What We Believe
The following is a statement of what we believe.
It is not a creed, it is simply a list of what we believe.
We Believe
- The full and verbal inspiration of all the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures as originally given, and of these alone; their being in themselves the Word of God, without error, and wholly reliable in both fact and doctrine; their final authority and perpetual sufficiency in all matters of faith and practice.
- The unity of the Godhead and the divine co-equality of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; the sovereignty of God in creation, providence, and redemption.
- The total depravity of human nature in consequence of the fall, and the necessity for regeneration.
- The true and proper Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ; His virgin birth; His real and perfect manhood; the authority of His teaching, and the infallibility of all His utterances; His work of atonement for sinners of mankind by His substitutionary sufferings and death; His bodily resurrection and His ascension into Heaven; and His present priestly intercession for His people at the right hand of the Father.
- The justification of the sinner solely by faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
- The work of the Holy Spirit as essential for a true and spiritual understanding of the Scriptures; for regeneration, conversion, and sanctification, and for ministry and worship.
- The universal Church, the body of which Christ is the Head, embracing all the redeemed, called by God through the Gospel, born of the Spirit and justified by faith, the local church, comprising such believers as the expression of the universal Church; and fellowship between such churches, manifesting the unity of the body of Christ.
- The ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as being instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, but not in Baptism as conveying regenerating grace, nor in the Lord’s Supper as being a sacrifice for sin or involving any change in the substance of the bread and wine.
- The personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory.
- The resurrection of the body; the judgement of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, with the eternal blessedness of the righteous and the eternal punishment of the wicked.
Additional Notes -The Bible
- “The full and verbal inspiration” The Bible has come from God (2 Timothy Ch. 3 v 16). This includes not only the general ideas, but the words themselves, albeit using the abilities and personalities of the writers.
- “of all the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures” The Bible is essentially one book: we cannot pick and choose which parts to believe and obey.
- “as originally given” The Bible was perfect when it came from God. As we do not now have the original manuscripts, copying errors have crept in. These variations do not affect any basic teaching.
- “and of these alone” No other book can be compared to the Bible in its spiritual value. No other has ever been generally accepted by Christians.
- “their being in themselves the word of God” Through the Bible God speaks to men in general and to individuals who are willing to listen.
- “without error, and wholly reliable in both fact and doctrine” The Bible is not only accurate in what it tells us about God, but also in recording historical facts. Where the Bible has been checked by history and archaeology it has always proved to be correct.
- “their final authority” The Bible guides us in all that we believe and practise. Everything is judged by its agreement or conflict with Scripture.
- “and perpetual sufficiency in all matters of faith and practice” God and His revelation do not change with the time (Jude v 3). The Bible enables men to deal with questions arising in any century.
Simple explanations of some difficult words.
Please note these are simple explanations to aid the understanding of readers who may be unfamiliar with them. They are not complete definitions.
Godhead: The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit as the three personalities of God. The Trinity.
Sovereignty: In Biblical times kings, “sovereigns”, had total command, absolute authority over their lands and people. The king’s word was law. God, and God alone, has ultimate authority and power over this world.
Creation: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1v1.
Providence: “Seeing before.” Everything we have in this world has been provided by God and God alone. This leaves no room for chance or luck.
Redemption: The payment of a price to get something back or to set someone free. Christ payed the price on the cross for our redemption from sin.
Fall: Recorded in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin came into the world. Hence the “fall of man.”
Justification: To make right, holy, just or innocent. To be aquitted of all charges of guilt. Used in the New Testament to mean justification of Christians by God.
Regeneration: Being born again, John 5 v 3. The Holy Spirit gives the new believer a new life focussed upon pleasing God.
Atonement: The payment of a price which appeases the anger of an offended party. The effect upon the one who receives payment in redemption. Christ is the atonement for sinners.
Deity: Dictionary “the rank or essence of a god”The Lord Jesus Christ having the rank and essence of God, i.e. being God.
Utterances: Sayings and words. Modern English = “the infallibility of everything He said.”
Baptism: The Lord Jesus Christ commanded that all believers be baptized as a public witness to their new faith and life within. It is the act of immersing (submerging) the believer in water. As the believer goes down into the water, they signify the death of the Lord Jesus. As they are under the water, they signify the burial of the Lord Jesus. As they come out of the water, they signify the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
The Lord’s Supper: On the night before His death, Christ celebrated the Passover with His disciples. He broke bread and passed it around the disciples. He took wine and passed it around the disciples. He said “Do this in remembrance of Me.” The Lord’s Supper (Breaking of Bread, Communion) is an act of remembrance. Not as in having forgot, but in the sense of deliberately recalling to mind, as one might go over the events of the day before going to sleep. It is an act of remembrance of His sacrifice and what He has achieved through it. It is an act of worship because if this and it is an act of fellowship.
Bread: A symbol of Christ’s body, broken on the cross. A symbol of his sacrifice. By eating, we say “This is true for me. Christ died for me.”
Wine: A symbol of the new covenant between God and Man, sealed with the blood of Christ. By drinking the wine we say “This is true for me. Christ’s blood was shed for me.”