Statement of Faith
We believe that the Bible was given by Divine inspiration and is the infallible Word of God and without error in the original writings. It constitutes the only perfect rule and final authority in all matters of Christian faith and conduct. (2 Tim. 3:16¹; 2 Peter 1:20²; 1 Thes. 2:13³)
We believe in the one living and true God, perfect, infinite and eternal, existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matt. 28:19⁴; John 10:30⁵; John 15:26⁶; 2 Cor. 13:14⁷; Heb. 1:1-5⁸)
We believe in the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, sinless and perfect in holiness, who was born of the Virgin Mary, who was crucified, who arose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is coming again. (Matt. 16:16⁹; Luke 1:31-33¹⁰; 1 Thes. 4:14-17¹¹; 1 Cor. 15:3-8¹²)
We believe in the necessity of placing our faith and trust wholly in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, who died on the cross for our sins, and to whom, as our risen Lord, we commit the full and complete control of our lives. (Acts 10:43¹³; Romans 12:1,2¹⁴; 2 Cor. 5:21¹⁵; Acts 4:12¹⁶; Acts 2:38¹⁷)
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who is one with the Father and the Son. By the Word and various other means He convicts us of our sinfulness. He points us to Jesus Christ, the Saviour of all who believe on the name of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer and brings about regeneration guiding him into all truth. (John 14:16¹⁸; 15:26⁸; 16:7-14²⁰; 1 Cor. 12:13²¹; Titus 3:5²²; John 1:12²³)
We believe in the following ordinances:
1. Baptism upon personal confession of faith.
2. Holy Communion (Lord’s Supper) observed as a memorial of His atoning sacrifice, with Christ Himself as the Bread of Life.
These are not to be regarded as a means of salvation. (Matt. 28:19⁴; Acts 2:38¹⁷; Acts 8:36, 37²⁴; Matt. 26:26-29²⁵; 1 Cor. 11:23-29²⁶)
We believe in the Scriptural teaching of Church Discipline. (Matt. 18:15-18²⁷; 1 Cor. 5:5²⁸; 6:1-7²⁹; Titus 3:10³⁰; Gal. 6:1³¹)
We believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation and the continual filling of the Holy Spirit as the believer, moment by moment, submits to His leadership. Though we do recognize all the “gifts of the Spirit” we do not publicly practice the “sign gifts” (healings, miracles and tongues). (Acts 1, 2³⁶; 1 Cor. 12, 13³⁷; John 14³⁸; 1 Cor. 2:12³²; Eph. 4:11-15³³)
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, of the believer to Everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord, of the unbeliever to Judgment and everlasting conscious punishment. (Luke 16:19-31³⁴; John 5:25-29³⁵)
English Standard Version (ESV) References:
¹ 2 Timothy 3:16 - "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,"
² 2 Peter 1:20 - "knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation."
³ 1 Thessalonians 2:13 - "And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers."
⁴ Matthew 28:19 - "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"
⁵ John 10:30 - "I and the Father are one."
⁶ John 15:26 - "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me."
⁷ 2 Corinthians 13:14 - "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
⁸ Hebrews 1:1-5 - "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again,
“I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?"
⁹ Matthew 16:16 - "Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”"
¹⁰ Luke 1:31-33 - "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
¹¹ 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 - "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."
¹² 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 - "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me."
¹³ Acts 10:43 - "To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
¹⁴ Romans 12:1-2 - "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
¹⁵ 2 Corinthians 5:21 - "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
¹⁶ Acts 4:12 - "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
¹⁷ Acts 2:38 - "And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.""
¹⁸ John 14:16 - "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,"
²⁰ John 16:7-14 - "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you."
²¹ 1 Corinthians 12:13 - "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit."
²² Titus 3:5 - "he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,"
²³ John 1:12 - "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,"
²⁴ Acts 8:36 (37) - "And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”" (And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”)
²⁵ Matthew 26:26-29 - "Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”"
²⁶ 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 - "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself."
²⁷ Matthew 18:15-18 - “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
²⁸ 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 - "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord."
²⁹ 1 Corinthians 6:1-7 - "When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?"
³⁰ Titus 3:10 - "As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him,"
³¹ Galatians 6:1 - "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."
³² 1 Corinthians 2:12 - "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God."
³³ Ephesians 4:11-15 - "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,"
³⁴ Luke 16:19-31 - “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
³⁵ John 5:25-29 - “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment."