What We Believe

The Bible, consisting of both the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures, is the divinely revealed and inspired word of God. Scriptures are the communicated truths of God to us and therefore are authoritative rules of faith and conduct for human beings.

Supporting Texts: 2 Timothy 3: 16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21: Revelation 22:18-19

There is one God and that he is the creator of all things visible and invisible. He is eternally self-existent, omniscient, immutable, omnipresent, and omnipotent.

Supporting Texts: Genesis 1; 17:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-13; John 8:54-59; Psalms 139:1-10; I Corinthians 8:4-6

The Holy Spirit came forth from the Father to convict the world of sin, to regenerate, sanctify, indwell, empower, teach, lead and comfort those who believe and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.
The fruit of the Spirit are the evidence of a Spirit-filled and mature Christian life. The gifts of the Spirit are given to further the work of ministry and the building up of the Body of Christ.

Supporting Texts: John 3:3-8; 14:26; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 12:1-11; Ephesians 4: 7-15; Romans 8:9; Galatians 5: 16-17, 22-23

Humankind was created in the image of God and sinless but fell through a voluntary act of disobedience and became sinful and depraved. As a result of sin, we became separated from God and were unable to, by our own works or intelligence, change our sinful condition. Although we had not lost the image of God, it became tarnished, broken and in need of restoration through Christs’ atoning sacrifice.

Supporting Texts: Genesis 2: 26; 3:6, 14-19, 23; Romans 3:23; 5: 12-19; Ephesians 2:11-18

Salvation is the work of God through Christ. It is the free gift of God obtained not through good works or human efforts but is brought to sinful man through the grace of God. It is received through faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for the forgiveness of sin and our redemption. Through salvation man can have fellowship with God through Christ and be saved from eternal punishment.

Supporting Texts: John 14:6; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9

The Church is the spiritual body of Christ and is comprised of those who have acknowledged and received Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord. They are born again or regenerated through conversion, water baptism, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The Church is the vehicle through which Christ’s ministry of reconciliation continues to invite sinners into fellowship with God. Although it is comprised of imperfect and fallible people, it is nonetheless of divine origin and is built upon an infallible foundation and guided by the divine Spirit of God.

The Church is a universal body in which all members are connected spiritually, but in a local sense, it is also a community in which believers express their love for Christ through worship, prayer, fellowship, learning and service to the unsaved world and each other.

Supporting Texts: Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:1-4, 46; 12:12; 20:28; Acts1 Corinthians 12:13, 28; 14:12; Ephesians 4: 7-16; 5:23

The Lord’s Supper commemorates the Lord’s suffering and death on the cross for our atonement. The elements of bread and wine are symbolic of his body and blood which, when partaken of, allow believers to remember and celebrate our salvation that was achieved through the ultimate sacrifice on the cross.

Communion provides a time and opportunity to reflect on the experience and meaning of the suffering of Christ.

Supporting Texts: Matthew 26: 26-30; Mark 14: 22-24; 1 Corinthians 11:20-26

Water baptism by immersion symbolically unites the believer in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and serves as the believer’s identification with Christ’s death and resurrection.

Through baptism, the believer proclaims or testifies that he/she was with Christ when Christ was judged for sin, and that he/she was buried with him and has arisen to walk in newness of life with him. Baptism not only identifies the believer with Christ but also with the universal and local body of believers.

Supporting Texts: Matthew 28:19; Mark 16: 15-16; Acts 2: 38-41; 8: 38; Acts 10:44-48; Galatians 3:26

Each believer is to live a sanctified and Christ-centered life, shining as a light in a world darkened by sin. Believers are to exercise personal responsibility in areas such as:

• Occupational Development
• Relationship Building
• Spiritual Development
• Church Attendance
• Christian Giving
• Sharing the Good News of Their Faith with Unbelievers
• Supporting the Ministries of the Church with the Faithful Sharing of Their Material Blessings, Time, and Spiritual Gifts.

Supporting Texts: Hebrews 10: 24-25; Ephesians 4: 7-16; 1 Corinthians 12: 1-31; 16:1; 2 Corinthians 8:7-9; 9:6-7; Galatians 5: 22-23

Marriage, the union between one man and one woman, is God’s will for the foundation of family life through which children are raised, nurtured, and empowered into maturity. The institution of marriage, while a human experience, is not a human invention but of divine order and divine will.

The divine mandate for marriage is that it should be a healthy and enriching human experience in which man and wife are connected in a covenant of love, respect, and intimacy, which should last until one of the spouses dies.

The union between Christ and His Church is used by God to demonstrate the type of sacrificial love relationship that must exist between the man and his wife.

Supporting Texts: Genesis 2:18-25; Ephesians 5:22-33

The Ten Commandments are God’s moral law, eternal and unchanging. They are the fundamental expression of His divine will as it relates to our relationship with Him and others.

Under the New Covenant of Grace, the Ten Commandments find their ultimate meaning and fullest expression through the grace and love of God which are imparted to our hearts through the Holy Spirit. With God’s love in our hearts we can, without being motivated by the letter or consequence of the law, fulfil His ultimate intent for giving the Ten Commandments, which is to love Him with all our hearts and our fellowmen as ourselves, unconditionally.

Supporting Texts: Jeremiah 31:33; Matthew 5:17-20; 22:36-40; Like 16: 17; Romans 3:19-31; 7:7; 13:8-10

The Sabbath, which preceded the nation and laws of Israel, is God’s model of rest for His people. It’s intent is for us to take a meaningful break from our regular activities to offer sacrifices of praise, celebrate, worship, fellowship, and become spiritually renewed as we build our relationship with Him and fellowship with other believers.

In view of this model of rest, God’s eternal law, and the relevance of Sabbath for a world ravished by stress and the cares of life, we believe Sabbath-keeping to be an important part of the Christian life and the perfect opportunity to corporately celebrate the Christ-event without the restraint or intrusion of our everyday secular activities.

Supporting Texts: Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8; Matthew 12:8-12; Luke 4:16; Acts 16:13