GOD
We believe there is one and only one God and that He is perfect, sovereign and eternal. He is revealed in the Bible as three equally divine Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Deut. 6:4, John 10:30, Acts 5:3-4)
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is God. He is the creator and sustainer of all things. Without changing His eternal deity, He became man when conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He died on the cross, a perfect and complete sacrifice, in our place and for our sins according to the scriptures. He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven where, at the right hand of God the father, He is now our High Priest and Advocate. (John 1:1, Col 1:15-18, Matt 1:20, 1 Cor 15:3, Heb 7:25-26)
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe the Holy Spirit is God. He glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ and convicts the world of sin. At the point of salvation He gives new life, indwells and baptises the believer into the Body of Christ. He also fills, guides, gifts and empowers believers for godly living and service. (2 Cor 13:14, John 16:8-9, Eph 1:13 & 5:18, 1 Cor 12:11-13, Tit 3:5)
THE BIBLE
We believe in the authority, sufficiency and inerrancy of the Scriptures, namely the sixty six books of the Old and new Testaments. As originally written they were without error, the product of Spirit-controlled men. As such they give the complete revelation of God’s will for the salvation of man and are the final authority for all Christian faith, life and practice. (2 Tim 3:16-17, 2 pet 1:21)
MAN
We believe that man was created in the image of God and for fellowship with him. By choosing to disobey God, man fell into sin and his nature was corrupted. Consequently, all human beings are born with a sinful nature, spiritually dead, under Satan’s dominion and subject to God’s wrath and condemnation. Apart from God’s grace, man is helpless and hopeless. (Gen 1:26-27, Rom 5:12-14, Eph 2:1-3, John 3:18)
SALVATION
We believe that every man is in need of salvation from sin. The atoning death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only grounds for this salvation. Jesus’ atonement is sufficient for the whole world but effective only for those who receive it. The sinner is justified and reconciled to God, not through his own efforts, but solely on the basis of God’s gracious gift of salvation, received through faith in Jesus Christ. (John 1:12, Acts 4:12, 1 Pet 1:18-19, Eph 2:8-9)
THE CHURCH
We believe that the church is composed of all those who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and baptised into one body. The Bible gives many pictures of the church including the body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, a flock, a spiritual building, a priesthood and a family. The visible local church is a gathering of professing Christians who commit themselves to worship and serve God together, the church has been commissioned by God to make disciples from all the nations. (1 Cor 12:12-27, Eph 5:23-32, 1 Pet 2:4-9, 1 John 3:1-2, Matt 28:18-20)
BAPTISM AND COMMUNION
We believe that believer’s baptism and communion are the two ordinances Christ has commanded the church to observe till He comes again. Baptism is the public declaration of a person’s faith in Jesus Christ. According to the New Testament baptism is for believers only and should be administered by total immersion, it symbolises the believer’s identification with Christ in death, burial and resurrection, and the washing away of sin. The Lord’s supper commemorates and declares our thanks for the Jesus’ substitutionary death. (Matt 28:18-20, Rom 6:1-10, 1 Cor 11:23-30)
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will one day come again to this earth, bodily and visibly. (Acts 1:11, Rev 1:7)
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, believers to everlasting blessing in the presence of Christ, and unbelievers to everlasting judgment. (Matt 25:46, John 5:28-29, Rev 20:11-15)
SATAN
We believe Satan is a real and powerful being, he deceives people and opposes the work of God. He was defeated at the cross and will be punished eternally in the lake of fire. (Matt 4:2-11, John 8:44, Heb 2:14, Rev 20:10)
CREATION
We believe in the biblical account of the creation of the physical universe and man, in six literal twenty four hour days. (Gen 1-2, Ex 20:9-11)
FUTURE EVENTS
We believe that the Lord Jesus could return at any moment to take all believers out of the world and reward them at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This ‘rapture’ will be followed by a seven year tribulation period, after which Christ will return personally and bodily to the earth to bring judgment on the wicked and to set up a glorious millennial kingdom. This kingdom will be followed by the great white throne judgment and eternity. (1 Thes 4:13-18, Dan 9:24-27, Rev 4-22)
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
We believe that God gives every believer spiritual gifts upon conversion, primarily to be used to build up the church. These gifts are to be validated by the scriptures and not only by one’s experience. For example, we believe the gift of tongues is the ability to speak in an unlearned foreign language. It is to be used in church only if someone with the gift of interpretation of tongues is present, and is to be used in an orderly way. (Acts 2:4-13, 1 Cor 12:11, 14:20-28)
GODLY MALE HEADSHIP/LEADERSHIP
We believe the scriptures teach that men are to give godly leadership in both the home and the church. While both men and women are equally gifted, equally precious to God, and equally called upon to serve the Lord, the Bible makes it clear that men are to be the leaders in the home and church. (1 Cor 11:3, Eph 5:18-6:4, 1 Tim 2:8-15, 3:2)
THE ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER
We believe that all who are truly born again are kept by God the father for Jesus Christ and so cannot lose their salvation. (John 10:27-30, Rom 8:38-39, Phil 1:6, 1 Pet 1:5)