Steadfast in
FAITH, HOPE and LOVE
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks."
(1 Peter 3:15)
The Bible is the only inspired Word of God and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. Therefore, Scripture supplies everything the believer needs to be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
There is one true God, existing eternally in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is infinite in power, wisdom, holiness and love, and to him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. He alone is to be worshiped because he is our Creator and the Sustainer of all things seen and unseen.
God the Father reigns as sovereign over all of his creation, his universe and all of his creatures, and all of history in accordance with his will and grace. He is the Father of all creation, the Father of the eternal Son, and the Father of all those who believe in the Son for the salvation of their souls.
God the Son is the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. He was born into this world of a virgin and was God Himself taking on flesh; truly God and truly man. After living a perfectly sinless life, Jesus then died on the cross for our sin. He took our punishment upon Himself and paid for our sin with his own blood so that we might freely receive forgiveness by believing and trusting in Him. Following his death, Jesus was buried and rose again the third day, after which he was seen by all of the Apostles and by more than 500 other people in order to prove the truth of his resurrection. Jesus ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father reigning over all things in heaven and on earth.
God the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. A divine person, equal with the Father and the Son, and of the same substance and nature. He bears witness in this world to truth, and he convicts people of sin, righteousness and judgement. He is sent by the Father and the Son to achieve the divine purpose in the world and in the Church.
Humanity came into existence by direct creation of God and is uniquely made in his image and likeness. Adam was the first person God created, and because of his disobedience, sin and death entered the world and all human beings now sin by nature and by choice, falling short of God's perfect standard. Because if this, all of humanity is alienated from God and under his just and righteous wrath. Only through Christ's death on the cross can we be reconciled to God and saved from eternal destruction.
Sin and Salvation: Sin is our natural rebellion against God and his rule over our lives. The wages of sin is death and the eternal separation from God and all the good things God gives us in this earthly life. But, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to die for sinners so that all who believe in him might be saved. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as both Lord and Saviour.
Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus also commanded that water baptism should follow a person's profession of faith. Whoever truly believes in Jesus will be saved and spend eternity with him in heaven. But whoever rejects Jesus Christ here on earth will be lost and will spend eternity separated by God in his judgment.
The Church is the body of people whom God has separated from the world through faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. All believers are members of the universal Church of God which takes local form wherever groups of believers unite for worship, fellowship and service in accordance with scriptural principles. All believers are called to a priestly ministry in the offering of spiritual sacrifices and sent into the world to be witnesses. God calls individuals to positions of oversight and leadership or to special ministries. The Church recognises such by ordaining pastors, commissioning missionaries, and by appointing elders and deacons and other leaders, following New Testament practice. Christ alone is the head of his church.
Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ but not a requirement for salvation. It is a public declaration of a person’s faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. In accordance with the New Testament it should be administered by total immersion which symbolises the believer’s identification with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism also symbolises the washing away of sins and the believer living and walking in newness of life, having died to sin and having been made alive to God.
The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ instituted by Him to be celebrated with the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine (wine or grape juice) by believers in Christ until the end of the age. It commemorates and declares our thanks for the Lord’s substitutionary death. The celebration of the ordinance expresses our fellowship with and in the Lord Jesus Christ as members of the Body of which He is the Head.
Individual Christians: Jesus determined to extend his love to human beings through those who live for him. Therefore Christians are to love others as Christ loved the church. They are also to confess their faults to one another and to exercise mutual support. They are to esteem others more highly than themselves and treat their fellow believers as though they were dealing with the Lord Himself. God's children are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that they should walk in them. Their desire should be to make every day count for their Lord, expressing his love by serving others.
There is one true God, existing eternally in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is infinite in power, wisdom, holiness and love, and to him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. He alone is to be worshiped because he is our Creator and the Sustainer of all things seen and unseen.
God the Father reigns as sovereign over all of his creation, his universe and all of his creatures, and all of history in accordance with his will and grace. He is the Father of all creation, the Father of the eternal Son, and the Father of all those who believe in the Son for the salvation of their souls.
God the Son is the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. He was born into this world of a virgin and was God Himself taking on flesh; truly God and truly man. After living a perfectly sinless life, Jesus then died on the cross for our sin. He took our punishment upon Himself and paid for our sin with his own blood so that we might freely receive forgiveness by believing and trusting in Him. Following his death, Jesus was buried and rose again the third day, after which he was seen by all of the Apostles and by more than 500 other people in order to prove the truth of his resurrection. Jesus ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father reigning over all things in heaven and on earth.
God the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. A divine person, equal with the Father and the Son, and of the same substance and nature. He bears witness in this world to truth, and he convicts people of sin, righteousness and judgement. He is sent by the Father and the Son to achieve the divine purpose in the world and in the Church.
Humanity came into existence by direct creation of God and is uniquely made in his image and likeness. Adam was the first person God created, and because of his disobedience, sin and death entered the world and all human beings now sin by nature and by choice, falling short of God's perfect standard. Because if this, all of humanity is alienated from God and under his just and righteous wrath. Only through Christ's death on the cross can we be reconciled to God and saved from eternal destruction.
Sin and Salvation: Sin is our natural rebellion against God and his rule over our lives. The wages of sin is death and the eternal separation from God and all the good things God gives us in this earthly life. But, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to die for sinners so that all who believe in him might be saved. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as both Lord and Saviour.
Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus also commanded that water baptism should follow a person's profession of faith. Whoever truly believes in Jesus will be saved and spend eternity with him in heaven. But whoever rejects Jesus Christ here on earth will be lost and will spend eternity separated by God in his judgment.
The Church is the body of people whom God has separated from the world through faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. All believers are members of the universal Church of God which takes local form wherever groups of believers unite for worship, fellowship and service in accordance with scriptural principles. All believers are called to a priestly ministry in the offering of spiritual sacrifices and sent into the world to be witnesses. God calls individuals to positions of oversight and leadership or to special ministries. The Church recognises such by ordaining pastors, commissioning missionaries, and by appointing elders and deacons and other leaders, following New Testament practice. Christ alone is the head of his church.
Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ but not a requirement for salvation. It is a public declaration of a person’s faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. In accordance with the New Testament it should be administered by total immersion which symbolises the believer’s identification with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism also symbolises the washing away of sins and the believer living and walking in newness of life, having died to sin and having been made alive to God.
The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ instituted by Him to be celebrated with the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine (wine or grape juice) by believers in Christ until the end of the age. It commemorates and declares our thanks for the Lord’s substitutionary death. The celebration of the ordinance expresses our fellowship with and in the Lord Jesus Christ as members of the Body of which He is the Head.
Individual Christians: Jesus determined to extend his love to human beings through those who live for him. Therefore Christians are to love others as Christ loved the church. They are also to confess their faults to one another and to exercise mutual support. They are to esteem others more highly than themselves and treat their fellow believers as though they were dealing with the Lord Himself. God's children are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that they should walk in them. Their desire should be to make every day count for their Lord, expressing his love by serving others.
What you have just read is an ordered summary of our faith.
If you would like to read the exact wording as it is printed in our Constitution, please contact the office at [email protected].
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