What We Believe

1. The Scriptures
The Bible is the Word of God, written by men, but divinely inspired, inerrant and infallible in its original documents. The Bible is the all sufficient guide and authority for all matters of faith and conduct.

2. God
The Bible teaches that there is only one true and living God. He is eternal, holy, infinite in power, wisdom and love. God is one, yet has revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each having different roles and characteristics, but yet the same in nature and being.

2a. God the Father
God as Father rules over His world and all His creation. He is fatherly in His manner toward all men and is the Heavenly Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

2b. God the Son
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who, while becoming man, did not cease to be God. Jesus was born of a virgin, was tempted in every possible way, yet never sinned in thought, word or deed.
On the cross He died in place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin. He was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God. He will return with power and glory to judge the world and fulfil His mission.

2c. God 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.

3. Man
Man was created by God in His own image. In the beginning man was innocent of sin, but by his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Death came through sin and because all have sinned, death extends to all. Sin is an act of disobedience against God and separates us from Him.

4. 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. Salvation is by grace, through faith given to all who receive Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and includes:

Regeneration or being born again, which is a change of heart brought about by the Holy Spirit;

Justification, which is an act of God, by which He declares righteous those who through faith in Christ repent of their sins;

 Assurance, which is the belief that all the redeemed once saved are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever;

Sanctification, which is the process of becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ, through obedience to the Word of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit;

Glorification, which is the believers’ state of being when dwelling with God, the climax of their final and blessed future with Christ.

5. 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, for pastoral care, for evangelism and for the administering of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. It is the responsibility of all believers to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism is the outward expression of the believer’s faith in Christ by immersion in water. It is an act of obedience symbolising our death to sin, burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ. The Lord’s Supper is celebrated to remind believers of the price Jesus paid for their salvation.

6. The Last Things
In His own way and in His own time, God will bring this world to an end. The Lord Jesus Christ will return as promised, the dead will be raised and He will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be sent to hell, the place of eternal punishment. The righteous, in glorified bodies, will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God.