PREAMBLE

As a church we embrace a fundamentally evangelical and reformed identity and are thus in general agreement with historic confessions such as the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, as well as the foundational documents of the Gospel Coalition. Our confessional statement is detailed below. 

+ A. Revelation: We believe God has revealed himself in three ways: through creation, through Scripture, and in the person of Jesus Christ.

Creation itself testifies to God’s power and nature. The universe didn’t arrive by accident,  and its order and beauty point to a Creator. God has also graciously spoken directly to us. The sixty six books of the Old and New Testaments, in their entirety, constitute the written Word of God. They are without error in their original manuscripts, written by human authors through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and are fully authoritative for the followers of Jesus in all matters of faith and life. Scripture is not one voice among many, it is God’s own word and the final authority over every area of life it addresses. We also confess that we are finite and sinful, which limits our understanding.  Through the Holy Spirit, we can know truly, even if not completely, what God has revealed about Himself.

Key Scripture: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” — 2 Timothy 3:16–17

Further Study: Matthew 5:18; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 14:9, John 16:12-13, Romans 1:20, 1 John 1:1–2

+ B. The Trinity: We believe that God exists eternally as the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There is one God who is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, love, justice, goodness, and truth that exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Though the word "Trinity" never appears in Scripture, this historic doctrine safeguards the biblical teaching that the one God reveals Himself in three distinct persons who are co-equal and co-eternal. God's desire is that we would know Him intimately and live a life of fulfillment through the pursuit of His glory. The work of salvation is Trinitarian in nature. God the Father authored our salvation, the Son accomplished it through His perfect life and sacrificial death on the cross in our place, and the Holy Spirit applies it to all who repent of their sin and place their faith in Jesus.

Key Scripture: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." — Deuteronomy 6:4

"And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'" — Matthew 3:16–17

Further Study: Gen. 1:1–3, 26; Isa. 44:6; Isa. 48:16; Matt. 28:18–20; John 1:1–5; John 10:29–30; John 15:26; John 16:13–15; Acts 5:3–4; Rom. 8:1–4, 14–16; 1 Pet. 1:1–2; Jude 17–21

+ C. God the Father: We believe that God the Father is the first person of the eternal, triune God.

God the Father, by means of the Son, and through the power of the Spirit, is the creator of all things. He spoke the universe into existence out of nothing, and through His Word sustains all creation. He is the King of the universe whose sovereign purposes cannot be thwarted. He cannot lie, He keeps His covenant, and He works all things together for good for those who love Him. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and all-wise. In His unfathomable grace, He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, so that the world He loved might be saved. He made humanity for fellowship with Himself and intended that all creation should live to the praise of His glory.

Key Scripture: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." — John 3:16–17

Further Study: Gen. 1:1; Exod. 3:14–15; Num. 23:19; Deut. 7:9; 1 Chron. 29:11; Rom. 11:33; Col. 1:16

+ D. God the Son: 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 and is now at the right hand of the Father interceding for God's people.

He is True God of True God, begotten not made. He became human, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He made His dwelling among us, living a full human life without sin. His life and death provide the only atonement that fully accomplishes God’s righteous purpose of dealing with sin, satisfying divine justice, reconciling sinners to God, and securing their redemption. The death of Jesus was a full and final payment for sin: redemptive, substitutionary, and efficacious. The historic resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a powerful witness to His deity and is humanity's ultimate hope in God. Every Christian can confidently trust that the Lord Jesus Christ will make a personal and imminent return to earth.

Key Scripture: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." — John 1:1–3, 14

Further Study: Luke 1:35; Matt. 3:16–17; Matt. 28:18; Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7; Eph. 2:1–10; 1 Pet. 1:3–5; 1 Pet. 2:24

+ E. The Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the eternal, triune God, and the supernatural agent in salvation — birthing all Christians into the Kingdom of God at conversion, indwelling and sealing them for the day of Jesus' return.

The Holy Spirit regenerates the lost through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is personal and divine as the third member of the Godhead. He convicts the world of sin and its consequences, brings repentance and faith to the believer, and indwells the believer with the life of Christ. He gives gifts to every believer for mutual service within the body, unites and seals believers in Christ, bears the fruit of Christian character, and guides, instructs, and empowers the believer for godly living and service. He is worshipped together with the Father and the Son.

Key Scripture: "And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged." — John 16:8–11 

Further Study: Rom. 8:9; 2 Cor. 3:6; 1 Cor. 12:12–14; Titus 3:5

+ F. Creation: We believe that in the beginning God created all things, visible and invisible.

Before anything existed, there was the one eternal creator God. In the act of creation, all three persons of the Trinity are at work: Father, Son, and Spirit. It is by the power of God's Word that all things were made from nothing, and all things are maintained and sustained by that same Word. It is God’s Spirit that animates all living things. We do not believe in atheistic or naturalistic evolution apart from the sovereign will and rule of God. We hold the age of the earth to be an open-handed issue on which faithful Christians may hold different views.

Key Scripture: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." — Genesis 1:1–2

Further Study: John 1:1–5; Rom. 1:20; Col. 1:17; Heb. 11:3

+ G. Humanity: We believe that God created all humans in His image, uniquely as male and female, and that all humans are sinful and in need of salvation.

All human life is sacred because every person bears the image of God. In creating humanity as male and female, God communicated His image through harmonious relationship, equality of persons, the importance of individuals, and the distinguishing of roles. God made us for fellowship with Himself, intended for all of creation to live to the praise of His glory. Yet the story does not stay there. Though created good, all people have fallen into sin and stand under God's just judgment. Every person born into this world is a sinner by nature and by choice. This is not a minor footnote, this sinful human condition makes everything that follows necessary. What God does about the human condition is the gospel.

Key Scripture: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." — Genesis 1:27

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." — Romans 3:23–25

Further Study: Gen. 2:18, 21–22; Gen. 3:1–6; Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:12, 19; Eph. 2:1–3

+ I. Sin and the Fall: We believe that all humans are sinful and in need of salvation. Salvation is the gift of God, brought to humanity by grace alone, and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians are kept by God's power, forever.

The story of humanity does not begin in darkness. God made us good, in His image, for a relationship with Himself. However, our first parents chose to trust their own judgment over God's word, and that act of rebellion, what is called the Fall, fractured everything. 

The relationship between God and humanity was broken. The relationship between people was broken. Creation itself was subjected to futility, and the corruption of that rebellion did not stay with Adam and Eve alone; it passed to every human being who has come after them. Scripture is unflinching about this: every person born into this world is a sinner by nature and by choice. Every person stands under the just wrath of a holy God. 

This is not a peripheral doctrine. The entire gospel rests on it. If sin is not serious, the cross is not necessary. If we are not truly lost, there is nothing to be saved from. The depth of God's grace in the gospel can only be understood against the backdrop of how serious our condition actually is. We are not people who need a little improvement but people who need resurrection. Only through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit can sinners be made spiritually alive.

Key Scripture: "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." — Romans 5:12

Further Study: Gen. 3:1–7; Ps. 51:5; Rom. 3:10–12, 23; Eph. 2:1–3

+ J. The Gospel: We believe that the gospel is the good news that the God who created us, whom we have sinned against, has acted in Jesus Christ to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. So that all who believe in Him are forgiven, reconciled to God, and kept by His power forever.

From the very first pages of Scripture, God is on a mission. He created the world good and made humanity in His image for relationship with Himself. Humanity rebelled, and that rebellion, what Scripture calls sin, fractured everything: our relationship with God, with one another, and with creation itself. The entire Old Testament is the unfolding story of a holy God who refuses to abandon His people, who makes and keeps covenant promises, who provides sacrifices to cover sin, who raises up leaders to rule His people, and who speaks through prophets of a coming day when everything broken will be made right. Every thread of that story finds its fulfillment in one person: Jesus Christ. 

In the fullness of time God sent His Son, born of the virgin Mary, fully God and fully man. Jesus lived the perfect, obedient life we could not live. He willingly died a substitutionary and atoning death on the cross as a propitiation for our sins. He was buried, and on the third day He rose bodily from the grave, defeating sin and death and vindicating everything He claimed. He ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He reigns now as Lord over all things, and He will return to complete the restoration of all creation. This is the gospel: not a set of principles to follow, but an announcement of what God has accomplished in Christ. All who repent and trust in Jesus alone, not in their own merit, their own moral effort, or anything else,  are forgiven and declared righteous before God, adopted as His children, and sealed by His Spirit until the last day. Salvation is entirely God's gift, from beginning to end.

Key Scripture: "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." — 1 Corinthians 15:3–4

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." — 2 Corinthians 5:21

Further Study: Mark 1:14–15; John 19:16–18, 28–30; Rom. 3:23–25; Rom. 5:12, 19; Eph. 2:1–10; Heb 2:17; 1 John 1:1–4, 2:2, 4:10

+ K. The Church: We believe that the Church is a spiritual organism made up of all believers everywhere for all time.

All Christians in all times and all places have been united into a single body by God — what Scripture calls the Body of Christ, the universal Church. Veritas is not the only true church; we recognize that all who have put their faith in Jesus throughout history are part of God's true Church. 

The Church is not a building, an event, or a social organization — it is a redeemed people, purchased by the blood of Christ, belonging entirely to Him and existing for His glory.Scripture speaks of the Church in two ways. The universal Church consists of all believers in every generation — everyone Jesus died to redeem. The local church is a particular gathered community of Christians who covenant together for worship, discipleship, and mission. Following Jesus' command to take the gospel to the nations, the apostles planted local churches everywhere they went. Veritas is one such local expression of Christ's universal Church, called to continue this work of forming disciples, engaging in local ministry and outreach, and proclaiming the gospel to the nations. The church does not merely gather for its own good; it is sent to advance the gospel in both word and deed. 

Key Scripture: "And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." — Ephesians 1:22–23

Further Study: Matt. 28:18–20; John 13:34; 1 Cor. 12:12–14; Eph. 2:14–16, 19–22; Eph. 4:11–16

+ L. Gathering of the Saints, Baptism, and Communion: We believe that every follower of Jesus is called to be a member of the local church and to participate in baptism and communion (the Lord's Supper).

Scripture calls all Christians to gather together for instruction, worship, service, and fellowship in local churches. Only those who belong to the universal Church, true followers of Jesus,  are eligible for membership in the local church. 

Baptism and communion are the two ordinances entrusted to the local church by Jesus Himself. They are not means of salvation. Rather, they are simultaneously God's pledge to us, divinely ordained means of grace, our public vows of submission to the crucified and risen Christ, and anticipations of His return and the consummation of all things. 

Baptism relates to entrance into the new covenant community as the public confession of faith and identification with Christ in His death and resurrection. In Acts, baptism is the natural, immediate response to faith in Jesus as a public declaration of repentance, new life, and allegiance to God. At Veritas, we practice believer's baptism by immersion and require it prior to partnership, while respecting those from covenantal traditions who were baptized as infants and now profess faith. Communion (the Lord's Supper) relates to ongoing covenant renewal. It is the regular remembrance of Christ's body broken and blood shed for us. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus instituted Communion to prepare His disciples for His death and resurrection. The bread represents His body broken for us; the cup represents His blood shed for our forgiveness. He instructed His followers to continue sharing this meal in remembrance of Him until He returns. Veritas invites all followers of Jesus to participate in Communion every week during our worship gatherings.

Key Scripture: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." — Matthew 28:19–20

"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'" — 1 Corinthians 11:23–25

Further Study: Acts 2:41–42; Acts 13:1–4; Acts 18:8; 1 Cor. 3:9; Rom. 6:3–5

+ M. Restoration (The New Heavens and New Earth): 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 before God. Believers will be resurrected to everlasting blessedness and joy in His presence. Those who have not believed will be resurrected to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment. We believe in hell, and we believe it is an eternal reality, not a metaphor or a temporary state. We do not require agreement on any single position regarding the timing or sequence of end-times events. What we affirm is what Scripture states plainly: Jesus is returning, the dead will be raised, there will be a final judgment, and God will dwell with His people forever in a restored creation. The gospel that began with God making all things good ends with God making all things new.

Key Scripture: "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." — 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'" — Revelation 21:1–4

Further Study: Zech. 14:4–11; Matt. 25:31–46; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Thess. 5:9; Rev. 3:10–12; Rev. 14:11; Rev. 19:11–16; Rev. 20:10–15