As a Church there are a number of beliefs that we hold very dear and are enshrined in our Constitution.
We believe and affirm the following:
GOD
There is one God who is eternal and exists in three different but equal persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is holy, unchanging, righteous and just. God is the almighty Creator, Saviour and Judge. It is in God that all things are sustained and governed by His sovereignty.
THE BIBLE
It is in the Bible that we learn of and about God. The Bible is made up of the Old and New Testaments. Human authors physically wrote the Bible but God Himself inspired each word that was recorded. It is entirely and completely the Word of God. There are no errors in the Bible. The Bible has the final word and authority for us as human beings and for the Church to which we belong.
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was born of a virgin and lived a perfect, sinless life never committing, thinking or speaking anything that was sinful. His life was lived in complete obedience to God and He kept God’s law perfectly. He died on the cross to bear the punishment for sin. The shedding of His blood allowed us to be redeemed. He was raised to life and ascended back into heaven to be at the right hand of the Father.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is at work today in our world. He was sent to glorify Jesus Christ and to play His part in the work of salvation. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin and gives us spiritual life. We receive understanding of God’s word through the Holy Spirit. Each person who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit living within them.
THE HUMAN RACE
God creates each person, man and woman, in His very own image. We are all equal and valued greatly by God. The main purpose of the human race is to worship God. This relationship and purpose has been twisted and distorted by the corruption of sin. As a result everyone is born a sinner and is under condemnation of God. We all must be born again by trusting in Jesus Christ, which will bring us forgiveness and reconciliation.
SALVATION
Salvation is completely the work of God. It is by His grace and mercy that it comes to us. We have done and can do nothing that will render us deserving of salvation. This was accomplished by the Lord Jesus dying on the cross, bearing our punishment for the sin in our life. Each person who trusts in Christ is saved. God forgives those He calls to salvation. Everyone who believes is justified by faith alone and becomes part of God’s family thereby receiving eternal life.
THE CHURCH
The Church is universal and it is the body of Christ Jesus. He is the head of the Church. The local Church is part of the overall body of Christ in which believers are devoted to Bible teaching, fellowship with each other, the Lord’s Supper and to prayer. The Church is the place that believers enjoy pastoral care and the discipline of the Lord.
BAPTISM
Baptism is an ordinance asked of the believer by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a visible sign of a true follower of Christ. This outward sign achieves nothing except to express obedience to the Lord Jesus.
COMMUNION
Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is a commemoration or remembrance of the sacrifice made by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. It is a simple act of taking a piece of bread and a drink of wine. Nothing happens to the bread or the wine and the blessing of participating in communion comes from faith.
MARRIAGE
The Bible clearly teaches that marriage is of a union between one man and one woman.
THE FUTURE
Jesus Christ is physically and visibly returning to this world in the future. He will raise the dead, gather His believers together and judge the world in His righteousness. At this point those who have rejected Him will be cast into eternal punishment while those who have trusted in Christ will begin their eternal life of blessing and fellowship with God.