Our Beliefs

 

Verse By Verse Ministry International endeavors to teach the Bible with grace, clarity and humility. We reject any man-made tradition, dogma or denominational bias that runs counter to the Word of God or seeks to divide the Body of Christ.  Instead, we embrace the unchanging and unequaled truth revealed in God's Word, which unites all believers by one Spirit.

Our belief in the sufficiency and supremacy of God's Word guides and grounds all our teaching, and though we comprehend God's truth imperfectly in our present sinful condition (1 Corinthians 13:12), nevertheless we hold the following doctrinal precepts to be the plain and consistent teaching of God's word:

 

1.    The Godhead: We believe in one God, eternally existent in three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Trinity), and that He created everything out of nothing for His own pleasure and purpose. The triune God is identical in nature, equal in power and glory while having the same attributes and perfection.
Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-20

 

2.    Jesus, The Messiah: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was begotten of the Father through the Holy Spirit, was born of the virgin Mary, and is fully man without ceasing to be God. Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life in order to follow the perfect will of God the Father.
Matthew 1:18-25; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15

 

3.    The Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit baptizes all true believers into the body of Christ, the Church, indwells every believer eternally, bestows spiritual gifts upon them and empowers them for service and holy living. The ultimate goal of the Holy Spirit's work in the believer's life is to produce spiritual maturity reflected in consistent Christlike attitudes and behavior that glorify God (sanctification).
John 16:5-15; Galatians 5:22–25; Ephesians 1:13; Acts 1:8


 

4.    The Scriptures: We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, inerrant and infallible in the original manuscripts, and the supreme and final authority in matters of faith and life, interpreted by the Holy Spirit to each individual believer. We believe that the Scriptures have given us everything pertaining to life and godliness, including not only salvation from the penalty of sin but instruction in righteousness for present sanctification and service to the glory of God.
John 16:12–15; 2 Timothy 3:16-17 


 

5.    Humanity: We believe that people were created in the image of God, and that when Adam sinned he placed all mankind into both physical and spiritual death; thus people became alienated from God, totally depraved, and incapable of remedying their sinful condition by their own means.

Genesis 1:27; Genesis 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21

 

6.    Jesus’ Death & Resurrection: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ lived a sinless and perfect life that fully pleased His Father; that He died on the cross for the sins of those who turn to Him in faith, and that He bore the judgment demanded by God's holy justice against sin, so that God remains just and at the same time justifies those who believe in Jesus. Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead, never to die again, and ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He intercedes as High Priest and Advocate on behalf of all who believe in Him.
John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Thessalonians 4:14

 

7.   Salvation: We believe salvation is the gift of God brought to mankind by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for mans sin; and as children of God become partakers of His divine nature; receive forgiveness of sins by Christ's atoning sacrifice; are justified and receive Christ's righteousness; and are eternally secure in Him. Good works, which can and should follow regeneration, are not necessary to affirm assurance of eternal life.
John 1:12; 3:16; Ephesians 1:7; 2:1-10; 1 Peter 1:18–19

 

8.    Election/ Predestination: Only those called by God (i.e., elected/predestined) are able to hear and understand the Gospel so as to respond affirmatively. For everyone else, the Gospel is foolishness, the Bible says. God does not "prevent" some from hearing the Gospel, because everyone is born unable to hear and respond already. Unbelief is the natural condition of all mankind from birth, so only the power of God brings a person to saving faith.
Romans 8:29-30; 1 Corinthians 1:24; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

 

9.   Eternal Security: A Christian, having believed in Christ as Savior at one moment in time, God forever keeps secure. However, God does discipline an straying son as a beloved child when necessary. Salvation once possessed cannot be lost. This belief in God's merciful and secure salvation is not a license for careless living but, on the contrary, a powerful incentive for godly living.
John 10:27–30; Romans 8:38–39; Hebrews 10:14; 12:6–13

 

10.   The Church: We believe the Church is the universal body of believers (Jew and Gentile) and future bride of Christ. The Church is a spiritual entity made up of all born- again believers of this present age, regardless of their affiliation with churches or other organizations. The birth date of the Church was the day of Pentecost. The Church is a distinct body not to be confused with the Nation of Israel.

Acts 1:5; Ephesians 1:22–23; 5:25–27; 1 Corinthians 10:32; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; Ephesians 4:11–16


 

11.   Baptism & Last Supper: We believe that two ordinances, baptism of believers and the Lord's Supper, neither of which is essential to salvation, are to be observed by all believers in obedience to our Lord until Christ's return.
Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

 

12.   The Believer's Responsibility: We believe that all believers are obligated to assemble together for the purpose of participation in the ordinances, to be taught the Scriptures by gifted men, to edify each other, and to worship God; that this assembling is to be organized as a local church under authoritative leadership; that the believer is called to holy living in the power of the indwelling Spirit; to fight the spiritual warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil; to use his spiritual gifts for the purpose of building up of the local body of Christ.
Acts 1:8; Romans 12:1–2; Philippians 2:1–11

 

13.  Eternal State of the Saints: We believe that at the physical death of a Christian the soul passes immediately into Christ's presence to remain there until the resurrection of the body at Christ's return for the Church (the rapture). We believe in the bodily resurrection of the redeemed at the premillennial return of Christ for his Church, when the spirits of those who have died will be reunited with a glorified body. For believers who are alive at the time of the rapture, their bodies likewise, will immediately be transformed into a glorified state and meet Jesus Christ in the air, to then spend eternity with Him.
Matthew 25:1-46; John 5:24


 

14.   Eternal State of the Unbeliever: We believe that at death the souls of the lost go to hell, where they remain until they are brought before Christ at the Great White Throne judgment to be judged according to their works and cast into the Lake of Fire, there to remain eternally.
Matthew 25:1-46; Revelation 20:11-15

 

15.  Messiah’s Second Coming & The Messianic Kingdom: We eagerly await Christ’s imminent return for the Church, when believers will receive a new body at the resurrection. We believe the church will return to Earth with Jesus at His promised Second Coming, when He will establish and rule over His 1,000-year Kingdom (millennial/Messianic Kingdom) centered in Jerusalem. At the conclusion of the Kingdom, the world will experience a final judgment, after which the Father, Son and Spirit will dwell eternally among God’s people in the coming New Heavens and Earth called the New Jerusalem.

John 14:1-5; 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 20-22; Matthew 24:1-51; 25:1-46

 

16.  Israel: The Bible declares that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are God's chosen people, a possession for Himself called to be the "wife" of Jehovah and to bring forth the word of God, the temple service, the covenants and ultimately the Messiah. In Israel's history of unbelief there has always been a believing remnant according to the election of grace; that there will be a national regeneration of Israel at which time all of the provisions of the unconditional covenants will be fulfilled, including the seed, land, and blessing aspects. Israel wasn't chosen because they were special; Israel is called special because God chose them.
Genesis 12:3; Deuteronomy 7:6-9; Romans 11:25-29