The Bible is the very word of God, recorded in history and preserved for our instruction and development.
We believe in the one living God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as Creator and Lord of the universe.
We believe that humanity, while once in perfect fellowship with God, has rebelled against him. This rebellion has resulted in our separation from God. Jesus Christ is the son of God who came to earth in human form, lived amongst us, was crucified, rose to life, and is offering to everyone a new relationship with the Father. God’s Spirit resides in all who have surrendered their lives to Jesus and he is uniting us and empowering us to live lives that please God.
The church is composed of all who have surrendered their lives to Jesus as Lord and Saviour. We believe in gathering together to worship each week to celebrate our faith and to testify of God’s goodness and grace.
We believe in the practices of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, in which we publicly profess our new life in Christ. We believe Jesus will return again to gather those who love Him and to restore all things to their proper order.
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Scripture
We believe that the Old and New Testaments, being the completed canon of 66 books from Genesis to Revelation, were written by holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Spirit – this in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error in any and all parts. As originally written, the Bible does not only contain and convey the word of God, but is the very Word of God, all Scripture being God-breathed.
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The Trinity
Gen 1:1; Deut 6:4; Isa 57:15; Matt 28:19; John 4:24
We believe that God is spirit, eternally existing in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – and these three persons are of one essence and equal in power and glory, therefore to be honoured and worshiped equally as true God. God is above and separate from His creation, yet active in it as preserver.
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Humanity
We believe that humanity was originally sinless and in perfect fellowship with God, but when tempted by Satan we sinned by disobeying God’s revealed will. This act of rebellion resulted in separation from God and physical death. All members of the human race are born in sin and are sinners by nature and practice.
(Gen 3:1-24; Rom 3; 5:12).
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Salvation
John 3:14-18; Acts 20:21; Rom 6:23; 10:13; Eph 2:8, 9; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Tim 2:1-6; Luke 13:34, 35; 19:41-44
We believe that salvation is a free gift of God’s grace, offered to us on the basis of Christ’s substitutionary death for sin on the cross. It is received personally by repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and is in no way obtained or increased by human effort. This salvation contains within itself deliverance from the guilt and penalty of sin, a perfectly righteous standing before God, the provisions for victory over the power of sin, and the promise of future glorification in God’s presence. We affirm that God desires all individuals to be saved from conscious and eternal torment; that Jesus Christ gave Himself a ransom for all men and that in taking the punishment for all individuals, He made a way for all to be saved who place their faith in Him.
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The Church
We believe that the church (ie. the universal Body of Christ) is composed of all those who by faith have been united to the risen and ascended Son of God.
All believers are baptised by the Holy Spirit into Christ at conversion and so become a spiritual body of which Christ is the Head. The members of this church are commanded to assemble in local churches for worship, instruction in the Word, fellowship, prayer and observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
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Christian Behaviour
Rom 13: 1-7; 1 Cor 6:19, 20; Phil 2:5-11; Titus 2:11-14
We believe that the Christian is to glorify God in personal conduct in relation to his family, his vocation, his neighbour and his government. He fulfils this responsibility as he submits to the Lordship of Christ and obeys the Scriptures by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Marriage
We believe marriage was ordained by God at creation and is for the good of society. We affirm that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman, voluntarily entered into for life to the exclusion of all others. We further believe that marriage between a man and a woman is a depiction of Christ and his Church
(Genesis 2:15-25; Matthew 19:1-12; Ephesians 5:22-33; Revelation 19:6-10).
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Satan
We believe that Satan was originally a creature of God of the highest order, but through pride he fell and became the archenemy of God, and the deceiver of humanity. He was joined in his fall by a great ungodly world system. Though his powers are supernatural, they are strictly limited under the rule of a sovereign God.
He was judged at the cross and therefore his final doom is certain
(Ezek 28:12-17; Isa 14:12-14; Eph 2:2; 2 Thess 2:8, 9; 1 Tim 4:1; James 4:7; 1 John 3:8; Rev 17-18; 20:10).
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Hell
It is with a sobering reality that we believe the souls and spirits of the unbelieving remain after death conscious of condemnation and in misery in Hell until the final judgement of the Great White Throne, when soul and body (reunited) will be cast into the Lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting torment from the presence of the Lord
(Mark 9:42-48; Luke 16:19-31; Rev 20:12-15).
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Eschatology
We believe that Jesus will one day return to earth where he will judge those in rebellion against him, usher in his righteous kingdom and rule and reign for all eternity. At his return he will bring with him, from heaven, those who have believed in him and at his command the graves of those same believers will be opened and they will be given a resurrected body, just as Jesus received at his resurrection. Then we will join with him in his kingdom where there will be no more pain or sorrow, only joy because we will be with our God forever
(1 Corinthians 15:35-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 19:11-16; 21:1-22:6).
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Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.— Revelation 22:14
