WHAT WE BELIEVE

Although there will always be doctrinal beliefs over which Christians differ, we believe there are fundamental doctrines which define and uphold core beliefs of the Christian faith.

These beliefs include our belief in God, Scripture, the Lord Jesus, the Church, salvation, worship, family, and so on.

Below is a list of some of our core beliefs:

What We Believe About The Scriptures

We believe the Bible, consisting of both the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures, to be the divinely revealed and inspired word of God. We believe that these scriptures are the communicated truths of God to us and therefore are authoritative rules of faith and conduct for human beings.

(Supporting Texts: 2 Timothy 3: 16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21: Revelation 22:18-19).

What We Believe About God

We believe that there is one God and that he is the creator of all things visible and invisible; who is eternally self-existent, omniscient, immutable, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
(Supporting Texts: Genesis 1; 17:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-13; John 8:54-59; Psalms 139:1-10; I Corinthians 8:4-6)

What We Believe About Jesus Christ

We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal and Only Begotten Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary; who in his humanity lived in perfect obedience to the Father and voluntarily gave his life in death to atone for the sins of humanity as the perfect substitute - Lamb of God.

We believed that he rose from the dead on the third day and ascended into heaven and sat on the right hand of the Father, where he continues to mediate between the Father and humanity.

We believe that he will return from heaven in a visible and bodily appearance to receive his church.

(Supporting Texts: Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1: 36-38; Luke 23:33-44; Acts 1:11; I Thessalonians 4: 13-18; 1 Peter 2:22; Colossians 1:22; Matthew 28:6; Mark 16:19; Revelation 1:7).

What We Believe About The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit came forth from the Father to convict the world of sin, to regenerate, sanctify, indwell, empower, teach, lead and comfort those who believe and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.

We believe that the fruits of the Spirit are the evidence of a Spirit-filled and mature Christian life; that the gifts of the Spirit are given to further the work of ministry and the building up of the Body of Christ.

(Supporting Texts: John 3:3-8; 14:26; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 12:1-11; Ephesians 4: 7-15; Romans 8:9; Galatians 5: 16-17, 22-23).

What We Believe About Humanity

We believe that humankind was created in the image of God and sinless, but fell through a voluntary act of disobedience and became sinful and depraved.

As a result of sin humankind became separated from God and is unable to, by our own works or intelligence, change our sinful condition.

We believe that although humans have not lost the image of God in which we were created it has become tarnished, broken and in need of restoration through Christs' atoning sacrifice.

(Supporting Texts: Genesis 2: 26; 3:6, 14-19, 23; Romans 3:23; 5: 12-19; Ephesians 2:11-18)

What We Believe About Salvation

We believe that salvation is the work of God through Christ and is the free gift of God obtained not through good works or human efforts, but is brought to sinful man through the grace of God and received through faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for the forgiveness of sin and our redemption.

We believe that through salvation man can have fellowship with God through Christ, and be saved from eternal punishment.

(Supporting Texts: John 14:6; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9)

What We Believe About The Church

We believe that the Church is the spiritual body of Christ and is comprised of those who have acknowledged and received Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord and are born again or regenerated through conversion, water baptism, and the receiving of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

We believe the Church to be the vehicle through which Christ’s ministry of reconciliation continues to invite sinners into fellowship with God. Although the Church is comprised of imperfect and fallible people, it is nonetheless of divine origin and is built upon an infallible foundation and guided by the divine Spirit of God.

Although the Church is a universal and spiritual body in which all members are connected spiritually, in a local sense, it is also a community in which believers express their love for Christ through worship, prayer, fellowship, learning and service to the unsaved world and each other.

(Supporting Texts: Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:1-4, 46; 12:12; 20:28; Acts1 Corinthians 12:13, 28; 14:12; Ephesians 4: 7-16; 5:23)

What We Believe About The Lord’s Supper

We believe the observance of the Lord’s Supper commemorates the Lord’s suffering and death on the cross for our atonement. We believe the elements of bread and wine to be symbolic of the body and blood of Christ which, when partaken of, allow believers to remember and celebrate our salvation that was achieved through the ultimate sacrifice on the cross.

Communion provides a time and opportunity to reflect on the experience and meaning of the suffering of Christ and to be renewed by such experience through partaking of the elements of Communion.

(Supporting Texts: Matthew 26: 26-30; Mark 14: 22-24; 1 Corinthians 11:20-26)

What We Believe About Baptism

We believe that water baptism by immersion symbolically unites the believer in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and serves as the believer’s identification with Christ’s death and resurrection.

We believe that through baptism, the believer proclaims or testifies that he or she was with Christ when Christ was judged for sin, and that he or she was buried with him and has arisen to walk in newness of life with him. Baptism not only identifies the believer with Christ but also with the universal and local body of believers. (Supporting Texts: Matthew 28:19; Mark 16: 15-16; Acts 2: 38-41; 8: 38; Acts 10:44-48; Galatians 3:26

What We Believe About Faith and Practice

We believe that each believer is to live a sanctified and Christ-centered life, shining as light in a world darkened by sin.
We believe that believers are to exercise personal responsibility in areas such as occupational development, relationship building, spiritual development, church attendance, Christian giving, sharing the Good News of their faith with unbelievers, and support the ministries of the church with the faithful sharing of their material blessings, time and spiritual gifts.

(Supporting Texts: Hebrews 10: 24-25; Ephesians 4: 7-16; 1 Corinthians 12: 1-31; 16:1; 2 Corinthians 8:7-9; 9:6-7; Galatians 5: 22-23)

What We Believe About Marriage and The Family

We believe that marriage, the union between one man and one woman is God’s will for the foundation of family life through which children are raised, nurtured and empowered into maturity. The institution of marriage, while a human experience, is not a human invention but of divine order and divine will.

The divine mandate for marriage is that it should be a healthy and enriching human experience in which man and wife are connected in a covenant of love, respect, and intimacy, which should last until one of the spouses dies.

The union between Christ and his Church is used by God to demonstrate the type of sacrificial love relationship that must exist between the man and his wife.

(Supporting Texts: Genesis 2:18-25; Ephesians 5:22-33)

What We Believe About The Ten Commandments

We believe the Ten Commandments to be God’s moral law, eternal and unchanging, the fundamental expression of his divine will as it relates to our relationship with Him and our relationships with other human beings.

We believe that under the New Covenant of Grace the Ten Commandments finds their ultimate meaning and fullest expression through the grace and love of God which are imparted to our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

With God’s love in our heart we can, without being motivated by the letter or consequence of the law, fulfil God’s ultimate intent for giving the Ten Commandments, which is to love God with all our hearts and our fellowmen as ourselves, unconditionally.

(Supporting Texts: Jeremiah 31:33; Matthew 5:17-20; 22:36-40; Like 16: 17; Romans 3:19-31; 7:7; 13:8-10)

What We Believe About The Sabbath

We believe the Sabbath, which preceded the nation and laws of Israel, to be God’s model and intent for his people to take a meaningful break from their regular activities to offer sacrifices of praise, celebrate, worship, fellowship, and become spiritually renewed as they build their relationship with him and their fellowship with fellow believers.

In view of God’s model of rest, His eternal law, and the Sabbath’s relevance for a world ravished by stress and the cares of life, we believe Sabbath-keeping to be an important part of the Christian life and the perfect opportunity to corporately celebrate the Christ-event without the restraint or intrusion of our everyday secular activities.

(Supporting Texts: Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8; Matthew 12:8-12; Luke 4:16; Acts 16:13)