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Quick Answers to
Frequently Asked Questions
about Verde Valley Christian Church
(the following answers are not intended to be
comprehensive)
- What
denomination is Verde Valley Christian Church?
- What
does Verde Valley Christian Church believe?
- Why
does VVCC partake of communion (the Lord's supper) every Sunday?
- Doesn't
partaking of the Lord's supper every week make it less meaningful when
you do partake?
- What does VVCC
believe about baptism?
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We do not belong to any denomination at all. We are
simply an independent group of Christians committed to serving the Lord.
To put it simply, we believe the Bible. We teach that
the Bible is the authoritative, inspired Word of God, and therefore, we
make it our goal to teach and practice whatever truths the Bible sets
forth.
Take our doctrine of Christ as just one example. We simply teach
what the Bible reveals about Jesus...that He is the virgin-born, divine
Son of God, who, after living a sinless life, died for our sins, rose from
the dead, reigns in Heaven and will return for eternity.
We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we stand together with and affirm other churches that believe and teach
the Bible to be authoritative and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For more information we encourage you to attend
C.L.A.S.S. 101
Although the New Testament does not give an
explicit command for Christians to partake of the Lord's Supper every
Sunday, we believe the New Testament pattern was that Christians did
partake of communion every week on "The Lord's Day" for the
following reasons:
1. (Acts 20:7 NIV) "On the
first day of the week we came together to break bread. . . ."
2. (Acts 2:42 NIV) "They
devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and to prayer."
3. To the same church that Paul
wrote: (1 Corinthians 11:25 NIV) "In the same
way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new
covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in
remembrance of me." {26} For whenever you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he
comes."
He also wrote: (1
Corinthians 16:2 NIV) "On the first day of every week,
each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his
income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be
made."
It becomes apparent that the believers
met "on the first day of every week." They were already
in the habit of meeting to break bread together and share together on
this day, "the Lord's Day" remembering his resurrection on
Sunday. Paul then asks them to set aside part of their weekly
income on this day also so that when he came he wouldn't need to take
the special offering he planned to collect for the benefit of the
suffering Jewish Christian brothers.
I have discovered that the opposite
experience is more common. People find it more meaningful with
regular participation. Communion is a covenant renewal
ceremony. A husband and wife do not find it less meaningful to
hear "I love you" repeated often, but more meaningful when
they are affirmed regularly. They do not respond, "I wish you
wouldn't tell me that so often, that way when it will be more meaningful
next month when you tell me."
What is the
meaning of baptism?
Baptism is the New Covenant Entrance Ceremony marking
the union of the believer with Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and
resurrection.
(Romans 6:1-6 NIV) What shall we say, then? Shall we go on
sinning so that grace may increase? {2} By no means! We died to sin;
how can we live in it any longer? {3} Or don't you know that all of
us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
{4} We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in
order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the
glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. {5} If we have been
united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be
united with him in his resurrection. {6} For we know that our old
self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done
away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
(1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV) "For we were all baptized by one
Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we
were all given the one Spirit to drink."
(Galatians 3:27 NIV) "for all of you who were baptized into
Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."
(Colossians 2:12 NIV) "having been buried with him in
baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead."
(1 Peter 3:21 NIV) "and this water symbolizes baptism that
now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the
pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ,"
(2 Corinthians 5:17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
- Baptism Identifies me with Christ's burial and resurrection
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4 NIV) "For what I received I passed on
to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, {4} that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,"
(Colossians 2:12 NIV) "having been buried with him in
baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead."
- Baptism illustrates my new life as a Christian
(2 Corinthians 5:17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
- "By our baptism then, we were buried with Him and shared His
death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead... so
also we may live a new life!" Rom. 6:4
WHY BE BAPTIZED BY IMMERSION?
- Because Christ was baptized that way.
- Because every Baptism in the New Testament was by Immersion.
(Example) "...then both Philip and the man went down into
the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the
water..." Acts 8:38-39
- The word "Baptize" means to "immerse".
50 Greek dictionaries give the word "immersion" as
the basic meaning of "Baptizo." The trade language of
that day used the word baptizo to refer to the dyeing of fabric,
the dipping, submerging, immersing, of the fabric into the dye.
- Immersion best pictures a burial and resurrection!
Does Baptism save?
Jesus Christ is our Savior. Apart from Him the
water is meaningless. We are not saved by the act of Baptism. We are
saved by the act of Jesus on the Cross. The act of Baptism is the act of
identification with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism is
an act of faith not a meritorious "work" that
"earns" us salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is
by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God-- {9} not by works, so that no one can
boast.") It is the New Covenant Ceremony marking the entrance of
the believer in the New Covenant relationship with God through Jesus
Christ. Christ has made peace with God for the believer. The Believer
expresses his faith and identifies with Christ, vowing to serve Him as
Lord.
WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED?
- Every person who has Believed in Christ.
(Acts 2:41) "Those who believed and accepted His message
were baptized..."
(Acts 8:12) "But when they believed Philip as he preached
the Good News...and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,
both men and women."
(Acts 8:13) "Simon himself believed and was
baptized..."
At VVCC we wait until our children are old enough to believe and
understand the true meaning of baptism before we baptize them. Some
churches practice infant baptisms. Infant baptisms are covenants based
on the faith of the parents not the child. The parents promise to raise
their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his own
personal confession of Christ. This custom began about 300 years after
the Bible was completed. This is different from the baptism talked about
in the Bible which was only for those old enough to believe. The
baptisms of the Bible were believer’s baptisms, publicly confessing
personal commitment to Christ. If you are a believer who was
"baptized" [sprinkled] as an infant you find yourself in much
the same position as the Jews that John the Baptist addressed. You see,
before John the Baptist, baptisms were required of Gentile proselytes
who wished to practice the Jewish faith. John’s demand that the Jews
repent and be baptized was unique, in that he called Jews (who were born
Jewish) to choose to be Jews, and to choose from the heart to be in the
covenant with God. He called them to faith through a believers baptism
of repentance. Baptisms have always marked the personal choice of the
believer being baptized. Christian baptism also is a believers’
baptism marking the choice of the believer to be united with Christ’
death, burial, and resurrection (the New Covenant offer).
At VVCC, it is a membership requirement that every member must have
been baptized the way Jesus demonstrated, even though many of us were
"sprinkled/confirmed" as children.
WHEN SHOULD I BE
BAPTIZED?
- As Soon as You Have Believed
(Acts 2:41 NIV) Those who accepted his message were baptized, and
about three thousand were added to their number that day.
(Acts 8:35-38 NIV) Then Philip began with that very passage of
Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. {36} As they
traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch
said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"
{37} {38} And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip
and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
- There is no reason to delay. As soon as you have decided to
receive Christ into your life, you can and should be baptized. If
you wait until you are "perfect", you’ll never feel
"good enough"!
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