BELIEFS
We believe that God inspired the authors of the books of the Bible to reveal himself and the story of his creation, its fall into sin and death, and his rescue of that creation and humanity from sin and its consequences. In Matthew's gospel Jesus tells us, "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." We believe that Jesus is King, and that he exercises his all-encompassing authority through his Word. His Word is revealed to us primarily through the Bible. It is the stories, poems, songs, laments, proverbs, letters, ancient biographies, and all the words of scripture through which Jesus molds and shapes his followers, his Church, and his world. As Paul wrote to Timothy, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." Because we believe that it is scripture that equips us for our lives in service of the King, we believe that the story of scripture should be the dominant story within which we live our lives, the story that shapes and molds us and our actions, the story that carries us into the world as agents of God's great rescue of all creation. The story God has revealed to us trumps all other narratives that compete for our allegiance.
God's story can be divided roughly into six parts: Part I: God created heaven and earth and declared it very good, and he created humanity to be his image and presence in creation. Humanity, as image bearers, were designed to steward and fill the earth, spreading God's reign in creation. Part II: Humanity rebelled; sickness, discontent, broken relationships, death, and decay entered into the whole of creation with their sin. Part III: God began his rescue of humanity and the whole creation through the descendants of Abraham, the ancient Hebrews. God gave them the task of being a light to the nations, that all peoples might be reconciled to God and one another through their holy presence in creation. Part IV: When Israel failed its task, God became fully human in Jesus Christ, fulfilling in himself Israel's mission, reconciling humanity and all things to himself, defeating death, and assuring us of our bodily resurrection and the reality of a creation restored through the certainty of Jesus' death and resurrection. Part V: Following his resurrection, Jesus, the Son, entered into the heavenly realm to reign at the Father's right hand. At his departure, Jesus left the Church with a helper - the Holy Spirit, who empowers the Church to be agents of God's kingdom and of resurrection and new creation in this world. Part VI: The creation awaits the consummation of God's kingdom and groans with longing for Jesus' coming to put the whole creation right. We long for the arrival of Jesus and the day on which he will say, "Behold, I make all things new." For a fuller treatment of the story, please see here. |
While the story above is the energizing foundation of our beliefs, we affirm that our doctrinal life has boundaries that help us clarify who we are and the way we articulate some of the nuances of the Bible's story. Valley Church is a congregation committed to the orthodox expression of the Christian faith that traces its history back to the early centuries of the Church's life that is expressed in the creeds shared by the universal church (see below). Valley also belongs to the Christian Reformed Church, North America, a denomination that arises out of the Calvinist Reformation and retains a Reformed "accent." The three Reformed Standards below mark the doctrinal boundaries of that Reformed "accent."
The Creeds Shared by the Universal Church:
The Apostles' Creed
The Nicene Creed
The Athanasian Creed
The Three Reformed Standards:
The Heidelberg Catechism
The Canons of Dort
The Belgic Confession
A Contemporary Testimony:
Our World Belongs to God
The Creeds Shared by the Universal Church:
The Apostles' Creed
The Nicene Creed
The Athanasian Creed
The Three Reformed Standards:
The Heidelberg Catechism
The Canons of Dort
The Belgic Confession
A Contemporary Testimony:
Our World Belongs to God