What we believe

There is one God: infinite, eternal, almighty, and perfect in holiness, truth, and love. In the unity of the godhead there are three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-existent, co-equal, co-eternal. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit, yet each is truly God. One God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is the foundation of Christian faith and life.

Genesis 1:1,2; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John1:1,2,14,18; 14:16,17; Acts 5:3,4; 2 Corinthians 13:14

God the Father is the Creator of heaven and earth. By His word and for His glory, He freely and supernaturally created the world out of nothing.

He made all creation to live to the praise of His glory.

Through the same word He daily sustains all His creatures.

He rules over all and is the only Sovereign.

His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted.

He is faithful to every promise, works all things together for good to those who love Him, and in His unfathomable grace gave His Son Jesus Christ for mankind’s redemption.

Genesis 1 and 2; Psalm 8; Daniel 2:20-22; Acts 17:24-31; Romans 8:28; 9:16,18; 10:12,13; 11:29-36; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; Ephesians 1:11,12

He was always with God and is God. All things were created in him, through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation and in Him dwells the fullness of God.
John 1:1; Matthew 28:19; Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 1:3.

Jesus Christ, the only Son of God came into this world as a man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus was born as the unique combination of the divine and human nature – being fully God and fully man.
John 1:1,14; Matthew 1:20-25; Luke 1:35; Galatians 4:4; Colossians

He is to be respected, honoured, and worshipped as God, the Third Person of the Trinity.

Through the proclamation of the gospel He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He persuades men to repent of their sins, to confess Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and to trust in God’s mercy for forgiveness of their sins.

The Holy Spirit came to glorify the Son who in turn came to glorify the Father.

The Holy Spirit brings about the new birth, dwells within believers, and unites them to Jesus Christ and to Christ’s body, the Church. He will lead the Church into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s Word.

Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 1:4-6; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:9; Psalm 143:10; John 16:13; Romans 8:14; John 14:26; 1 John 2:27; Ephesians 3:16; Acts 1:8; John 16:7-11

We accept the Bible (The Scriptures – the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament) as the written Word of God.

The Bible is the only essential and infallible record of God’s self-disclosure to mankind. The whole of the Bible (from Genesis to Revelation) points to Jesus Christ and leads us to salvation through faith in Him. Being given by God, the Scriptures are fully inspired by God. Therefore, as originally given, the Bible is free of error in all it teaches.

Each book is to be interpreted according to its context and purpose and in reverent obedience to the Lord who speaks through it in living power. All believers are exhorted to study the Scriptures and diligently apply them to their lives. The Scriptures are the authoritative and normative rule and guide of all Christian doctrine, life, and practice.

The Scriptures are totally sufficient and must not to be added to, superseded, or changed by later tradition, extra-biblical revelation, or worldly wisdom. Every doctrinal formulation, whether of creed, confession, or theology must be put to the test of the full counsel of God in Holy Scripture.

Jesus Christ is the gospel. The good news is revealed in His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the gospel, His resurrection is the power of the gospel, and His ascension is the glory of the gospel.
Romans 1:1-6

Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for man’s sin. It satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and appeases His holy wrath. It also demonstrates His love and reveals His amazing grace.
Romans 3:25; 5:9; Galatians 3:13; 4:4,5; Colossians 1:14; 2:14; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10

Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man, revealing God to mankind and reconciling man to God. There is no other way by which men may be saved.
John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:10; 1 Timothy 2:5

At the heart of all sound doctrine is Jesus Christ, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. Through this alone sinners are redeemed for the purpose of glorifying God.
1 Corinthians 2:2; Ephesians 1:7

God made man – male and female – in His own image, as the crown of creation, that man might have fellowship with Him.
Genesis 1:26,27; 2:7; Psalm 100:3; Isaiah 43:7.

Tempted by Satan, man rebelled against God. Being estranged from his Maker, yet responsible to Him, he became subject to divine wrath, inwardly depraved and apart from a special work of grace, utterly incapable of returning to God.
Genesis 3; Romans 3:9-23; 5:12-14; 6:23

This depravity is radical and pervasive. It extends to his mind, will, and affections. He is at enmity with God, living under the dominion of sin and Satan.
Ephesians 2:1-3

Fallen, sinful people, whatever their character or attainments, are lost and without hope apart from salvation in Christ.
Acts 4:12; Job 15:14-16; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 10:2,3

Man’s response to the gospel is rooted and grounded in the free and unconditional election of God for His own pleasure and glory.
Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:4,5; 2:8,9; 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14; 2 Timothy 1:9,10

This gospel of grace is to be sincerely preached to all men in all nations.
Matthew 24 14; 28:18-20; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8

The message of the gospel is only effectual to those who by God’s grace put saving faith in Christ and genuinely repent of their sins.
Luke 13:1-3; Acts 2:37,38; Romans 10:9

Biblical repentance is characterized by a changed life, as evidenced by kingdom living.
Matthew 16:24,25; Galatians 5:6; Ephesians 2:10; James 2:17

We believe in man’s inheritance through the Gospel. Salvation, the free gift of God, is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, for the glory of God alone.
Romans 6:23; Ephesians 1:5,6; 2:8,9; 1 Timothy 2:5

Anyone turning from sin in repentance and looking to Christ and His substitutionary death receives the gift of eternal life and is declared righteous by God as a free gift. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him. He is justified and fully accepted by God.
Romans 4:5; 6:23; 8:1,2; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18

Through Christ’s atonement for sin an individual is reconciled to God as Father and becomes His child. The believer is forgiven the debt of his sin and via the miracle of regeneration liberated from the law of sin and death into the freedom of God’s Spirit.
Matthew 26:27,28; Romans 8:3,9,14-17; 1 Peter 1:3

The Holy Spirit is the active agent in our sanctification, i.e. He seeks to produce His fruit in us, to renew our minds, and to conform us to the image of Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:16-18,22

Though sin remains a reality for the believer, as we are led by the Spirit we grow in the knowledge of the Lord, freely keeping His commandments and endeavouring to so live in the world that all people may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.
2 Peter 3:18; 1 John 1:8; Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12

All believers are exhorted to persevere in the faith knowing they will have to give an account to God for their every thought, word and deed.
Romans 14:12; Philippians 2:12; 1 Timothy 4:16; Revelation 20:12,13

The spiritual disciplines, especially Bible study, prayer, worship, and confession, are a vital means by which God helps us to grow in our relationship with Him and in our likeness to Christ.
2 Timothy 3:16,17; Luke 11:1-13; Romans 12:1,2; 1 John 1:9

Nevertheless, the believer’s ultimate confidence to persevere is based on the sure promise of God to preserve His people until the end.
John 10:28; Romans 8:38,39; 1 Corinthians 1:8,9; Ephesians 1:13,14; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24; 2 Timothy 1:12; 4:18

All genuine believers receive the Spirit at conversion – anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside them does not belong to God
Romans 8:9; Acts 2:38

In the last moments before Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised the Holy Spirit to His followers so that they would receive power from on high to be His witnesses in all the earth
Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8

Since we are people who are characterised by weakness and insufficiency for the task before us (2 Corinthians 4:7-12), the Apostle Paul prayed that according to the riches of God’s glory we may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in our inner being (Ephesians 3:16). In order to keep in step with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5:16), and be full of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), we need to come more and more under the control of the Holy Spirit. In the Bible’s words, this means to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). The believer does not gain more of the Holy Spirit subsequent to conversion; rather the Holy Spirit gains more control over the believer as he submits himself to God.

God has imparted to the body of believers many diverse gifts for works of service so that the church of God will grow in maturity and unity. These many gifts should all be respected as coming from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) – with no gift being of greater or lesser value than the others (1 Corinthians 12:14-26). As in all other areas of the Christian life, the spiritual gifts must come under the close scrutiny, guidance, and authority of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16)

The worship of God is the purpose for which people were created and abiding joy is only to be found by trusting in God through all of life, including good times and bad. The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Job 1:21; Psalm 27:4; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 1:3-14; Philippians 3:8

God by His Word and Spirit is creating the Church, calling sinful men out of the whole human race into the fellowship of Christ’s Body.
Matthew 16:18; John 12:32; 1 Corinthians 12:27; Colossians 1:13,14; 1 Peter 2:8,9.

By the same Word and Spirit, He guides and preserves that new redeemed humanity. The Church is not merely a religious institution or denomination. Rather, the Church is made up of those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5,6; 1 Peter 2:5-10.

God’s transformation of human nature becomes the chief means of society’s transformation. Upon conversion, newly redeemed men and women are added to a local church in which they devote themselves to the teaching, to fellowship, to the Lord’s Supper, to prayer, to evangelism, and to Christian service.
Matthew 5:16; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 2:12

All members of the Church are to be a vital and committed part of a local church. In this context they are called to live out the Christian faith as the people of God and to demonstrate the reality of the kingdom of God.
Romans 12:3-8; Hebrews 10:24,25; 1 Peter 4:10,11

The ascended Christ has given pastors and teachers to the Church for the equipping of Christ’s body that it might mature and grow. Through the pastors and teachers all members of the Church are to be nurtured and equipped for the work of ministry.
Ephesians 4:11-16

Until Christ returns the Church exists to serve Him by faithfully doing His will in all the earth. This involves a commitment to see the gospel preached and churches planted in all the world. The ultimate mission of the Church is the making of disciples of Christ through the preaching of the gospel.
Matthew 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke 24:47; John 20:21; Acts 1:8

After the return of Jesus, the Church will be in the presence of God forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then the eager expectation of creation shall be fulfilled and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God who makes all things new.
2 Peter 3:13; 1 John 3:2; Revelation 4:11; 7:9,15-17; 21:1-7; 22:3-5