Statement of Faith and Doctrine

To be interpreted as expressed in and according to the natural and literal meaning of the respective passage of the Word of God referred to under each article.

 

1.  The Authority of Scripture

We believe that the whole of the Bible is inspired by God through the work of the Holy Spirit in men, complete in its content and authority.  It is to be trusted in its original manuscripts, and understood in the literal-grammatical sense to most trusted English translations.

2 Timothy 3:16-17; Mark 12:26-36; Acts 1:16; 1 Corinthians 2:13;

2 Peter 1:16-21

 

2.  The Trinity

We believe in the eternal existence of the three personalities of the Godhead:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  These are all equal and all part of the whole, sharing nature, attributes and perfections.  All are worthy of our worship, confidence and obedience.

Genesis 1:1, 26; 3:22; 11:6-8; Isaiah 63:8-10; Matthew 28:19-20; John 1:1-4; Mark 12:29; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6

 

3.  Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, born of a virgin as prophesied in Scripture.  We believe that all of the Scriptures, from Genesis through Revelation, point to Him, His person and His work, including His sacrificial death on the cross and His immanent return.

Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:35; John 5:39; Acts 1:11, 17:2-3, 18:28, 26:22-23, 28:23

 

4.  Holy Spirit

We believe that the person of the Holy Spirit (see Trinity) has been sent for this Church Age for the purposes of revealing Jesus Christ to the world.  For the Church, He has the ministry of comfort, instruction and edification.  For the world He has the ministry of conviction, revelation and restraint.

John 7:38-39, 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:13-15; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4

 

5.  Fall of Mankind and Original Sin

We believe that mankind came under the power and authority of sin when Adam and Eve, the first humans created by God in His image, took of the forbidden fruit in an act of disobedience.  The threatened penalty of death, both physical and spiritual, then came into effect, enslaving mankind to the power of sin and the power of the devil.

Genesis 1:26, 2:17; Isaiah 64:6; John 5:40, 6:53; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:6; 1 John 3:8

 

6.  Depravity of Mankind

We believe that sin nature has corrupted all of the human race, with Jesus Christ being the exception, causing all mankind to be born with a sinful nature.

Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Psalm 14:1-3, 51:5; Romans 5:12-19; John 3:6

 

7.  Salvation

We believe that all who are saved come by it by grace and through faith, not of anything we can do as it is a gift from God.  This salvation makes the person justified from all sin past, present and future, which the law of Moses could not do.

Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 2:11-14

 

8.  Atonement

We believe that this salvation has been accomplished by the death of Jesus Christ on the Roman cross, shedding His blood, being made sin and a curse, on our behalf.  This was a sacrifice acceptable to God and takes effect on every sinner who receives Him.

Leviticus 17:11; Matthew 26:28; John 1:12; Romans 5:6-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 2:24

 

9.  Regeneration

We believe that all who have been saved are born of the Spirit become a new creation and are sealed for the day of Redemption to live in the permanent Kingdom of God.

John 3:5-8; Galatians 5:22-23, 6:15; Ephesians 1:13; Titus 3:5; James 1:18;

1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 5:1

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10.  Security and Assurance

We believe that all who have demonstrated genuine repentance and regeneration are eternally secure, being held by the Holy Spirit and presented with assurance of their present salvation leading to eternal safety in the presence of God.

John 5:24, 10:28-29; Romans 8:33-39; Philippians 1:6; 2 Timothy 1:12

 

11.  Sanctification

We believe that those who are saved, are members of the body of Christ, having been declared positionally righteous or sanctified before God.  We believe further that all people who are saved have the opportunity to be progressively sanctified, being made spiritually mature and righteous by time spent in God’s Word, and the in-working of the Holy Spirit.

John 17:17-19; Romans 15:16; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24, 5:25-27; Hebrews 2:11, 10:10, 13:12; 1 John 1:7-9;

Jude 1:1

 

12.  Baptism of the Holy Spirit

We believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one time event that occurs upon the conversion of a believer, as distinguished from the filling of the Holy Spirit, which is requested power for witness and work as called upon by God, which can occur as often as necessary.  The baptism of the Holy Spirit as a collective event at Pentecost was a one time occurrence signalling the start of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 3:11; John 14:15-18; Acts 2:4, 4:8-31; Romans 8:9;

1 Corinthians 3:16, 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18

 

13.  Gifts of the Spirit

We believe that God, through the Holy Spirit, gives each believer spiritual gifts for the purpose of glorifying Christ and building up His body, the Church.  All believers are assigned at least one gift, yet no gift is given to all believers collectively.  These gifts are to be exercised regularly and within the limits given in the Scriptures.

We believe that certain gifts (tongues and works of miracles) were used in Acts to authenticate God’s revelation through the apostles and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but no signs give evidence of baptism or revelation today.  Special revelation as it refers to the canon of Scripture is complete at the end of the Apostolic Age, having been satisfactorily authenticated.  This does not mean that these gifts have ceased, just that authentication of these natures are complete.

John 14:26; Acts 2:11, 10:44-48; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12, 14; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 12:12; Galatians 1:8-9; Ephesians 2:20, 4:7-16;

Hebrews 2:3-4; 1 Peter 4:7-11; Revelation 22:18-29

 

14.  Unity of the Church

We believe in the Universal Church, unified by the Holy Spirit and the risen Son of God, baptized into one body.  We believe also in the local church, a gathering of believers, representative of the Universal Body in a geographical area.

Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 4:3-10; Colossians 2:19

 

15.  Return of Christ

We believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ to, first gather up believers in what we know as the Rapture of the Church, and secondly to establish an earthly Kingdom on the throne of David for one thousand years known as the millennial kingdom.

2 Samuel 7:16; Psalm 72:7-8; Isaiah 9:6-7; Micah 5:2; Zechariah 14:1-21; Matthew 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 1:32-33, 21:25-27; John 14:1-3;

Acts 1:10-11; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:28; Revelation 19, 20:1-6, 22:13-16

 

16.  Resurrection of the Body

We believe that the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead was the first fruits of all mankind, meaning that we will all be resurrected physically starting with the believers for reward, followed by all unbelievers for sentencing.

Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Romans 1:4, 8:23; 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 20:5-6

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17.  Eternal Rewards and Punishment

We believe that the eternal destination of all mankind is fixed at the point of physical death; all true believers in Jesus Christ will at that point be with Him forever and joint heirs in His inheritance, and all the wicked saved for the lake of fire and varying degrees of torment according to their works.

Daniel 7:22-27, 12:3; Romans 8:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 2 Peter 2:9; Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8, 22:11

 

18.  The Devil

We believe in the personality of Satan as the father of lies, murderer from the beginning, great deceiver and one that will be overcome by Jesus Christ, being cast into the bottomless pit for one thousand years, and finally committed to the lake of fire with all of his angels (demons) and those whom he has deceived, to be tormented forever.

Genesis 3:3, 15; Job 1:6-12; Isaiah 14:12-14; John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 4:4, 11:13-15; Ephesians 6:12-16; Revelation 12:10, 20:1-10

 

19.  Divine Healing of the Body

We believe that Christ died for the penalty and over the power of our sin, not for the effects of sin.  We further believe that suffering and death, while due to the presence of sin, are not any effect on the atonement of Christ.  God does divinely heal people as He chooses through prayer and sometimes fasting.  The atonement was in our place (substitutionary), paying the penalty to satisfy the wrath of God against sin (penal) and reconciling us to God (vicarious).

Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18

 

20.  Ordinance of Baptism

We believe that our Lord and Saviour clearly prescribed for His believing disciples the simple rite of baptism by full immersion as a symbol and proclamation of the sinner’s death to sin and his resurrection in newness of life in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 23:39-43; Acts 2:38, 8:12, 38-39; Romans 6:3-5;

 1 Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 2:12; 1 John 1:7

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21.  Ordinance of Communion

We believe that our Lord and Saviour clearly prescribed for His believing followers the solemn rite of the Lord’s Supper, known as Communion, as a memorial of the Lord’s death to be kept by His followers until He returns, according to His promise and the Father’s revealed plan.

Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

 

22.  Statement on Marriage

We believe that marriage is an institution created by God between one naturally born man and one naturally born woman for the remainder of their lives, as a symbol of Jesus Christ and His relationship with the Church.  Marriage is to be until death parts the relationship, with the exceptions of sexual immorality or the instigation of divorce by an unbelieving spouse.

Genesis 2:22-24; Proverbs 18:22; Malachi 2:16; Matthew 5:31-32, 19:1-9; Mark 10:2-12; Romans 7:2-3; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16, 39; Ephesians 5:22-33;

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