Our Statement of Faith
What we believe, hope and trust concerning our faith.
1. BIBLE
We believe the Bible to be the complete Word of God; that the sixty-six books, as originally written, comprising the Old and New Testaments, were verbally inspired by the Spirit of God and were entirely free from error; that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice, and the true basis of Christian union.
"1 Thessalonians 2:13"; "2 Timothy 3:16,17"; "Hebrews 4:12"; "Psalm 19:7-11"
2. GOD
We believe in one God, Creator of all, holy, sovereign, eternal, existing in three equal Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
"Matthew 28:19"; "Deuteronomy 6:4"; "Ephesians 4:4-6"; "1 Peter 1:16"
3. CHRIST
We believe in the absolute and essential deity of Jesus Christ, in His eternal existence with the Father in pre incarnate glory, in His virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, triumphant ascension, mediatorial ministry and personal return.
"Matthew 28:6"; "Luke 1:35"; "Hebrews 1:1-4, 4:15"; "Colossians 1:15-18"
4. THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the absolute and essential deity and personality of the Holy Spirit, Who convinces of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; Who regenerates, sanctifies, illuminates and comforts those who believe in Jesus Christ.
"John 14:16, 16:8-11"; "1 Corinthians 12:13"
5. CREATION
We believe that God created the universe, the seen and unseen, from nothing, by speaking creation into existence in six days, and that He rested on the seventh day. His creative acts were good, without the stain of sin. Thus, the earth was perfect before the fall of Adam and Eve, from whom all of mankind has descended.
"Genesis 1,2"; "Acts 17:26"
6. SATAN
We believe that Satan exists as an evil personality, the originator of sin, the archenemy of God and man.
"John 8:44"; "2 Corinthians 4:4"
7. MAN
We believe that mankind was divinely created in the image of God; because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, mankind sinned and became guilty before God, resulting in total depravity, thereby incurring physical and spiritual death.
"Genesis 1:26,27"; "Romans 3:10-23, 5:12"
8. SALVATION
We believe that salvation is by the sovereign, electing grace of God; that by the appointment of the Father, Christ voluntarily suffered a substitutionary death for sinners; that justification is by faith alone in the all sufficient sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; and that those whom God has effectually called shall be divinely preserved and finally perfected in the image of the Lord.
"John 1:12, 5:24, 10:17,18"; "Ephesians 2:8,9"; "2 Corinthians 5:21"
9. THE FUTURE
We believe in the personal, bodily, imminent and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust; in the eternal blessedness of the redeemed; and in the judgment and conscious, eternal punishment of the unsaved.
"Matthew 25:31-46"; "Titus 2:13"; "1 Thessalonians 4:13-18"
10. THE LOCAL CHURCH
We believe that a church is a family of baptized believers, called out of the world, separated unto the Lord Jesus, missional in its outreach, voluntarily associated for the ministry of the Word, the mutual edification of its members, and the observance of the ordinances. We believe it is a sovereign, independent body exercising its own God given gifts, precepts and privileges under the Lordship of Christ, the Great Head of the church.
"Acts 1:8, 2:41,42"; "Ephesians 4:11-16"
11. SPIRITUAL GIFTS
We believe that the Holy Spirit sovereignly chooses to give every believer at least one gift for service in the ministry of the local church to accomplish God’s purposes.
While there are a variety of spiritual gifts described in the Bible, we recognize that the practice of the gifts of tongues, interpretation, healing and prophecy has resulted in some confusion and division. We believe that God is not limited, and can and does use these gifts as He sovereignly chooses. These gifts need to be exercised in accordance with scriptural direction. We do not see the practice of these gifts as a requirement to evidence faith in Christ, the filling of the Holy Spirit, or spiritual maturity.
"Romans 12:3-8"; "Ephesians 4:11-13"; "1 Peter 4:10,11"; "1 Corinthians 14"
12. ORDINANCES
We believe that there are only two ordinances the church regularly observed in the New Testament.
Baptism which is the immersion in water, whereby the believer obeys Christ’s command and sets forth his identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.
The Lord’s Supper, which is the memorial wherein the believer partakes of the two elements, the bread and the cup, which symbolize the Lord’s body and shed blood, proclaiming His death until He returns. "Matthew 28:18-20"; "1 Corinthians 11:23-28"
13. THE LORD'S DAY
We believe that the first day of the week, Sunday, is the Lord’s Day, and is the day we have set apart for worship, rest and spiritual exercise.
"John 20:19,26"; "Acts 20:7"; "1 Corinthians 16:2"
14. CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We believe that civil government is appointed by God for the good order of society, and that we should fulfill faithfully our responsibilities as good citizens, and that civil authorities should be conscientiously honoured and obeyed. We believe that we must obey God rather than men in things opposed to the revealed will of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the only Lord of the conscience. We believe that the church should remain distinct and separate from the state.
"Matthew 22:20-21"; "Acts 5:29"; "Romans 13:1-7"; "1 Timothy 2:1-2"; "1 Peter2:13-14,17"
15. MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY
We believe that God instituted the marriage relationship to be one man and one woman for life. God is against any impure relationships. We believe that children are to be nurtured in the knowledge and love of God.
"Genesis 2:24"; "Ephesians 5:31-33, 6:1-4"; "Hebrews 13:4"