Statement of faith

Our foundational Christian beliefs can be summarised as follows:

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God.

• The sixty-six books of the Bible, in their original writings, are God’s revelation for all people, inspired by the Holy Spirit [2 Timothy 3:16]
• Although written by human authors they were guided by the Holy Spirit, so that the original text is infallible [2 Peter 1:19-21; Matthew 5:17-18; Matthew 24:35]
• The Bible is the complete revelation of God [Revelation 22:18-19]. Nothing else is authoritative for faith and conduct. It is the exclusive guide for the life of faith in Christ [John 17:17; Hebrews 4:12]

Because we believe the Bible, this is what we believe about the following:

God …

• We believe there is only one true God, the Creator of all things visible and invisible [Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4]
• We believe that God has revealed Himself as one being in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit [John 1:1-3,14; John 10:30; John 14:16,17,26; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14]

Humans …

• We believe that God created human beings in His own image [Genesis 1:26-27]
• We believe that, through the fall in Adam, all people inherited a sinful nature and became separated from God [Romans 3:23; Genesis 3:1-7]
• We believe that humans are unable, in their own strength, to remedy their lost condition [Ephesians 2:12; Romans 5:12-14]

Christ …

• We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God; that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary [Isaiah 7:14; John 1:1-2,14; Luke 1:35]
• We believe in His sinless life [Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22] and that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice [Romans 3:24-25]. Our redemption is proven by His physical resurrection from the dead [Romans 4:25]
• We believe that He ascended to heaven [Acts 1:9] and is seated at the right hand of God where He intercedes for His people [Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:12]

The Holy Spirit …

• We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune Godhead.
• He convicts men of sin and He guides believers into all truth. [John 14:26; John 16:7-14; 1 Peter 1:2; Romans 8:11]

Salvation …

• We believe that salvation is received through faith in Jesus Christ [Titus 3:4-7], relying on His righteousness alone [Ephesians 2:8-9] and continuing to trust in His atoning death on the cross and in His resurrection from the dead [1 Corinthians 15:1-4]
• We believe that there is no other way to be saved than through faith in Jesus Christ [John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 John 2:23]

The devil …

• We believe in the existence of the devil, a fallen angel, a created spirit, who brought about the downfall of man by his influence and who seeks to destroy the faith of believers in Jesus Christ [Genesis 3:1-15; Job 1:6-7; 1 Peter 5:8]

The church …

• We believe that the church is the body of Christ and is a spiritual organism made up of all who are in faith in Christ, irrespective of their affiliation with any Christian organisation [Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 2:22; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Hebrews 12:23]

The Second Coming of Christ …

• We believe in the return of Jesus Christ to gather His people – raising the dead in Christ and receiving believers who are alive at His coming. [John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; Matthew 24:3-34]

The responsibility of believers …

• We believe that although we are not saved by our deeds [Ephesians 2:8-9], we are saved to do good deeds [Ephesians 2:10] and that faith without works is dead [James 2:17,24,26].
• We believe that Christians are called to holiness [Hebrews 12:14] and to righteous living [Galatians 5:19-21]
• We believe that Christians are called to proclaim the gospel [Acts 1:8] and to play their part in building God’s Kingdom [Matthew 28:19-20].
• We believe that Christians are called to love one another [Romans 13:8-10; 1 John 4:20-21] and to express this love with actions [1 John 3:18; Galatians 6:10].
• We believe that it is only through Christ’s power, and not in our own strength, that we can live the life to which God has called us [John 15:1-5; Philippians 1:6; 1 Corinthians 1:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:3].
• We believe that Christians have the privilege of hearing from God [John 10:27] and that they demonstrate their love for Him by being obedient [John 14:15]

Israel …

• We believe that God loves the children of Israel [Jeremiah 31:3].
• We believe that the promises given to Abraham [Genesis 12:1-3] apply both to his natural seed who are of faith – the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (renamed Israel by God [Genesis 35:10]) and to his spiritual seed, all believers in Jesus Christ [Galatians 3:6-9,26-29; Ephesians 3:6].
• We believe that God, in grace, chose Israel [Deuteronomy 7:6-8; Deuteronomy 26:17-19] and that He intends to bring glory to Himself for His mercy and faithfulness to His chosen people [Ezekiel 20:32-44].
• We believe that all have sinned [Romans 3:23; 1 Kings 8:46] and that nobody is righteous in themselves before the holiness of God [Psalms 14:1-3].
• We believe that God’s way of righteousness is by faith [Genesis 15:6; Habakkuk 2:4] and that salvation is by faith and not by works [Ephesians 2:8-9].
• We believe that, although God chose Israel in sovereign grace, there has never been more than a remnant, within Israel, that has been in right standing with Him because of their faith [Romans 4:11-12,16; Romans 11:3-5].
• We believe that the Law of Moses was added because of Israel’s sin [Galatians 3:19]. For any child of Israel to be accepted by God through the Law they would have to obey all the Law without fail [Deuteronomy 6:25]. Only Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, has accomplished that [Isaiah 53:9; 1 Peter 2:21-22].
• We believe that Israel committed themselves to living under the Law of Moses in order to establish their own righteousness and that brought them under a curse [Deuteronomy 6:20-25; Exodus 19:8; Exodus 24:3,7; Joshua 24:16-24].
• We believe that it is only in Christ (by a child of Israel placing their faith in Jesus) that the curse of the Law is removed [Galatians 3:10-13; Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 2:13-14].
• We believe that no matter how many promises God has made they will all be fulfilled in Christ [2 Corinthians 1:20].
• We believe that God will fulfil His promises to Israel and that the remnant will return to Him and will receive salvation by faith in Jesus, their Messiah [Romans 11:25-31].