We believe that God has revealed himself in the Bible, which consists of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that the Bible was written by people as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20-21). The result was that every word was inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:16) and therefore the original manuscripts contained no errors. We believe that the Bible is God’s Word and speaks with final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

We believe there is one God (Deut. 6:4, Isa. 45:5-7, Rom. 3:30; 1 Cor. 8:4), who exists eternally as three persons – The Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Each person of the Godhead is equal in essence and nature, but distinct in their roles. So, we affirm the doctrine of the Trinity (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6). God is sovereign over all things, yet this in no way makes Him the author of sin, nor does it reduce the moral responsibility of His creatures. So, we affirm that His divine determination and man’s determination are compatible truths.

God the Father is the first person of the Trinity. His Fatherhood denotes His relationship to the Son, firstly within the Trinity (Jn. 17) and secondly with mankind – He is the Creator of all people (1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 3:14) and the perfect Father of all believers (Matt. 5:16; 6:9).

We believe that the Son of God is the second person of the Trinity who has existed from all eternity (Jn. 1:1-3). He is of the same essence of God the Father and is co-eternal and co-equal with Him (Jn. 8:58; 10:27-30; 20:28; Rom. 9:5, Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:1-3; 8-9 (cf. Ps. 110); 1 Jn. 5:20). Christ’s submission to His Father on earth did not make Him any less God or worthy of worship (1 Cor. 11:3). Theologians sometimes refer to this trinitarian concept as “ontological equality but economic subordination,” which means that Jesus equal but subordinate in role to the Father.

When He came to earth in the likeness of human flesh (Rom. 8:4) as a Jewish descendent of David (Rom. 1:3; 9:5), He was born of the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:25), and He willingly limited some of His divine qualities in order to live as a man, experience temptation, and die on a cross (Phil. 2:5-8). However, He never sinned (Heb. 4:15). Therefore, we affirm that He is fully God and fully Man.

We believe that Christ was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures which confirmed His deity and the acceptance of His atoning work on the cross (1 Cor. 1:3-5). His bodily resurrection is the foundation and first-fruits of the future bodily resurrection for all believers (1 Cor. 15:20-23; 1 Thess. 4:14-17).

We believe that after His resurrection He was seated at the right hand of God the Father far above every human and spiritual authority in the universe (Eph. 1:20-21), given as the head of the church (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18), and appointed as both the judge and Lord of all people (Acts 17:31; Rom. 1:2-4). 

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead. He is co-equal with the Father and the Son (Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 3:17) yet submits to the Son just as the Son submits to the Father (Jn. 16:13-15). He is a living person – For example He is intelligent, (1 Cor. 2:10-13), has emotions (Eph. 4:30), and a will (1 Cor. 12:11).

We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is vital to spiritual growth for He sanctifies (1 Thess. 4:8), empowers (Acts 1:8), fills (Eph. 5:18), illuminates (1 Cor. 2:11-14), and supernaturally gifts (1 Cor. 12:7) God’s people to be able to serve the body of Christ and to live in obedience to God (Rom. 8:11).

We believe that all men and women have been created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) and have been endowed with dignity and worth by Him (Ps. 8:5). However, because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience the image of God in mankind was distorted, and therefore they incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death becoming subject to the wrath of God (Jn. 3:36; Eph. 2:3). 

We believe in the concept of “corporate solidarity.” This means that Adam as the first man and his actions represented all of mankind. Since Adam is the representative of all human beings, his sin was at the same time the sin of us all (Rom. 5:12). Adam’s disobedience brought sin, death, and condemnation to all mankind (Rom. 5:15-19). When Adam lost his authority and identity as a child of God, so did all his descendants. 

As a result of the Fall (Gen. 3:1-19) all people sin because they are born sinners – They are children of the devil (Jn. 8:44; 1 Jn. 3:8), blind to spiritual truth (2 Cor. 4:3-4), enslaved to the power of sin (Jn. 8:34; Rom. 6:6), dead in their sins (Eph. 2:1), in moral and spiritual darkness (Eph. 5:8; 1 Thess. 5:5), and unable to come to God no more than a dead person like Lazarus could bring himself back to life (Jn. 11:43-44). 

While God the Father chose some sinners for salvation before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-6) and the Son of God accomplished their redemption on the cross (Eph. 1:7; Col. 2:14), the Holy Spirit applies the finished work of Jesus by regenerating them through the gospel (Jn. 3:3-8; Tit. 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:23-25) and therefore enabling them to come to saving faith (Jn. 16:8-11). Christ’s death was voluntary (Jn. 10:17-18), substitutionary (Rom. 5:8; 1 Pet. 2:24), and propitiatory (Rom. 3:25-26; 1 Jn. 2:2).

We believe that salvation is wholly of God, offered as a gift by His grace, on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ, not on the basis of any human will or work (Jn. 1:12, Rom. 9:11-18; Eph. 2:8-10). The gospel message is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day. All these historical events happened according to the prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:1-5).

Since all people are born spiritually separated from God and totally depraved and corrupted by sin, they are powerless to make themselves right with God either by their own will (Rom. 9:16) or their own good works (Rom. 3:20). Therefore, God must regenerate or make sinners spiritually alive (Jn. 3:3-8; Eph. 2:4-9; Tit. 3:5). Those who appropriate God’s gift of salvation through repentance and faith in Christ’s finished work of the cross are saved. 

We believe that all believers, by virtue of their union with Christ, fulfil the requirement of the law and are declared as righteous in God’s sight at the moment they place their faith in Jesus Christ alone (Rom. 5:1; 8:1-4). They are no longer defined by their sin but by their new identity in Christ as “saints” (1 Cor. 1:2). Through the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit they are children of God and able to please God by faith (Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 2:20). 

We believe that salvation is best understood as an “already-not-yet” reality. All believers have already been justified before God and as a result are free from the power of sin (Rom. 6:6, 14). However, they are still being saved (1 Cor. 1:18) as they are daily being changed into the image of Christ by the Word (Jn. 17:17) and the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). Sanctification is the necessary outcome of justification (Rom. 6:7; 14-23) and the will of God (1 Thess. 4:3). Only after death will believers be glorified (Rom. 8:30). 

We believe in one universal church – built on the confession of the Lordship of Christ (Matt. 16:18) and expressed in local congregations throughout the world – which is made up of all those who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Jesus is the only and supreme head of the church (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18). Membership into the universal church takes place at conversion when the Holy Spirit baptizes believers into His body (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:5; 5:30). All believers are equal in the body of Christ irrespective of their gender, ethnicity, race, culture, status etc. (Gal. 3:27-28).

We believe that the primary purpose of the Church is to glorify God (Eph. 3:21) by building itself up in the Faith (Eph. 4:11-16) through the teaching of the Word (2 Tim. 2:2), through fellowship (Acts 2:42), by keeping the ordinances (Luke 22:19, Acts 2:38-42), and through involvement in taking the Gospel to the whole world (Matt. 28:19, Acts 1:8).

We believe that the church was a mystery hidden in the Old Testament, and only revealed for this first time in the New Testament to the holy apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20; 3:5). Therefore, we teach that Pentecost was the birth of the church (Acts 2). The mystery of the church was that Jewish and Gentile believers would co-exist together in the body of Christ as one new man (Eph. 2:15).

 

We believe in the priesthood of all believers. Peter taught that all believers are part of a “royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9) who are invited to “offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5). The author of Hebrews also viewed Christians as priests in service to God (Heb. 10:19; 13:15). The clearest Scripture that teaches that all believers are priests to God is found in the letter of Revelation (Rev. 1:6). Based on this overwhelming evidence, Martin Luther of the Reformation felt strongly that the word priest should become as common as the word Christian!

We believe in the plurality of elders (also called overseers, bishops, pastors) who are responsible to lead or serve local churches/congregations as under shepherds of the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 5:1-4; 1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Tim. 5:17). These men must be qualified according to the requirements laid out by the apostle Paul (1 Tim. 3:1-13, Tit. 1:5-9). These elders serve the church by having spiritual oversight over the church which includes preaching/teaching of sound doctrine, protection of the church from false doctrine, caring for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of its members, and ensuring that members are maturing in Christlikeness and participating in God’s redemptive mission in the world. 

We believe that God supernaturally gives each of His children at least one spiritual gift, which is essentially serving gifts (1 Pet. 4:10-11). We define a spiritual gift as “a God-given ability for service and the equipping of the church.” They are given graciously and sovereignly by the trinity (1 Cor. 12:11; Rom. 12:3, 6; Eph. 4:7-8); are given at the moment of salvation (1 Cor. 12:13); and are given for the purpose of serving others in love (1 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 4:12; 1 Cor. 13). We also believe that God has given gifted men and women to the church for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:7-12). It is essential that every believer discovers, develops and uses his or her spiritual gift for the purpose of edifying the rest of the body and for accomplishing the work of the Lord until He returns (Rom. 12:4-8).

Regarding the operation of the spiritual gifts today, we would be happy to view ourselves as “open but cautious” on the matter. On the one hand, we are open to the miraculous spiritual gifts as we believe that they are essential to a healthy growing gospel-centered church. We do not persuaded by cessationist arguments which maintain that Scripture teaches that the gifts have ceased, but we believe that all the gifts are still in operation today. However, since we believe that God has ceased to provide inspired revelation, we do not believe that apostles and prophets function with the same authority today as those in the early church. Modern apostles and prophets’ function more as missionaries and spokesmen of God’s written Word. Yet, on the other hand, we are cautious because we recognize that many churches have abused these gifts and have sadly been divided by them. So, while we are open to the miraculous spiritual gifts, we strive to create a culture of order and unity in our Sunday services because we believe that our God is a God of peace and order (1 Cor. 14:33, 40). 

We believe that the Lord has commanded the local church to observe two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38-42).

We believe in believer’s baptism (not infant baptism) by immersion (Acts 8:35-39). Water baptism reflects the spiritual reality that a believer has been united in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ at moment of their conversion (Rom. 6:3-5). So, water baptism is not the act of salvation but merely a testimony of their salvation. While baptism is not required for salvation, it is a biblical command and not to be baptized is disobedience to God’s Word (Matt. 28:19-20). It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the wider universal church (Acts 2:41-42).

We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of Jesus’ death until He comes and should always be preceded by solemn self-examination (1 Cor. 11:23-32). The Lord’s Supper is a special communion with the risen Christ fellowshipping with His people (1 Cor. 10:16). The elements of bread and wine are the symbols of and not actually His flesh and blood (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will personally return in His resurrection body (1 Thess. 4:13-18, Tit. 2:11-13) for the purpose of giving those who have already died in Christ their resurrected bodies and for gathering from the earth all those who make up His Church. At that time, they will all receive their physical resurrection bodies (1 Cor. 15:51-53).

We believe that the Bible teaches that there will be two kinds of resurrection – The resurrection unto life and the resurrection unto judgement (Jn. 5:28-29). Since the Bible also describes the resurrection unto life as the “first resurrection” (Rev. 20:5-6), we can equally use the labels – First and Second resurrection. The Second resurrection is a resurrection of all unbelievers (Rev. 20:11-15). On the other hand, the First resurrection is a resurrection of all believers (1 Cor. 15:20-23).

We believe that Christ will return to earth in glory to occupy the throne of David (Matt. 25:31, Lk. 1:31-33) and establish His Messianic Kingdom for a thousand years on the earth (Rev. 20:1-8). During this time the saints will reign with Him over Israel and all the nations of the earth.

We believe that after the end of the millennial Kingdom, the elements of this earth and the whole of the corrupted creation will be dissolved (2 Pet. 3:10) and replaced with a new heaven and earth without any corruption and unrighteousness (Eph. 5:5, Rev. 20:15, 21:1-2), a heavenly city will come down from heaven to the new earth (Rev. 21:2). In that city the saints will live and forever enjoy fellowship with God and with each other (Rev. 21-22).