What We Believe

We believe in one God, perfect and unchangeable in holiness, justice, wisdom and love. He alone is the Almighty Creator of all things, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. He sustains and governs all things throughout all time according to his sovereign will for his own glory. This one God exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each worthy of all glory, honour and praise.

We believe that God has revealed himself in the Bible. The whole Bible, which consists of the Old and New Testament Scriptures alone, speaks of his promises of salvation in Christ. Every word of these Scriptures was inspired by God through human authors. The Bible as originally given is therefore in its entirety the Word of God, without error and fully reliable. As fallen, finite humans we can never know the Bible exhaustively. However, with the Spirit’s help, the Bible’s message of salvation is clear to all who seek God’s will and are willing to live by it. The Bible alone speaks with supreme authority and is sufficient revelation from God for all matters of belief and practice. We trust that as God’s people hear and believe God’s Word, they are equipped to serve Christ and proclaim the gospel.

We believe that all men and women, being created in the image of God, have inherent dignity and equal worth. Our greatest purpose is to know God, loving him in obedience and worship. God created us male and female, which is identified by our biological sex. Singleness and marriage are both good gifts of God through which men and women glorify Christ. Marriage is the exclusive union of one man and one woman. Marriage is a picture of the relationship between Christ and his bride the church, in which a husband exercises loving leadership after the pattern of Christ, and a wife submits to her husband as the church submits to Christ. Sexual intimacy is a gift from God to be enjoyed only within the context of marriage.

We believe that the sin of our first parents corrupted every aspect of human nature. In Adam, all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. By nature, every person is therefore under the just wrath and condemnation of God. Each person’s greatest need is to be born again, forgiven, justified and reconciled to God in order to know and please him.

We believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the anointed king promised in the Scriptures to rule God’s eternal kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught with authority and all his words are true. On the cross he died in the place of his people, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood. He rose from the dead and in his resurrection body ascended into heaven. He is now exalted as Lord of all, having triumphed over Satan and all the powers of evil. He intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father.

We believe salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned by merit. From all eternity God determined in grace to save a great multitude of guilty sinners from all peoples, and to this end foreknew them, predestined them and chose them. This plan of salvation has been accomplished in history by the Lord Jesus Christ’s once and for all penal substitutionary death, bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven. This salvation now is offered freely and openly to all through the gospel.

We believe God, in his love, sovereignly applies this accomplished salvation to the elect through union with his Son. In Christ, God effectually calls and regenerates his elect, granting them repentance and faith. In Christ, the elect are justified through faith alone, by grace alone. In Christ, God mercifully imputes to believers the righteousness of his Son, so that they are declared righteous in his sight and pardoned of all sin. In Christ, believers are adopted into the family of God, transformed by the Holy Spirit over time and preserved for eternal life in the New Creation.

We proclaim salvation is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ alone to the praise of his glory.

We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity and is fully God. He has been sent by the Father and the Son to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He regenerates and imparts spiritual life to spiritually dead sinners, so that they are convicted of sin and repent and believe.

The Holy Spirit inspired all Scripture. He speaks in Scripture to the church today. He empowers believers to understand the Scriptures rightly. The Spirit indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. The Spirit gives gifts to build up the Church and empowers its members for worship, service and mission.

We seek to obey Christ’s call to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow him. We are not our own; we belong to God.

We believe the pattern of the Christian life follows the path of Christ: suffering before glory. God delights to use the weak and foolish things of the world to display his strength and wisdom.

In response to God’s abundant mercy, Christians freely offer their lives as living sacrifices to him. In the Spirit’s power, we are to live distinctive lives marked by sincere love, humble service, joyful generosity, willing submission to authority, good works and heartfelt praise to God. We obey Christ’s call to make disciples of all nations.

Believers remain subject to the presence and effects of sin in a fallen world and may experience sickness, poverty and persecution while they wait in joyful expectation of the renewal of all things at Christ’s return. In every circumstance Christians are assured of God’s presence and attentiveness to their prayers. They depend on him with sure confidence knowing he works all things for his glory and their good.

The Christian life is never lived in isolation, but rather in relationship with brothers and sisters in Christ, for encouragement and mutual service within a local church.

We believe in the universal Church, the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who are saved belong. It is made visible in local churches, which are central to the saving plan of God. Local churches are congregations of believers who gather together for edification through the faithful ministry of word and sacrament. We are to pray for all people, including rulers and all in authority; to engage in pastoral care and discipline, mutual love and encouragement; and to call all people to repentance and faith in the gospel of Christ. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care and encouragement.

As the household of God, a pillar and buttress of the truth, churches are to conduct themselves with good order, godly living and genuine love, as they adorn and promote the gospel. While both men and women are called to serve the church with their God-given gifts, churches are to be led by godly, qualified men, who hold firmly to the truth and are able to equip the saints for works of ministry for building up the body.

We celebrate Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as visible signs of the gospel given to the churches by Christ.

Baptism is a symbol of purification and cleansing, through union with Christ in his death and resurrection, and of entry into his church. The sign of baptism does not impart spiritual life but assures Christians that they belong to God by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s Supper is for the continual remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all for sin. It involves no change in the bread and wine. As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, Christ assures us of his death on our behalf as we feed on him in our hearts by faith; we reaffirm our privileges and responsibilities as his church now; and we look forward to his future return when we will feast with him in glory.

We wait with joy for the Lord Jesus Christ to return personally and bodily in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. Unbelievers will be sent to eternal conscious punishment in Hell.

All those in Christ will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God in the promised New Creation. God will make all things new and will be glorified in all things forever.