Our Statement of Faith

DECLARATION: We, as a group of believers who gather together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, hereby declare the following to be our Statement of Faith based on the Word of God, the Bible:

God

There is one God, creator of all things, infinitely perfect, holy, eternally existent in three equal, distinct and separate persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

(Deut 6:4; 1 Tim 2:5; Gen 1:1; John 1:1-3, 15:26; Col 1:16, 2:19; Is 6:3; Mt 28:19; Heb 9:14; Eph 4:6; 2 Cor 13:14)

Father

God is gracious, merciful, compassionate, abounding in steadfast love.

(Ps 18:30, 103:8, 119:156, 103:8, 25:10)

Son

The Lord Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man. From eternity past to eternity future He is the Son of God, begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, perfect, i.e. sinless. He died sacrificially as our substitute for our salvation and justification. He rose bodily from the dead and ascended to His Father’s right hand where He now ministers as our Great High Priest. As the righteous judge of all mankind, God the Father has entrusted judgment to the Son.

(1 Tim 2:5-6, 3:16; Luke 1:34-35, 24:39; Heb 4:14-16; 1 Pet 2:22, 24; 1 John 2:1, 3:5, 2 Cor 5:21; Rom 5:19; 1 Cor 15:1-19; Eph 1:20; Ps 7:11; James 4:12; John 5:22; Rev 19:11)

Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a person and is fully God, possessing all the distinctively divine attributes. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. At conversion, He baptizes each believer into the Body of Christ and comes to indwell them permanently, and sets them apart to a holy life.

(1 Cor 12:13, 6:19; Eph 1:13-14, 4:30; Rom 8:9, 11; Gal 5:16, 22-23; John 16:7-15)

Bible

The Bible is verbally inspired by God, inerrant and infallible in the original documents, and has sole authority in matters of faith and practice.

(2 Tim 3:16-17, 1 Th 2:13; 2 Pet 1:19-21)

Mankind

God created man in His image. Every member of the human race is sinful. This condition directly results from the fall of man (into sin) in the garden of Eden. As a result, mankind incurs physical and spiritual death, separation from God. From conception, God created all human beings in His image, male and female. All people are valued members of the human family. Everyone deserves respect, grace, understanding, and love.

(Gen 1:27; Rom 5:18-21; 1 Cor 15:22; Rom 3:23; Rom 5:12; Rom 6:23; John 3:36; Is 59:2; Ps 139:13-14; 1 Cor 2:14; 1 John 4:11; Eph 4:2)

Salvation

God has provided a remedy for our sin in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, bearing the punishment for our sin that was our debt to pay. All who accept His sacrifice are known as believers. Having a personal relationship is the one way for salvation. This acceptance includes:

  • being born again through regeneration by the Holy Spirit
  • redemption by the blood of Christ, and
  • salvation by grace through faith from the penalty and power of sin

(Rom 3:23, 5:12, 8:9, 31-39; Gen 2:16-17; Titus 3:5-6; Rom 10:9-10; 2 Pet 3:9; John 3:5-8; 1 John 1:9; Heb 9:11-14; 1 Pet 1:18-19; John 10:27-29; Eph 2:8-9; John 3:16, 5:24; Gal 5:16; Rom 6:23)

The redeemed are kept eternally secure by the power of God, the intercession of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

(John 3:16, Eph 1:13-14, Heb 7:25)

We receive abundant forgiveness and grace through our saviour, Jesus Christ, when we repent. We hold that all believers still succumb to temptation and sin, but that God has made full provision whereby His children may be more than conquerors through Jesus Christ by the power of His Holy Spirit who indwells each one.

(Rom 8:37; 1 Cor 3:16; 1 Cor 6:19)

The Church

There is one Church. It is not an organization but a living organism, known as the Body of Christ, consisting of all true believers. The local Church is composed of believers in a particular locale. Though autonomous, the local Church exists in vital union with all believers. They gather in Christ’s name as a corporate testimony to the Lordship of Christ and the oneness of the Body of Christ. They gather specifically to learn God’s Word, for fellowship and edification, to commemorate the Lord’s Supper, to worship and for prayer. In addition, they evangelize unbelievers and make disciples of those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The oversight of the local Church is the responsibility of a plurality of elders. They are among those in the congregation.

(Acts 2:42; Col 1:18; 1 Cor 12:27; Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5)

The Ordinances

The early churches commemorated the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week. We believe it is the privilege and duty of every believer to heed the Lord’s command: “This do in remembrance of me.”

(Acts 2:42, 46, 20:7; Luke 22:15-22; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Mt 26:26-29; 1 Cor 10:16-17; 1 Pet 2:9)

Baptism by immersion expresses a person’s identification with Christ. It signifies that the baptized have been crucified with Christ, buried with Him, and risen with Him to walk in the newness of life. Baptism is not a means of, nor an aid to, salvation, nor a prerequisite to fellowship at the “Lord’s Supper.”  It is, however, expected of all believers in obedience to our Lord. Baptism follows a confession of the person’s faith in the Lord Jesus.

(Mt 28:19; Acts 8:35-39; Col 2:12; Rom 6:3-6)

Spiritual Gifts

The Holy Spirit has blessed the Church with specific abilities expressed as “gifts” to and through the believers. In His wisdom and sovereignty, God designed some gifts primarily for the foundational period of the Church, while the majority are available for exercise today.

(Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11; 1 Cor 12:6-10, 28-31; 2 Cor 12:12; Heb 2:4)

Believers’ Responsibility

It is the responsibility of all believers to love God, other believers and their neighbour, worship God in Spirit and truth, study the Scriptures, and pray continually to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in daily living. We are to be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit, be fruitful, share the Good News of salvation through Christ, and encourage one another in the faith as we look expectantly for the coming of our Lord. All Christians are called to live lives embodying the fruit of the Spirit, including love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in keeping with the Word of God.

(John 4:23-24, 15:17; Luke 10:27; 2 Tim 2:15; 1 Cor 10:31; Eph 5:18-21; Gal 5:22-26; Mt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Titus 2:11-15; Mt 5:13-16; John 15:1-16; 1 Th 5:11; Gal 6:2; Heb 10:24; Rom 8:25-27)

Future Things

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.

We believe in the imminent return of the Lord Jesus in the air. At that time, He will call all believers from this world to Himself. This event is commonly known as the rapture of the Church. The tribulation follows it, as does the millennium with the new heaven and new earth.

(1 Th 4:14-18; Phil 1:23, 3:21; John 5:28-29; 1 Cor 15:51-55; Rev 20:1-6, 10-15, 22:2-5; Mt 25:46; Titus 2:13; Acts 1:11; Heb 9:28; Rev 21:1)

Marriage

We believe that marriage is ordained by God, “The union between one man and one woman to the exclusion of others.” Our Lord Jesus Christ confirms this definition in His own words. The marriage bond is sacred in the eyes of God. Following the biblical pattern, marriage is also symbolic of Christ’s relationship with His Bride, the Church. Sexuality is a gift from God for enjoyment as well as procreation. It requires stewardship which includes reserving sexual intimacy for marriage.

(Gen 2:18; Gen 2:24; Mt 19:4-5; Heb 13:4; Eph 5:25, 31; Prov 5:18-19; Gen 1:27-28; Ps 127:3)