OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH
WHAT WE BELIEVE
OUR MESSAGE TO THE WORLD:
We believe that God loves all people and wants to have a personal relationship with each one of us. The Bible teaches that since the first man (Adam) sinned, all humans are born sinful and therefore separated from God. Since eternal life is to know God, a person is “spiritually dead” until they are reconciled to God through the forgiveness of sins. We believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth paid the price for our sins when He died on the cross and that He demonstrated His victory over sin and death by his bodily resurrection. He now offers salvation, the forgiveness of sins, to all who repent of their sins and believe in Him. This salvation is a gift of grace that cannot be earned by good works. Those who receive this gift are “born again” into God’s family, adopted by Him as one of His children, and have a new eternal destination (heaven). They become a member of the “Body of Christ” and have a unique part to play in God’s purposes on the earth which they can fulfill only through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.
Based on: John 3:16; John 17:3; Romans 5:12; Isaiah 59:1-2; Colossians 2:13; Colossians 1:13-14; Acts 2:22-24; Acts 2:38; Acts 26:20; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 3:5-7; John 1:12; Romans 8:15-16; Matthew 25:46; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; John 15:16; Acts 1:8.
DOCTRINAL STATEMENTS:
1. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that He is the omnibenevolent, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent creator of the universe.
1 Corinthians 8:5-6; Ephesians 4:4-6; Genesis 1:1-2; John 1:1-18, Psalm 139:7-12.
2. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God; revealing God’s love and His plan of salvation to the world.
1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; John 3:16.
3. We believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that he came to earth in the flesh, was born of a virgin (fully God and fully man), lived a sinless life, died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return in power and glory.
1 John 5:1, 1 John 4:15, 1 John 4:2, Matthew 1:18-25; Hebrews 4:15; John 19:18; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Acts 2:22-24; Acts 1:11; Romans 8:34; Mark 13:23-26.
4. We believe that all men are born sinful, spiritually dead, separated from God, and unable to save themselves. We believe that the only way of salvation and reconciliation with God is through Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We believe that Jesus paid the price to redeem us from the dominion of darkness when he died on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins and demonstrating his victory over sin and death by his bodily resurrection from the dead.
Psalm 51:5; Colossians 2:13; Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 5:6-8; Acts 4:12; 8. 2 Corinthians 5:18; John 14:6; Colossians 1:13; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 2:22-24; 1 Corinthians 15:57.
5. We believe that all humans will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. The “unrighteous” (those who did not accept God’s free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ) will receive eternal punishment and the “righteous” (those who received salvation through Jesus Christ, having a righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith) will receive eternal life. The “righteous” will also be rewarded for the things done while in the body.
2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 3:20-26; Philippians 3:9; Matthew 25:46, Revelation 20:11-15, Romans 2:1-16, Luke 12:33-34, Matthew 16:27, Matthew 5:11-12, 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.
6. We believe that salvation is by grace, through faith, and is received when a person repents of their sins and puts their faith in Jesus Christ, believing in His death and resurrection. We believe that salvation cannot be earned by good works, but that saving faith is always accompanied by good works. We do not believe that followers of Christ will live in sinless perfection in this life but we do believe that grace teaches us to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.
Ephesians 2:8-10; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-13; James 2:14-24; 1 John 1:8; Titus 2:11-14.
7. We believe that when possible, all new believers should be baptized by full immersion in the presence of at least one other believer as a step of obedience and in accordance with the example that Jesus gave us. This physical act represents the death of the old man, the washing away (i.e. forgiveness) of sins and the birth of the new man (born-again into the Kingdom of God, a new creation in Christ Jesus).
Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:9-10; Acts 8:35-39, John 3:1-7, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17.
8. We believe that the Holy Spirit has been sent to the earth to continue Christ’s ministry. This includes baptising, indwelling, communing with, leading, empowering, emboldening, convicting, teaching, revealing Jesus, glorifying Jesus, and giving gifts to all believers.
John 14:15-26; John 16:5-15; John 7:37-39; Matthew 3:11; Acts 2:1-39; Galatians 4:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Romans 8:14; Acts 1:8; Acts 4:31; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.
9. We believe that we should make every effort to keep the Unity of the Spirit between all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, that all true believers are members of His body, the Church, and that our love for one another demonstrates to the world that we truly are His disciples.
Ephesians 4:3; John 13:35; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 27; Ephesians 1:22-23.
10. We believe that the great commission of Jesus (to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything he commanded them) is the responsibility of all believers and that followers of Christ should work together to continue to obey it.
Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:9-15.