What We Believe
Statement of Faith
1. Bible
We believe that the Bible is the complete, written Word of God; that the sixty-six Books, as originally written, comprising both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally and plenarily inspired by the Holy Spirit, and entirely free from error; that the Bible is the only authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, and the only true basis of Christian unity. The King James Version (Authorized Version) is a trustworthy translation of faithful documents, and is the only version that will be used for teaching and preaching.
Scripture References: Psalm 119:89, 160; Proverbs 30:5; II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21.
2. God
We believe in one God, Creator of all; Holy, Sovereign, Eternal, existing in three equal Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but without any division as to Nature, Essence or Being.
Scripture References: Genesis 1:1; Psalm 83:18; 139:7-10; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; 15:26.
3. Christ
We believe in the absolute and essential deity of Jesus Christ, in His eternal existence with the Father in His pre-incarnate glory; in His Virgin Birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, triumphant ascension, present mediatorial ministry, and His personal, visible return.
Scripture References: John 1:1,2,14; 3:16; Matthew 1:18-25; Galatians 4:4,5; Philippians 2:6-10; I Corinthians 15:3-7; Hebrews 4:15-16.
4. The Holy Spirit
We believe in the absolute, essential deity, and personality of the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment; who regenerates, sanctifies, illuminates, and comforts those who believe in Jesus Christ; that he bestows divinely appointed gifts upon each believer for the purpose of edifying the Church, that the sign gifts (such as tongues, healings, prophesyings) ended with the Apostolic age.
Scripture References: John 3:5; 14:16,17,26; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 2:13; Ephesians 1:13; 5:18.
5. Salvation
We believe that salvation is a gift, wholly by the grace of God; that by the appointment of the Father, Jesus Christ voluntarily suffered, bled, and died as our substitute, completely satisfying God’s righteous demands for sin; that our justification is by faith alone; that those who are saved are eternally secure, and shall be perfected in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming; that righteous living and godly works are the results of salvation.
Scripture References: Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5; John 1:12,13; 10:28,29; Romans 8:1; 12:1,2; Philippians 1:6; 2:16; 4:8; I Corinthians 6:19,20.
6. Future Things
We believe that, at death, the believer’s soul immediately passes into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ while the body rests in the grave; that the soul of the unbeliever immediately goes to Hell where he experiences conscious suffering, following which he will be reunited with his body, receive his final judgment, to spend Eternity in the Lake of Fire which was prepared for Satan and his angels. We believe in the imminent, personal, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial appearances of Christ for His church; following this Rapture of the saints, the earth and its inhabitants will experience a seven year tribulation period; at its climax, Christ will return in great power and glory, to the earth, to establish His kingdom, ruling in righteousness for one thousand years; at its conclusion, Satan will be ultimately defeated and will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.
Scripture References: I Thessalonians 4:13-18; James 5:8; Hebrews 10:37; Jude 14,15; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:4-7,11-15; I Corinthians 15; II Corinthians 5:8-10.
7. The Local Church
We believe that a church is a local assembly of saved, immersed believers, called out from the world by the Lord Jesus Christ and separated unto Him; voluntarily associating for the ministry of the Word of God, the mutual edification of its membership, the propagation of the faith, and the regular observance of the church ordinances; that it is an autonomous, independent body, exercising its own divinely awarded gifts, precepts, and privileges under the lordship of Jesus Christ, the great Head of the Church; that its biblical officers are Pastors and Deacons.
Scripture References: Acts 2:41,42; Matthew 28:19,20; Acts 6:1-5; 13:1-3; 15:22,23; I Corinthians 12:1-31; Colossians 1:18.
Baptist Distinctives
The Baptist church was born out of adversity and persecution. Early Baptist believed that only believers were to be baptized (Acts 2:41; 8:36-38); therefore, they rejected infant baptism and required that all believers be re-baptized after conversion. Along with believers baptism, Baptists have held to other distinctive doctrines that Vista Independent Baptist Church and Solid Rock Baptist Church hold dear. Vista Independent Baptist Church and Solid Rock Baptist Church exist as a traditional, independent, fundamental, Baptist, churchs.
B - Biblical Authority. The belief that the Bible and the Bible alone is our only authority for our faith and our practice. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21)
A - The Autonomy of the Local Church. We believe that the church, as a congregation, is responsible for all decisions pertaining to our leadership (Acts 6:1-5), our doctrine (Acts 15), and the support of our church and our missionaries (Acts 13, 16). As an autonomous church, we are self-governing, self-propagating, and self-supporting. We are truly independent, free from the oversight of any denomination.
P - The Priesthood of the Believers. Every born again believer has the right and the access to come to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) which was granted to us by the “one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).
T - Two Ordinances. We believe that the Bible teaches two and only two ordinances to be practiced by the church.
Believers Baptism by immersion (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41; 8:36-38)
The Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
I - Individual Soul Liberty. We believe that every believer will one day stand and give a personal account for his or her life (2 Corinthians 5:10). We also believe that we must respect that right of every believer to study the Scripture for himself or herself and determine for themselves how they will practice their faith in light of their liberty in Christ.
S - Saved Church Membership. All members of Vista Independent Baptist Church and Solid Rock Baptist Church must profess Jesus Christ as their personal Savior (Romans 10:9-13)
T - Two Offices. We believe the Bible teaches two offices that are to be respected by the congregation: pastor and deacon (1 Timothy 3; Philippians 1:1). We believe that the terms pastor, elder and bishop speak of the same office (Acts 20:17, 28-30; 1 Peter 5:1-4). The term pastor refers to the care of and relationship between the pastor and congregation (Acts 20:28-30), while the term elder speaks of the authority of and respect of the office. The term bishop is used with respect to the administrative duties, the pastor being the overseer of the church (1 Timothy 3:1). Deacons are to be men of high spiritual character who minister to the needs of men. They are called to serve under the oversight of the pastor and are elected by the congregation (Acts 6:1-7).