The Bible
We believe the Bible (66 Books) is the Word of God. It was breathed out by God (2 Tim 3:16) and written down by faithful servants guided by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), so it is without error to enlighten us as to God’s person and plan for humanity. It has been preserved by God faithfully and accurately transcribed and translated and is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21).
Truine GOD
We believe in One God (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6; 1 Timothy 2:5), who eternally exists (Deuteronomy 33:27) in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; Hebrews 9:14), who are co-equal.
The Lord Jesus Christ
We believe The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God (John 1:1,14; 1 Timothy 3:16) and fully human (1 Timothy 2:5-6). He was the pre-existing eternal son of God. He was conceived through the power of the eternal spirit to be born of a virgin (Luke 1:35), sinless and perfect (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21). He physically died on the cross for our sins, was buried, rose bodily from the dead (Luke 24:39; Acts 2:25-33), and ascended to Heaven (Acts 1:9-11; Ephesians 1:20-23), where He now ministers as our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16;9:24).
The Holy Spirit
We believe The Holy Spirit is a person, not an “influence”. His work is to convict us of sin (John 16:8-11) and regenerates us to new birth (John 3:6-8; Titus 3:5) when we trust Christ for salvation. At the point of believing we are baptised with the Spirit and placed into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). Believers are permanently indwelt by the Spirit (John 14:16-17; Romans 8:9, 11) and sealed by the Spirit as a guarantee of final salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Spirit dwelling in each believer empowers us to live godly lives (Galatians 5:16, 22-23) and equips each with spiritual gift(s) to serve the church (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
Humanity
We believe the creation of the world was completed in 6 days by the purpose and the power of God. Human beings were created as male and female in the image of God, and are composed of body, soul and spirit (Gen 1 & 2).
Sin
We believe every member of the human race is born with a sinful nature, inherited from our first parents who disobeyed Gods Word (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1). This nature and the subsequent sins we all commit separate us from God in His holiness and bring us under condemnation (physical death and future spiritual judgement) (Ephesians 2:1; Hebrews 9:27).
Salvation
We believe a new spiritual birth is required to be made right with God (John 1:12-13; 3:1-11; 1 Peter 1:23, 1 John 5:1). The Father sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for everyone, and is the one true and living way to the Father (Ephesians 1:3-7; John 3:16; John 14:6). The blood sacrifice of Christ, the only human without sin by nature and practice, is unlimited and sufficient to pay the penalty of sin for all of mankind (1 John 2:2; 1 Timothy 4:10) and is the only payment for sin accepted by God (John 19:30; Hebrews 10:10-14, 18), who confirmed His approval through Christ’s resurrection (Acts 2:22-24). When we admit our sin and failure to meet God’s standard, accept that Christ has died in our place and that God has raised him from the dead and acknowledge He is our Lord (Rom 10:9), The Spirit applies the work of Christ to our lives (Titus 3:5-7). God gives us His Spirit, transforming our hearts and minds to be like Christ, with a love for His Word, His people and a desire to tell others about Him. Salvation is by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:5-9) alone and not by good works or a good life. Every true child of God possesses eternal life and is safe for all eternity (John 3:16; 5:24; 10:27-29). In obedience to Christ’s request those who have been saved are baptised (Matthew 28:18-19), by full immersion in water, to publicly demonstrate the spiritual truth that upon believing we died, were buried and raised to new life in Christ (Rom 6:1-9). It is not a washing/cleansing for sin or requirement for salvation.
The Church
We believe there are two aspects of the Church: a). The Universal Church, “Body of Christ” of which Christ is the Head, consists of all believers from the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Act 2) to the return of Christ, (Eph 1:22-23). b). The Local Church consists of all baptised believers who consistently meet together in the “Lord’s Name” for Bible teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and prayers (Act 2:41-42), in a specific location. Each local gathering is autonomous, led by a plurality of elders (Acts 14:23; 20:17) raised up by the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:28) and is responsible to Christ alone, not an earthly authority or denomination.
God’s Plan for the Ages
We believe God’s ultimate goal and purpose is to place the universe under the authority of the Man Christ Jesus, and His Church (Eph 1:9-12). We anticipate the personal and imminent return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:28), for the Church prior God’s judgement of the world, for their rejection of His son, to bring Israel back to God. The two distinct bodily resurrections and judgements of the saved and the lost (Philippians 3:21; John 5:28, 29; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; Revelation 20:12-13) result in the eternal joy of the saved (Philippians 1:23; Revelation 22:4-5) and the eternal conscious punishment of the lost (Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation 20:4-15).