What We Believe

Having reflected on the Triune God, we now consider His creation of mankind

Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image—male and female—as the crowning work of creation. The gift of gender is part of God's goodness. Man was created holy under God’s law, but by voluntary transgression fell, becoming sinners by choice, inclined to evil, and under just condemnation. Only the grace of God brings man into holy fellowship and enables fulfillment of His purpose. (Romans 3:23, Psalm 51:5)

Given humanity's condition, it is vital to examine salvation

We believe that salvation is an act of God, through the redemptive work of His Son, Jesus Christ. We are saved by Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone. Salvation is not earned by our own deeds but only through Faith in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”  Through the death of Jesus Christ, the wrath of God was satisfied, and the sins of all who believe in Christ are forgiven.

Repentance

We believe that Repentance and Faith are sacred duties, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God; whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with genuine repentance, confession, and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our perfect Prophet, Priest and King, and relying on Him alone as the only and all-sufficient Savior. Acts 3:19: "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Repentance and faith unite us with Christ, bringing true transformation and lasting hope.

With the experience of repentance and faith comes an assurance, which leads us to consider eternal security

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. John 10:27-28 27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” This security is our confidence and peace through all seasons of life.

Having addressed salvation and security, we turn now to the nature and role of the church.

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation, each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its two scriptural offices are those of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. The New Testament also speaks of the church as the Body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.  (Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Timothy 2:9-14, 3:1-7, 3:8-13)

Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience in which members of the church, by partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. (Romans 6:3–5, 1 Corinthians 10:16)

In the rhythm of church life, special attention is given to the Lord’s Day.

The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Faithful observance of the Lord’s Day renews our devotion and strengthens our walk with God.

Moving from the practices of the present, we consider God’s promises concerning the end times.

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord. In this promised future, we find assurance, purpose, and enduring hope.

The Family

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.

Marriage is the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband, even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle examples and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents. By embracing these responsibilities, families cultivate faith and character for generations to come.