carried out as far as is necessary to convey our convictions.
1. We believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God. It is His revelation to man, inerrant in its original writing, therefore the supreme authority in faith and life.
2. We believe in the only one, true God, Jehovah, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
3. We believe in the incarnation and virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, His bodily death on the cross for our sins, His bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven.
4. We believe in the blessed hope of the return of the Lord. We believe that this present age will end with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, first to receive His own unto Himself, then later with His own to establish the throne of David upon the earth and to reign in righteousness over the earth for a thousand years.
5. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, distinct and separate from the Father and the Son (and yet all three are a tri-unity), and that He came into the Church on the day of Pentecost, that He convicts the world of sin through the believer as a witness, that He regenerates the sinner through the preached Word of God, and that He indwells, enlightens, instructs, and guides the child of God.
6. We believe in the creation of man by the direct act of God. We believe that man was created to glorify God. However, man sinned by disobeying God and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.
7. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures (vicariously and not as a victim of circumstances) as a representative and a substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified alone on the grounds of His shed blood, which alone, atones for sin and by receiving by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as savior are born again by the Holy Spirit, and thereby become the children of God.
8. We believe that immersion baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Lord's Supper are the only ordinances instituted by our Lord to be observed by all who have exercised faith in Christ as savior and therefore can not be entered into scripturally by unbelievers or those who have not the capacity to exercise faith.
9. We believe that the scriptures teach clearly non-conformity to the world for every believer; that is incumbent for believers to live lives of separation from all worldly practice and sinful practices; that violation of this teaching involves loss of joy and peace, and of the violator's testimony to the world; that it incurs the chastening of the Lord, and that separation can be maintained only by constant abiding in Christ, which consists of a life of private Bible study and prayer as well as public meditation, prayer, and worship, and that the world has no way of knowing the love of the Lord Jesus unless we as believers are willing exhibitors of that love.
10. We believe in a literal heaven and a literal hell; heaven the place of eternal conscious happiness for all who accept by faith the merits of Christ's atoning sacrifice; hell the eternal place of conscious punishment for all who reject the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior.
11. We believe that satan is a personal being, powerful, deceitful, the prince of demons, the ruler of this world, god of this age and has his end in the eternal lake of fire.
1. We believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God. It is His revelation to man, inerrant in its original writing, therefore the supreme authority in faith and life.
2. We believe in the only one, true God, Jehovah, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
3. We believe in the incarnation and virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, His bodily death on the cross for our sins, His bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven.
4. We believe in the blessed hope of the return of the Lord. We believe that this present age will end with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, first to receive His own unto Himself, then later with His own to establish the throne of David upon the earth and to reign in righteousness over the earth for a thousand years.
5. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, distinct and separate from the Father and the Son (and yet all three are a tri-unity), and that He came into the Church on the day of Pentecost, that He convicts the world of sin through the believer as a witness, that He regenerates the sinner through the preached Word of God, and that He indwells, enlightens, instructs, and guides the child of God.
6. We believe in the creation of man by the direct act of God. We believe that man was created to glorify God. However, man sinned by disobeying God and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.
7. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures (vicariously and not as a victim of circumstances) as a representative and a substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified alone on the grounds of His shed blood, which alone, atones for sin and by receiving by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as savior are born again by the Holy Spirit, and thereby become the children of God.
8. We believe that immersion baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Lord's Supper are the only ordinances instituted by our Lord to be observed by all who have exercised faith in Christ as savior and therefore can not be entered into scripturally by unbelievers or those who have not the capacity to exercise faith.
9. We believe that the scriptures teach clearly non-conformity to the world for every believer; that is incumbent for believers to live lives of separation from all worldly practice and sinful practices; that violation of this teaching involves loss of joy and peace, and of the violator's testimony to the world; that it incurs the chastening of the Lord, and that separation can be maintained only by constant abiding in Christ, which consists of a life of private Bible study and prayer as well as public meditation, prayer, and worship, and that the world has no way of knowing the love of the Lord Jesus unless we as believers are willing exhibitors of that love.
10. We believe in a literal heaven and a literal hell; heaven the place of eternal conscious happiness for all who accept by faith the merits of Christ's atoning sacrifice; hell the eternal place of conscious punishment for all who reject the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior.
11. We believe that satan is a personal being, powerful, deceitful, the prince of demons, the ruler of this world, god of this age and has his end in the eternal lake of fire.