What We Believe
We Believe…
[1] in a one true and living God, who has existed from all eternity in three blessed persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God alone is the Creator, Preserver and Governor of all things visible and invisible, who will never forsake the work of his hands, nor anyone who truly cries out to him for mercy.
[2] that the eternal Son of God, incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus was God with us, embodying God’s power, grace and truth among us in word and deed. After living a life of perfect obedience to his Father in the land of the Jews, Jesus died on the cross to atone for all our sins. Through his death and bodily resurrection, Christ not only defeated the powers of darkness, but rescued his people from sin and judgment, so as to unite in him all things in heaven and on earth. After he ascended, Jesus was seated above all authority and power at God’s right hand, where He now represents his people until he returns,
[3] that the Holy Spirit is both the Lord and Giver of life in every form, sent from above by the Father and the Son, to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment; and to enlighten our hearts in the true knowledge of our Saviour, to guide the church in all the truth, and to adorn our lives with that grace and holiness without which none will be able to walk in love before him and with their neighbour,
[4] that the Bible alone—consisting of the Old and the New Testament—is to be called Holy Scripture among all books ever published, because it is the authoritative written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and inerrant in all that it teaches. It is the only trustworthy rule of faith and life and the final authority in all the disputes among men. The teachings of Holy Scripture are grasped through careful study and prayerful reflection, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
[5] that God created humankind, male and female, in His image. God’s design for marriage was the spiritual and physical union of one man and one woman with each other for life. Man’s purpose in life is to worship and glorify God, to love his neighbour as himself, and to be thankful stewards of God’s good creation and abundant gifts,
[6] that sin and suffering entered God’s perfect world when Adam and Eve listened to the serpent in the garden, when they ate that which was clearly forbidden, plunging the human race into untold misery. By falling into sin, guilt, and shame, humankind incurred God’s wrath, from which they will only be delivered by his sovereign grace.
[7] that God in his kindness and mercy promised to redeem all sinners who repent of their sin, forsake the world and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Through faith in his Son, they are declared just before him, adopted as His children, and sealed with the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of their eternal inheritance, who also equips and empowers them for their high calling in this world,
[8] that the one holy, catholic and apostolic church—existing in local communities of faith—is the body and bride of Christ, united to him through baptism, and spiritually nourished by body and blood until he comes. She is sent into the world to embody the unity in the Trinity, to proclaim the Gospel, and to exhibit God’s love, truth and justice to a lost and broken humanity, while seeking to make disciples of all nations,
[9] that our Lord Jesus Christ will appear again as judge of the living and the dead, when the righteous will enter into everlasting life, but the unrighteous into everlasting death and shame. Our Father will then consummate His kingdom, which is the new heavens and the new earth, where the devil, sin, shame, suffering will never be able to enter into again. To him alone be the glory for ever and ever!
