Doctrines

1. We believe in one God, the creator and sustainer of the universe and everything in it, an infinite, all-knowing Spirit, perfect in all His attributes, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to whom equal honour is due (Deut.6:4, Gen.1:2,26, John 1:1-2, 5:17,22,23, 14:25,26, 16:7,27,28, Phil.2:6, Heb.1:1-3,8).

This means that The Father is God, Jesus the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. All three have always existed as the one true God who created all things, yet each are distinct persons.

2. We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He is true God and true man in one unique being (John 1:14, Rom.8:3, Gal.4:4, Matt.1:20-25, Luke 1:35).

This means that God who has always existed without beginning, became a human being, Jesus Christ, and in doing so, did not cease to be God.

3. We believe in the Deity and personality of the Holy Spirit, and His sovereign work in the Church today, energising, teaching, renewing, filling and maturing each believer (John 16:8-11, Eph 5:18, Col 1:11, Phil 2:13).

This means that the Holy Spirit is God and is a person, whose personal presence and activity is an essential part of Christian living.

4. We believe the Bible is verbally inspired by God, inerrant (in the original) and the only authority for faith and practice. We believe in the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures and teach the literal, grammatical-historical interpretation of Scripture (2 Tim.3:15-17, 1 Peter 1:10-12, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Psa.19:7-11).

This means that God has moved the human writers of the Bible to write down the truth about Himself, humanity, the universe and the purpose of living. The Bible provides guidelines to govern human behaviour. The principles contained in the Bible are appropriate, relevant and adequate for all aspects of living.

5. We believe that mankind was created in the image of God yet endowed with the capacity to obey or disobey God. Those who chose to disobey incurred God’s judgment of physical, spiritual and eternal death. Every human is born with a sinful nature and needs the miracle of new birth before he/she can enter the Kingdom of God (Gen 1:27, Psa.53:2-3, Luke 19:10, Rom.3:19, 5:6,12-19, 8:5-7, John 3:3).

This means that though made in the likeness of God, the first humans chose to disobey God’s commands thus destroying their ability to know God fully and to enjoy His friendship. Every human has inherited a sinful nature, making it impossible to live a life that pleases God, showing the need for a new nature from God.

6. a. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on a cross for the sins of the world. He died as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice. All who believe in Him are forgiven and justified on the grounds of His shed blood (Rom.4:25, 1 Cor. 15:3-4, 2 Cor.5:21, Heb.9:24-28, 10:12-14).
b. We believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, His ascension into heaven, and His present life there for us as High Priest and Advocate (Matt. 28:5-7, Mark 16:19,20, Luke 24:50,51, Acts 1:9, Eph.4:8-10, Heb.4:14-16, 7:25).
c. We believe in the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church and the establishing of His Kingdom on earth (John 14:3, 1Thess.4:3-18, Luke 1:32,33, Isa.9:6,7, Dan.2:44,45).

This means that Jesus Christ came into the world to reveal God to mankind, to teach and demonstrate His love, and to provide a means for all people to be brought back into a right relationship with God.
The death of Jesus on the cross was a sacrifice, where He took the punishment for all our wrongdoing so we could be put right with God. Jesus was raised from death and now lives forever to demonstrate God’s victory over Satan, evil and death, and to show God’s acceptance of His sacrifice. He is now in heaven where He continues to encourage, guide and pray for His people. He will return soon to rule over the nations.

7. We believe that sinners are justified before God by faith alone as a gift of God’s grace (Rom.3:21-26, 4:4,5, 5:1, Gal.2:16, Eph.2:8-9).

This means that unrighteous people are declared to be righteous by God (put right with Him) on the basis of their trust in the Lord Jesus and His death. This acceptance before God is not earned in any way, but is a free gift of God for those who believe in Christ.

8. a. We believe that all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are born-again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God (John 3:3-8, 1 Peter 1:2).
b. We believe that at the moment of conversion, they are baptised by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, His Church, which consists of all true believers (1 Cor. 12:13, Titus 3:4-7, 2 Thess.2:13,14).

This means that at the point in time when a person trusts in the Lord Jesus as Saviour and Lord, they receive the Holy Spirit who begins living in their body, and gives new birth and spiritual baptism into a vital relationship with Christ and His church. The continuing presence and activity of the Holy Spirit is an essential part of Christian living.

9. We believe that all who are born of God show their faith to be genuine by holiness of life and good works. We further believe that God only sanctifies heterosexual marriage. Morality as prescribed in the New Testament is the standard Christians are called to adopt (Eph.2:10, 4:24, Titus 3:4-8, 1 John 3:9, James 2:17, 1 Thess. 4:1-8, Matt. 19:3-6).

This means that a person who claims to have faith shows it by submission to the Lordship of Christ. A life of holiness and good works is not a condition for a person to be saved, but is evidence that their faith is genuine.

10. We believe that at death the human spirit does not cease to exist, or become unconscious. We believe that the dead will be raised either to life or to condemnation, and that the blessedness of the righteous and the punishment of the unrighteous will be for duration without end (Ecc.12:7, Luke 16:19-31, 23:43, 2 Cor.5:6-8, 1 Cor.15:51-57, Rom.14:9,10, 2 Cor.5:10, Acts 17:31, Rev.20:11-15, Matt.25:46).

This means that there is life after death. That at the point of leaving this life the person’s spirit goes either to be in God’s presence forever (if they have trusted Christ as their Saviour) or be eternally separated from God’s presence in everlasting punishment (if they have not received God’s new life). Death is not the end of the human spirit’s existence. Neither is there a return to earth in another life form (Reincarnation).

11. We believe in the personality of the devil, called the Evil One or Satan, who deceives the whole world. We are assured of his eventual destruction and eternal punishment in hell because of Christ’s victory over him at the cross (Rev.21:9-10, Matt.4:2-11, John 8:44, Heb. 2:14).

This means that there is an evil mastermind in the world operating against God. He causes disobedience and sin in humans, and works destruction in nature and the universe. He rules the powers of evil in the spirit world, but his destiny is eternal hell.

Practices

1. We believe in baptism by immersion of those who are able to make a clear confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt.28:18-20, Acts 2:41,42, 8:36,38, 10:47,48).

We practice the ordinance of believer’s baptism by immersion in water upon personal confession of faith. When a person requests baptism, arrangements are made to ascertain a person’s eligibility, and a baptism service follows shortly after. Baptism does not result in a person’s salvation but is the outward expression of a person’s faith in the Lord Jesus as personal Saviour and Lord.

Our practice is to baptise by immersion those who are able to make a clear confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and who have a clear understanding of the meaning of baptism. The occurrences of baptisms in the New Testament indicate that there was a volume of water present and that the person being baptised was immersed in it (Matthew 3:16; Acts 8:38,39). The word for ‘baptise’ in the original Greek New Testament means ‘to dip under’ ‘to plunge’ or ‘to immerse’. In addition, to baptise by immersion is the most appropriate way to symbolise the identification with Jesus’ burial and resurrection.

2. We believe that communion occupies a central place in the worship of the church (Luke 22:19,20, Acts 20:7, 1 Cor.11:23-26).

We practice the weekly remembrance of the Lord’s death in the Communion The Lord’s Supper is held weekly, and was given by Jesus Christ as a remembrance of His death for us on the cross. We believe that it is the birthright privilege of all Christians to share in Communion (Rom.14:1, Rom.15:7, 1 Cor.11:28).

The Gospels record Jesus’ institution of what we call communion (Matthew 26:26-30; Luke 22:17-23). The cup that we drink is a cup of thanksgiving (1 Corinthians 10:16). Every time we eat the bread and drink the cup we remember Jesus and we proclaim His death (1 Corinthians 11:24,25). In the light of passages such as Hebrews 9:25,26 we don’t believe that there is any element of a renewed sacrifice of Jesus in communion necessitating the leadership of a specially qualified priest.

3. We believe that generosity with material possessions reflects a true grasp of the Gospel and all of its implications. To regularly give a portion of our income is something we encourage all to do (1 Corinthians 16:1-2, 2 Corinthians 9:6-11).

In the Old Testament the people of Israel were to give God one tenth of their produce and their herds (Leviticus 27:30-32; Deuteronomy 14:22). Not to bring the tithes is to rob God (Malachi 38) and renewed commitment to tithing was a part of spiritual revival (2 Chronicles 31:5,6,12; Nehemiah 10:37,38; 12:44; 13:5,12; Malachi 3:10).

Although tithing is not specifically taught in the New Testament, we believe that the O.T. principle of tithing is a biblical guideline which believers should endeavour to follow. We therefore encourage all in the church fellowship to regularly aim at giving one tenth of their income as a minimum. We make no attempt to be prescriptive about how this money is given but encourage all to give to those areas of need where God gives a sense of burden. The ministry of the local church is greatly helped by faithful giving, and in view of Galatians 6:6 we believe that those who benefit from the life of the church have a responsibility to direct part of their giving to the church.

3. We believe in and practice the priesthood of all believers in our corporate worship (1 Pet. 2:5, 9-10).

All Christians are on the same level before God, and as priests, can share verbally in worship whether male or female, new believers or mature.

4. We believe in the autonomy of the local church with elders appointed to lead and manage the church.

The church is an autonomous group of Christians whose organisation, administration and spiritual care is the responsibility of the appointed elders who are answerable in all matters to the Lord Jesus who is the Head of the Church, and not to any national or international religious body or organisation. The pastor is one among equals with the elders, and represents them in a leadership role, along with pastoral and teaching responsibilities within the church family.

5. We do not encourage or practice the use of miraculous ‘sign gifts’ in public worship or in any church meetings (1 Corinthians 14:23-25).

We believe God equips all believers with spiritual gifts that are to be used for the building up of the Body of Christ. However we do not encourage or practice the use of miraculous ‘sign gifts’ in public worship or in any church meetings.