GOD
There is one God, who exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom and love. He is the almighty Creator; Saviour and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory.
THE BIBLE
God has revealed himself in the Bible, which consists of the Old and New Testaments alone. Every word was inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given is in its entirety the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice.
THE HUMAN RACE
All men and women, being created in the image of God, have inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship and love God. As a result of the fall of our first parents, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted and all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. Every person is therefore under the just condemnation of God and needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please him.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught with authority and all his words are true. On the cross he died in the place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood. He rose from the dead and in his resurrection body ascended into heaven where he is exalted as Lord of all. He intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father.
SALVATION
Salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved. It has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and is offered to all in the gospel. God in his love forgives sinners whom he calls, granting them repentance and faith. All who believe in Christ are justified by faith alone, adopted into the family of God and receive eternal life.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life and gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. He builds up the Church and empowers its members for worship, service and mission.
THE CHURCH
The universal Church is the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who are saved belong. It is made visible in local churches, which are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administering of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; for pastoral care and discipline, and for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care and encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel.
BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been given to the churches by Christ as visible signs of the gospel. Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ and entry into his Church but does not impart spiritual life. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all and involves no change in the bread and wine. All its blessings are received by faith.
THE FUTURE
The Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment and the righteous will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.
STATEMENT OF FAITH – More detailed information
SCRIPTURES
We believe the Bible, in its original manuscripts, is the fully inspired Word of God and a progressive but completed revelation — sufficient and authoritative for all matters of faith, life, and godliness (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1: 20-21; Revelation 22: 18, 19).
TEACHING
We believe, because the Bible is the fully inspired Word of God, we are under obligation before God to handle it accurately when we interpret it (2 Timothy 2:15). Therefore the literal-historical-grammatical method of interpretation, which means the Bible is to be interpreted literally except those passages which are clearly allegorical.
GOD
We believe there is one God, eternally existing in three distinct persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Judeo-Christian God (YHWH — “Yahweh”) is God alone and distinct from all other “gods” (Exodus 3: 13, 14).
JESUS CHRIST
We believe Jesus Christ (“Yahshua”), born of a virgin, is fully man and fully God, lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death on the cross for the sins of the world, was buried and after three days rose from the dead, conquering death, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Romans 1:1-6)
SIN
We believe all mankind are sinners, falling short of the glory of God, and are in need of the Saviour for deliverance from sin, its consequences and reconciliation to the Father (2 Corinthians 5:20).
SALVATION
We believe that salvation is a gift by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, not earned and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9) — revealed through the preaching of the gospel, towards repentance (grief over and a turning from sin), the forgiveness of sins, and justification in Christ, regeneration and sanctification, through the continual work of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:5-10, Romans 8:30).
SANCTIFICATION
We believe that all who are justified will persevere and grow in godliness and faith until the end. This perseverance is the promise of the New Life (Romans 6:4), worked in us by God Himself through His sanctifying Spirit (Philippians 2:12-13), to fight the good fight, obeying God (His Word – Romans 12:2) and growing in Christlikeness (Galatians 5:22) – ultimately to His glory.
CHURCH ORDINANCES
We believe the church promised by Christ, birthed on the day of Pentecost, and growing in the disciplines of Acts 2:42, has two ordinances: water baptism and Communion (the Lord’s Supper or “breaking of bread”). Both water baptism by immersion and Communion should be observed today in the local church, by all believers.
PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH
We believe the purpose of the church is to worship and glorify God, by preaching Christ, equipping the saints for ministry, promoting justice and love for all, and evangelising the world, starting at our home base.
LOCAL CHURCH
We believe that all members are called to hold each other accountable to God and the Eldership of the church, through encouragement (Hebrews 3:13), exhortation, rebuke in obedience to the faith (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and when necessary through love and Biblical discipline (James 5:19-20, Matthew 18:15-10)
BROTHERHOOD
We believe in the universal church whereby all true believers are united through faith in Christ, according to the truths of God’s Word. Whilst we are to love all, our spiritual fellowship is to be with those of “like precious faith” (2 Peter 1:1). See “The Five Solas of the Reformation”.
PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER
We believe all believers, men and women, are equal before God and make up the “priesthood of all believers”, but that God has created them with distinct roles that are complementary to one another, but not identical; a pattern that can be seen even in the Godhead (1 Corinthians 11:3). Each local church should recognize and affirm the divine calling of spiritually qualified men to give leadership to the church through a plurality of Elders (bishop, under-shepherd, or overseer) in the ministry of the Word and prayer. Women are not to fill the role of pastor-elder in the local church, but are encouraged to use their gifts appropriately within the authority given to elders to edify the body of Christ and spread the gospel.
RESURRECTION AND JUDGEMENT
We believe in the future resurrection of all those who have died: the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to eternal punishment.
CHRISTS RETURN
We believe in the second bodily coming of Jesus Christ to set up a literal kingdom on earth which will last one thousand years and will be followed by the eternal state and the new heavens and earth.
ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH
We believe the Church has not replaced Israel. Israel has a distinct and special future in God’s redemptive plan and the unconditional promises God made to the nation of Israel have not been nullified nor have they been transferred solely to the Church, though we be of the spiritual seed of Abraham.
May 2012
