Statement of Faith
This Church holds the following statement of faith as being a summary of Christian doctrine whose authority consists only in its agreement with the Word of God.
THE BIBLE
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, was written by men divinely inspired; that it is the inerrant, infallible, eternal Word of God. It does not contain the Word of God, but rather it is the very Word of God. We believe it to be the sole and final authority for all faith and practice of a Christian, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions shall be tried.
II Timothy 3:16 II Peter 1:21 Psalm 12:6-7 I Thessalonians 2:13 Isaiah 8:20
THE TRUE GOD
We believe that there is one, and only one living and true God, an infinite, intelligent, personal Spirit, the creator and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; source and sustainer of all life; inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honour, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
John 4:24 John 10:30 Psalm 83:18 Genesis 1:1 I John 5:7 Ephesians 2:18 John 17:5
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, took upon Himself the full nature of man and yet retained the full nature of God. In the incarnation, He was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary, a virgin. He was both fully God and fully man at the same time. He was totally holy by virtue of His miraculous birth and sinless life. We believe that He voluntarily laid down His life, the Just for the unjust, making it possible for man to be saved; that He rose bodily from the dead on the third day, and that He ascended into Heaven to the right hand of the Father; and that presently, He is our Intercessor and Advocate, the only true Mediator between God and Man.
John 14:6 Luke 1:27, 31, 35 Matthew 1:18-25 John 1G:30 I Timothy 2:5,6 I John 2:1 John l:l-5
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal with God the Father and God the Son, and of the same nature, and therefore is to be loved, worshipped and obeyed. He is the agent who through the Word of God regenerates men. He indwells the bodies of believers, teaching, comforting, chastening, imparting gifts and producing the fruits of the Spirit. We believe in the enduement of power for the purpose of winning the lost to Jesus Christ.
John 14:16,17,26 Ephesians 4:30 John 3:5,6
THE FALL OF MAN
We believe that the Genesis account of the Fall of Man is to be accepted literally, that man was created holy with a perfect fellowship with God and that through deliberate disobedience he fell from that lofty position. Consequently the whole human race fell, is totally depraved, and is under condemnation to eternal damnation by the righteous God of the universe; without defence or excuse.
Genesis 1:27,31 Genesis 3:6-24 John 3:18 Romans 5:12,19 Romans 1:20
THE WAY OF SALVATION
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who by appointment of the Father, freely took upon Himself human nature, yet without sin; honoured the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death and shedding of His blood made an unlimited and vicarious atonement for the sins of all mankind; that His atonement consisted not in setting an example by His death as a martyr, but was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place, the Just dying for the unjust, Christ, the Lord, bearing the sins of all mankind in His own body on the cross; that, having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in Heaven as a High Priest who can be touched by the feeling of human infirmities. He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate and an all-sufficient Saviour for all who will believe.
Ephesians 2:8-9 John 3:16 Hebrews 5:9 Romans 3:24,25 Philippians 2:7,8 Hebrews 9:12-15 I Timothy 2:5,6 I John 4:10
THE FREENESS OF SALVATION
We believe that salvation is freely offered to every person through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that all are commanded to repent and believe the Gospel.
We believe that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own voluntary rejection of the gospel, which results in an aggravated damnation.
John 7:37-38 John 5:20 John 3:16 John 3:19 II Peter 2:21
THE NEW BIRTH
We believe that in order to be saved, a sinner must be born again; made a new creation in Christ Jesus, a partaker of the divine nature. We believe that the new birth is instantaneous and not a process; that the moment before the new birth, the sinner is spiritually dead (separated from God due to sin); that the moment after the new birth, the sinner is spiritually alive (in close and vital communion with the living God); that God the Holy Spirit is the one who enters and regenerates the life at the moment the sinner receives and believes in the person and work of Christ as his personal Saviour; that a sinner who is truly born again inwardly will give evidence to that fact outwardly by a changed life, bringing forth fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life.
John 3:3,5,6; II Corinthians 5:17; II Peter 1:4; I John 5:1; John 5:24; Ephesians 2:1,4,5; Titus 3:5; John 1:12,13; John 7:37-39; Romans 8:15-17; Matthew 3:8; Luke 3:8; Matthew 7:17; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 5:8-10.
THE SECURITY OF BELIEVERS
We believe that salvation is eternal in its result and that those who are once saved can never be lost, but are kept by the Power of God and will never stand under condemnation for their sin.
Ephesians 4:30 John 10:27-29 john 5:24 Hebrews 7:25
THE CHURCH
We believe that the local Church is a New Testament phenomenon, that it is a group of baptised believers who are banded together in obedience to the instructions of God's Word for the purpose of edifying the saints and winning the lost to Jesus Christ. Its function includes observing the ordinances of Christ and teaching the principles, doctrines and instructions of the Word of God. We believe that there are only two scriptural offices of the Church; that of Pastor (undershepherd) being synonymous with Elder (Ruler) and Bishop (Overseer), these terms being used interchangeably in the Scriptures; and that of Deacon whose responsibility is to assist the Pastor in serving the spiritual and temporal needs of people; and that the qualifications and duties of Pastors (or Bishops, or Elders) and Deacons are clearly set forth in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus.
I Timothy 3 Titus 1:5-9 Acts 2:41,42 Acts 20:28 I Corinthians 1:10 I Corinthians 11:2
THE GRACE OF GIVING
We believe that Scriptural giving is God's way for God's people to supply the financial needs of God's work by the regular, systematic, proportionate contribution of their tithes and offerings through this Church. We believe Scriptural giving to the Lord is a privilege and that it is a very real indicator of a believer's spiritual condition; that not only is it an act of obedience to God, but is also an act of worship which develops the believer's sense of responsibility to an all powerful Creator, Sustainer and Saviour-God.
Genesis 14:20 Malachi 3:8-10 Proverbs 11:24 Proverbs 3:9 Leviticus 27:30-33 Matthew 23:23 Acts 2:45 I Corinthians 16:1,2 II Corinthians 8:1-15 II Corinthians 9:1-15
HEAVEN AND HELL
We believe that every man has as eternal soul, and that those who have been born again by the grace of God will spend their eternity in the everlasting bliss and harmony of God's prepared Heaven. On the other hand we believe that those who have never been saved will spend their eternity in the everlasting fire and torments of hell.
John 14:1-3 Revelation 21-22 Revelation 20:11-15 Luke 16:19-31
THE RETURN OF CHRIST
We believe in the imminent, pre-tribulation bodily catching away of the saints to meet Christ in the air; followed by the literal seven year tribulation or day of the Lord as foretold in the Books of Daniel, Matthew and Revelation; and then the literal, personal, bodily return of Jesus Christ to the earth to set up His millennial kingdom.
I Thess. 4:13-18 Acts l:ll Revelation 20:4-6
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We believe that the institution of civil government is appointed by God and therefore subject to His moral laws; that the purpose of civil government is the protection of life and property of the citizens, by praise of those who do good works and punishment of those who do evil. We believe that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honoured and obeyed; except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the Prince of the kings of the earth.
Romans 13:1-7 Acts 5:29 Matthew 22:21 Daniel 4:25 Matthew 23:10
NEO-ORTHODOXY
We believe that neo-orthodoxy, which is the practice of inconsistent Bible interpretation, coupled with the so-called HIGHER SCIENTIFIC BIBLICAL criticism, is an abomination in the sight of God; it is a deceptive attempt to undermine God's clear promises concerning the preservation of the Word.
Psalm 12:6-7 Matthew 5:18 John 10:35 I Peter 1:24-25 Isaiah 40:8
NEO-EVANGELICALISM
We believe that neo-evangelicalism, which is the practice of injecting new humanistic and social-oriented meanings into classic Gospel terms, coupled with the joining of Bible-believing people in un-scriptural and unholy unions (under the guise of so-called evangelistic effort) with those who thus discredit the Bible and deny historic doctrines - both wicked and futile. We wholly voice our disapproval and avoid involvement in any and all such efforts.
THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT
This is the prophesied movement to unite all faiths in a worldwide church. It is inspired by the Devil and is threatening to the true churches of God. We believe we should have no part in this movement, but rather we should firmly oppose it throughout our lives.
THE MODERN TONGUES MOVEMENT
We believe that the modern tongues movement is not Scriptural in its history, content, or practice; that it is referred to as the "new glue" that will unite neo-evangelical Catholics and Protestants; that the "tongues" of the New Testament were human languages foreign to the speaker but known to the hearer; that "tongues" were a missionary-natured, authenticating, sign-gift to unbelieving Jews; and that this gift was temporary in nature. We, therefore, oppose involvement in personal tongue-talking for prayer or praise, as much as we oppose the general thrust of the modern tongues movement at large.
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